Employee New Hire Paperwork for Patriot Software

Before you can pay a new employee in Patriot Software, your new hire must complete required employment forms. While you may need to fill out other forms required for new employees, we’ve only listed federal requirements here.

[RELATED ARTICLE: New Employer Information by State]

When your employee completes these documents, you’ll have the personal and tax info you need to quickly set up the new employee in the payroll software.

Give your employee Form I-9 for Employment Eligibility Verification.

While the Form I-9 is not required for adding an employee in Patriot Software, legally, both the employee and employer must complete Form I-9 to verify eligibility to work in the United States.

• Ask to see documents that establish the person’s employment eligibility and identity. Acceptable documents are listed along with the I-9 form (warning: You can’t specify which documents they show you.) All documents shown must be original and unexpired.
• Record all pertinent information from the documents in Section II of the I-9 form, sign and date it, and retain for your records.

Note the three-day rule: If the new employee doesn’t complete their section of the form and show you the approved documents within three business days from their first day of work, they cannot report to work by law.

Give your employee Form W-4 (Employer Withholding Certificate).

NOTE:  If your employees use the payroll employee portal, they can complete their federal tax withholding certificate online, and their settings will automatically update in Patriot Software.  There is nothing you need to do, and the change will go into effect the next time you run a payroll.  For more information, see Employee Federal Tax Updates in Patriot’s Employee Portal.

If you give paper W-4 forms to your employees, the employee will enter withholding allowances based on the number of family members and indicate their filing status (married, single). They’ll also fill in their Social Security number (found also on Form I-9).

• When the employee returns their completed Form W-4, add your new employee in the payroll software. (For further instruction, read the article about adding new employees in Patriot Software.)
• Enter the employee’s Social Security number on the Employee’s Personal Information page.
• Fill in the allowances and filing status on the Employee’s Taxes page.
• Keep the W-4 for your employee records; the W-4 remains valid until the employee presents you with a new one.
• If the employee doesn’t return the W-4, withhold taxes as if the employee were single with no allowances. Enter “single” and “0” allowances under the Federal Filing section on the Employee’s Taxes page.
• If the employee gives you a completed W-4 later or presents you with a new W-4 at any time, start withholding the correct amount in your next payroll. Make necessary changes in Patriot Software on the Employee’s Taxes page.

[RELATED ARTICLE: What Should Be Kept in an Employee File?]