What's the difference between an extra amount and an additional withholding? (2025.02)

Employees

Issue

When the tax code changed in 2020, the Extra Amount field became the new Additional Withholdings field. There has been some confusion over which field to use when entering an extra amount.

Explanation

In the 2025.02 release, you can disable the Extra Amount field so users can't enter an extra amount. And the amount from the Additional Withholding field will match the latest version of the W-4 forms.

Additional withholding

This typically refers to an amount the employee requests to be withheld in addition to the regular tax calculation.
It's most often set on the W-4 form. For example, an employee asks to withhold %350 more federal tax each paycheck.
It's calculated after the standard tax withholding based on income and filing status.

Example: An employee's calculated federal withholding is $200, but they requested an additional $50. The employee's total withholding equals $250.

Extra amount

A flat overide of regular tax (for example, withhold exactly $500, regardless of calculation).

202505, 2025Apr14