The forms new employees need to fill out always include two federal documents: the W-4, which sets your income tax withholding, and the I-9, which verifies your identity and legal right to work. On top of those, most employers hand you a state tax withholding form, a direct deposit authorization, benefits enrollment materials, and a stack of company-specific acknowledgments. Getting the federal two right on day one matters more than people realize. Skip the W-4 and your employer must withhold as if you were single with no adjustments, which usually shrinks your first paychecks until you fix it.
Form W-4: Federal Income Tax Withholding
The W-4 tells your employer how much federal income tax to take out of each paycheck. Federal law requires employers to withhold based on the information you provide.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 3402 – Income Tax Collected at Source If you don’t submit one, the IRS requires your employer to treat you as single with no other adjustments, which almost always withholds more than necessary.2Internal Revenue Service. Withholding Compliance Questions and Answers
The current W-4 has five steps, but most people only need three:
- Step 1 collects your name, address, Social Security number, and filing status (single, married filing jointly, or head of household).
- Step 2 covers adjustments if you hold more than one job or your spouse also works. You can use the IRS’s online estimator, a worksheet on the form, or check a box for a rough adjustment.
- Step 3 is for dependents. Each qualifying child under 17 reduces withholding; other dependents qualify for a smaller credit.
- Step 4 is optional entries for other income (like investment earnings), itemized deductions you expect to claim, and any extra withholding per pay period.
- Step 5 is your signature, which makes the form valid.
If your situation is simple, one job, no dependents, standard deduction, you can fill out Step 1, skip Steps 2 through 4, and sign at the bottom. It takes about five minutes. Getting it right saves you from owing a large balance or waiting on an oversized refund at tax time.
Claiming Exempt Status
If you had zero federal income tax liability last year and expect none this year, you can claim an exemption from withholding on the W-4.3Internal Revenue Service. Publication 15-T (2026), Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods This is common for students and very low-income workers. The catch: the exemption expires every February 15. You have to submit a fresh W-4 each year to keep it, or your employer reverts to withholding as if you were single with no adjustments.4Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 753, Form W-4, Employees Withholding Certificate People forget this constantly and then wonder why their February paycheck shrank.
Form I-9: Employment Eligibility Verification
Federal law makes it illegal for any employer to hire someone without verifying identity and authorization to work in the United States.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1324a – Unlawful Employment of Aliens The I-9 is how that verification happens. Unlike the W-4, it splits into two parts with strict deadlines.
Section 1: Your Part
You must complete Section 1 no later than your first day of employment. It asks for your full legal name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number. You also declare your citizenship or immigration status under penalty of perjury, which means you’re legally certifying the information is true.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1324a – Unlawful Employment of Aliens
Section 2: Your Employer’s Part
Your employer must examine your identity documents and complete Section 2 within three business days of your start date. If you begin on a Monday, the employer has until Thursday.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Who Must Complete Form I-9 For jobs lasting fewer than three business days, both sections must be completed on your first day.
Which Documents You Need
You prove your identity and work authorization by presenting original documents from the I-9’s official lists. You have two options:
- One List A document that proves both identity and work authorization. A U.S. passport, permanent resident card (green card), or Employment Authorization Document are the most common.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1324a – Unlawful Employment of Aliens
- One List B document plus one List C document. List B proves identity only, usually a state driver’s license or government-issued photo ID. List C proves work authorization, most often an unrestricted Social Security card or a U.S. birth certificate.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. List B Documents That Establish Identity
Your employer cannot tell you which documents to present. If you have a valid List A document, the employer cannot demand a List B and C combination instead, or vice versa. That’s a discrimination issue, and it comes up more often than you’d expect.
Remote Verification for E-Verify Employers
Employers enrolled in E-Verify can verify your documents over live video instead of in person. Under an alternative procedure that took effect in August 2023, you transmit copies of your documents to the employer, then display the originals during a video call so the employer can compare them.8Federal Register. Optional Alternative to Physical Document Examination for Employment Eligibility Verification The option is permanent and is especially relevant if you’re onboarding remotely. The three-business-day deadline still applies.
State Income Tax Withholding
If your state has an income tax, you’ll usually fill out a state-level withholding form alongside the W-4. It works the same way conceptually: you provide your filing status and claim adjustments so the employer withholds the right amount for state taxes. The details vary because state brackets, credits, and deductions differ from the federal system.
Eight states have no individual income tax at all: Alaska, Florida, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. If you work in one of those states, there’s no state withholding form to fill out. A handful of other states accept the federal W-4 as a substitute, but most require their own version. If you don’t submit one, the employer will typically withhold at the highest default rate, the same dynamic as a missing federal W-4.
Direct Deposit Authorization
Nearly every employer offers direct deposit, and most prefer it. The authorization form isn’t legally required, but skipping it usually means you’ll get paper checks, and some employers charge processing fees for those. The form collects your bank’s routing number, your account number, the account type (checking or savings), and your signature. Some employers let you split deposits across multiple accounts, which is useful if you want to route part of each paycheck straight into savings.
Bring a voided check or a bank letter with your account details. Routing numbers are easy to mistype, and a wrong digit can delay your first paycheck by a full pay cycle. Most direct deposit setups take one to two pay periods to activate, so your first check may still arrive on paper regardless.
Benefits Enrollment and Marketplace Notices
Employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act must give you a written notice about the Health Insurance Marketplace when you’re hired.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 218b – Notice to Employees The notice explains that you may qualify for subsidized Marketplace coverage if your employer doesn’t offer a health plan, or if the plan covers less than 60 percent of total benefit costs. There’s no penalty for employers who fail to provide it, but most do.10U.S. Department of Labor. Notice of Coverage Options FAQs
If your employer offers health insurance, you’ll receive enrollment forms during onboarding. Group health plans must give you at least 30 days to enroll when you’re first eligible.11eCFR. 29 CFR 2590.701-6 – Special Enrollment Periods Many larger employers also offer retirement plans like a 401(k), life insurance, and disability coverage, each with its own paperwork. Pay attention to the deadlines. Missing your enrollment window usually means waiting until the next open enrollment, which could be months away. The one exception is a qualifying life event like marriage or the birth of a child, which triggers a special 30-day enrollment window.
Wage Notices and Workplace Disclosures
Many states require employers to give you a written notice on or before your first day spelling out your pay rate, pay schedule, overtime rate, and how you’ll be paid. These laws, often called wage theft prevention acts, exist so there’s no ambiguity about what you agreed to. The employer keeps a signed copy and you keep one. If a payroll dispute ever arises, that notice becomes critical evidence for both sides.
Depending on your state, you may also receive disclosures about state-run disability insurance or paid family leave programs. Signing the acknowledgment doesn’t commit you to anything. It confirms that your employer told you the programs exist.
Company-Specific Paperwork
Beyond the legally mandated forms, most employers hand you a secondary stack of internal documents. None are required by federal law, but refusing to sign can create friction, and some may be conditions of employment.
- Employee handbook acknowledgment. You sign a form confirming you received and read (or had access to) company policies on attendance, dress code, anti-harassment, and discipline. It protects the employer by proving you were informed of the rules.
- Confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement. Common in jobs involving proprietary information, client data, or trade secrets. These typically define what counts as confidential, how long the obligation lasts, and what happens if you violate it. Read the scope carefully. Some are narrow and reasonable, others surprisingly broad.
- Emergency contact form. Collects the name, phone number, and relationship of one or two people the company should call if something happens to you at work.
- At-will employment acknowledgment. In most states, this confirms that either you or the employer can end the relationship at any time without cause. Standard boilerplate, but worth understanding.
What Happens Behind the Scenes
A few administrative steps happen after you finish your paperwork. You don’t fill out anything for these, but knowing they exist helps explain why HR pushes so hard on deadlines.
Federal law requires your employer to report your hiring to the state’s new hire directory within 20 days, or through two monthly electronic transmissions for employers who file electronically.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 653a – State Directory of New Hires The reporting helps locate parents who owe child support and detects fraudulent benefit claims. Some states set shorter deadlines than the federal 20-day window.
Some employers also use E-Verify, a federal system that cross-references your I-9 information against Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security records.13U.S. Department of Homeland Security. What Is E-Verify E-Verify is voluntary for most private employers but mandatory for certain federal contractors.14U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. E-Verify – The Web-Based Verification Companion to Form I-9 You still complete the I-9 either way. E-Verify supplements it rather than replacing it.