Dodge a taxing 2015 by heeding year-end reminders

Avoid the stress of searching for missing tax documents this April; verify your personal information within the employee portal today.

Starting this month, when you log in to the portal at my.cu.edu, a pop-up message will urge you to verify the mailing address CU has on file for you. By confirming your address (within the Personal Information menu), you’ll ensure that you quickly receive your W-2 Form (or 1042-S for some international employees), a key document for filing taxes.

CU’s Employee Services Department will mail 2014 W-2 forms by Jan. 31, 2015, as required by law.

Each year, CU’s Employee Services Department receives hundreds of returned W-2/1042-S forms that have bad addresses. The longer it takes to confirm correct addresses, the later employees can expect to receive their forms.

Check off these other items from your tax to-do list:

Verify your name.

If you changed your name this year, make sure the name that appears on your Social Security card matches the one listed within your employee profile in the portal. If the names don’t match, contact your department’s payroll liaison (aka, business partner). Similarly, make sure any company with which you have a retirement account has your new name on file. These steps will save you potential problems come tax time.

Know tax rates and what they mean to you.

In December, the IRS will release the 2015 W-4 Form, which gives you the opportunity to change the amount of taxes withheld from your paycheck each pay period. Get a better understanding of how tax rates will change in the New Year by reviewing the 2015 tax guide.

Understand what steps to take in 2015 if you filed as tax exempt in 2014.

If you requested to be exempt from taxes on your last W-4 Form, you must complete a new form by Feb. 9, 2015, to update your tax-filing preference. Complete this form online at my.cu.edu (select the “W-4” link within the “Payroll & Compensation menu” on the left).  If you don’t, you’ll automatically begin withholding the highest amount of taxes (single, filed as 0) until you complete a new W-4 Form.

If you hit the Social Security wage base in 2014, prepare for taxes to resume on Jan. 1.

U.S. law sets a limit on how much Social Security tax can be deducted from annual wages. In 2014, deductions on income stopped after a person had earned $117,000. In 2015, that limit will be $118,500. If you’ve been enjoying tax-free income during the final weeks or months of 2014, prepare for deductions to resume on Jan. 1.