Employers can use W-4 for Hiring Credit verification

Beginning May 12, 2008, employers applying for a Hiring Tax Credit certificate or voucher may temporarily use IRS Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate, to verify that an employee resided in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA) immediately preceding the commencement of employment for purposes of eligibility for the TEA category.

This change indicates the California’s Department of Housing and Community’s (HCD) intention to permanently add the W-4, subject to regulatory approval, as an acceptable document for TEA eligibility. It also signals the HCD’s plan to delete the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, from the list of acceptable documents.¹ 

¹ HCD Memo No. 8-01 to Enterprise Zone Coordinators dated May 12, 2008