Q: I have been at the same job in 2019, and my W-4 says married filing jointly claiming 0. Should my employer use that one!

A: Based on the information you provided, here are a few key points to consider:

1. California employers are required to use the federal Form W-4 for state income tax withholding purposes, unless the employee chooses to fill out a California state withholding form (DE 4).

2. If you have not submitted a new Form W-4 since 2019, your employer should continue using the information from your most recent W-4 on file, which in your case is from 2019 with "married filing jointly" and "0" allowances claimed.

3. The new Form W-4, introduced in 2020, no longer uses allowances. Instead, it focuses on claiming dependents and other income adjustments. If you haven't updated your W-4 since the new version was introduced, your employer will continue to use the old form.

4. If you owed $4,300 in taxes this year and your current withholding is insufficient ($83 out of $2,110 per paycheck), you should consider updating your Form W-4 to increase your withholding. You can do this by:

- Filling out the new Form W-4 and specifying additional withholding amounts in Step 4(c).

- Requesting your employer to withhold an additional amount from each paycheck to cover the shortfall.

5. It's advisable to review and update your Form W-4 annually or whenever you experience significant changes in your tax situation (e.g., marriage, divorce, new dependents, or changes in income) to ensure that your withholding aligns with your tax liability.

To resolve the issue of owing taxes and insufficient withholding, you should work with your employer's payroll or HR department to update your Form W-4 and adjust your withholding accordingly.