At the AMS Payroll Menu, select Input>Highlight the Employee>Edit>Live Payroll Parameters. You will change the marital status and Federal/State Exemption values here.
Why is this important?
Most aspects of an employee’s filing status will impact withholding taxes. Filing status can be synonymous with marital status, but it more often indicates a person’s personal financial burden. When there is a change to a person’s filing status, they will submit a new W-4 with the relevant information. Once you receive that W-4, you will be able to change the marital status and deductions/exemptions within AMS.
If an employee marks that they are married rather than single, you will typically withhold less from their wages. The IRS provides a helpful guide with income tax withholding tables for varied filing statuses. When a married couple files jointly, their wages are seen as the same income, which means their married withholding rate is lower.
Therefore, changing a person’s marital status within a payroll software is essential, as it will inform the calculations required to figure out withholding for each paycheck. We recommend addressing marital status as soon as your employee completes a new W-4 or decided to file jointly with a spouse.