Symmetry Payroll Forms®
Symmetry Payroll Forms (SPF) API is designed to build out and help onboard employees for employment. They can accurately complete their federal, state, and local withholding forms with field- and form-level data validation.
With over 125 compliant online withholding forms, SPF includes every form involving employee withholding issued by federal, state, and local governments. This includes resident, nonresident, military spouse, and more. Forms submitted through SPF are 100% electronic as well as regulatory compliant and auditable for all tax jurisdictions. SPF also covers the U.S. and Canada through a unified schema and consistent endpoints.
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Features
Online withholding forms make life easier.
- Pre-populating forms with employee data so users don’t have to re-enter information.
- Automatically determining local tax information such as PSD codes, EIT rates, and school districts and loading them into the appropriate tax forms.
- Working on all browsers, devices, and platforms.
- Automatically applying nexus and reciprocity through Symmetry’s multi-state wizard.
Secure
- No storage of personal data such as names, social security numbers, addresses, etc.
- SPF Hosted has HTTPS and SAML security features.
- Native security/authentication.
Compliant
- Follows audit guidelines.
- Rulings requested and provided from all 50 states and U.S. territories.
- Conforms to IRS Publication 15A, Regulation section 31.3402(f)(5)-1.
Customizable
- Integrates into your application using design elements from your brand.
- Pre-populates employee data via JSON from internal systems.
- Easily stores completed forms digitally while staying compliant.
How it works
Get structured, consistent data.
1
Step 1
Employee enters data manually or employee data is loaded via JSON from internal systems.
Step 2
Users have a choice between Guided Mode or Choose Mode. This decision can be made at the company level.
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3
Step 3
SPF identifies correct forms employees need to fill out based on location and individual circ*mstances.
Step 4
Employee is walked through necessary forms needed — providing jurat statements to ensure compliance.
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5
Step 5
Completed forms are sent back to HR/Payroll department.
Guided vs. Let Me Choose.
Simplify your employee exemption certificate procedure with the option of two paperless processes.
Guided Interface
Ideal for employee onboarding — employees are coached through an automated process on what information to provide and where to provide it.
- Ensures forms submitted by an employee are correct and complete.
- Guides employees to the forms they need to complete based on answers to a series of questions based on the employee’s home and work address under the “Guided” process.
- Employees get a simple and smooth process while employers get all the information they need to set up withholding accurately.
Let Me Choose Interface
Ideal for companies and employees who know the exact forms they need — gives employees the ability to select forms at will.
- Displays all relevant forms based on the employee’s work and home address.
- Allows employees to select the withholding forms they would like to complete.
- Field validation ensures employees complete forms accurately.
Form Delivery.
Three ways to receive the completed forms: Postback JSON data, Email Back, and Print Only.
Postback
SPF will send the completed form data in JSON format back to your servers. It includes tax parameter values and the completed PDF which can be stored in your payroll or HR system.
Email Back
Completed forms are emailed from SPF to a designated email address for client’s payroll/HR departments.
Print Only
End users print complete forms to physically turn in to their employers.
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Clients
Who will love it?
- Payroll managers overwhelmed by paper W‑4s and inaccurate withholding.
- HCM companies looking to enhance their withholding form and payroll offerings.
- Product managers and software developers building out onboarding products.
"I’ve been in this business a long time, and even though Symmetry provides services for companies that are a lot larger than we are, it feels like you’re still dealing with a family, with that kind of culture. I feel they genuinely care and will do everything they can to accommodate you."
Linda Adams, Senior Director for Payroll Tax Compliance
"Symmetry has allowed us to simplify the hiring experience with the Symmetry Payroll Forms API. We have seen great feedback and results."
Julia Sena, Sr. Product Manager
"We have been providing onboarding to the federal government for the past 12 years and our biggest pain point, by far, was maintaining the W-4 tax forms. With Symmetry Software’s product, we no longer have that problem!"
Rob Hankey, Founder and CEO
"We actually trot out Symmetry in our sales calls because it bolsters our credibility a lot. It supports how we can quickly get to work for the company with (tax withholding and) compliance all checked off."
Tom Loveland, Technical Founder
"We have been providing onboarding to the federal government for the past 12 years and our biggest pain point, by far, was maintaining the W-4 tax forms. With Symmetry Software’s product, we no longer have that problem!"
Rob Hankey, CEO
"Symmetry Software had a very detailed integration guide and a phenomenal technical staff that allowed us to get to market much quicker than if we had tried to tackle this on our own."
Will Boudreaux, Founder and CEO
Over 33 million online withholding forms processed in 2023.
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Technical Info
API vs. Web Application.
Symmetry Payroll Forms introduces flexibility for implementation, including options for an API or Web Application.
SPF APIrecommended
- Build your own user interface and employee experience and consume the Symmetry Payroll Forms API. Ideal for custom branding and maintaining your application’s look and feel.
- Pass the employee and employer address information to the SPF API via JSON, and the API takes care of determining flows, forms, and tax parameters.
- Capture and store the form answers before passing the information to the SPF API, which returns the completed Base64 encoded PDF and relevant tax parameters.
- Print, email, or save the completed PDF as you choose and store the tax parameters in your payroll system or application.
SPF Web Application
- Symmetry Payroll Forms embeds on your website or in your application.
- All updates are performed by the Symmetry Software development team.
- Customize the application with the SPF Settings Builder.
- Transactions are printed, emailed, or returned via postback.
- No storage of client data.
- Utilizes SAML 2.0.
- Hosted on external servers with Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Contact sales about Web Application
Two versions to fit your needs.
With either version you get the same compliant forms product, the difference is how it’s deployed, who does the testing and updating, and how you customize it.
| Feature | API | Web Application |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment | Build your own user interface experience into your application with the Payroll API. | Symmetry Payroll Forms embeds on your website or stands alone on an independent website. |
| Customization | Custom branding to maintain your application’s look and feel with the API. | Your website sets the look and feel of Symmetry Payroll Forms. |
| Updates | Symmetry Payroll Forms updates are automatically applied with no action on your part. | |
| Regulatory compliance | Meets withholding audit guidelines at the federal, state, and local level. Conforms to IRS Publication 15A, Regulation Section 31.3402(f)(5)-1. | |
| Technical specifications | Returns all tax parameters via JSON to input into your payroll system. Includes PDF forms encoded in base64. | |
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Nexus and reciprocity.
SPF considers nexus and reciprocity when determining what forms to present. The multi‑state library has all state‑to‑state reciprocity agreements built in as well as rules relating to which forms are required based on the employee’s settings and the company’s nexus setting.
The Symmetry Location Service pre‑populates all local tax settings such as school districts and PSD codes.
Resident state
Determine the resident state.
Nonresident state
Determine the nonresident state.
Reciprocal agreement
Is there a reciprocal agreement between the res. and nonres. state?
Nexus
Does nexus exist in the resident state?
FAQSymmetry Payroll Forms common questions.
Try our contact form if you don't find your question answered here.
What are online withholding forms?
Online withholding forms are electronic federal, state, and local W‑4s. Also known as employee exemption certificates, these forms tell employers how much money to withhold from an employee’s paycheck.
What is an Electronic Withholding Certificate?
An Electronic Withholding Certificate is simply an electronic version of the paper forms traditionally used when someone is hired or makes a change to their withholding.
What forms does SPF have?
With over 125 compliant forms, Symmetry Payroll Forms includes all forms involving employee tax withholding that are issued by federal, state, and local governments. This includes resident, non‑resident, military spouse, and more.
What is a jurat statement?
A jurat statement is a legal clause that when signed affirms that the data presented on the forms is truthful. SPF includes jurat statements for each form that requires them, ensuring compliance for SPF users.
Do I have to keep hard copies of each form?
IRS guidance states that forms generated by an electronic process are the same as paper forms. Thus, you do not need to keep paper copies of forms. If you need to print a paper version for any reason, you can do so within SPF.
What happens when a withholding form changes?
The benefit of working with Symmetry Software is that our Payroll Tax Insights and Support team maintains all the state, federal, and local forms. This means when the states, cities, or jurisdictions update, we update the online withholding forms in SPF.
How secure is Symmetry Payroll Forms?
The SPF API and Web Application are transaction-based applications that do not store employee data. Application communications are also encrypted to protect the data being transmitted.
What is SAML?
SAML stands for Security Assertion Markup Language. It is used to authenticate messages in SPF Hosted for additional security.
Where are Symmetry’s blank withholding forms?
For individual, not corporate use, Symmetry’s blank withholding forms have moved to our sister website, PaycheckCity.com. To inquire about a corporate subscription to blank withholding forms, contact Symmetry today.
How can I take full advantage of my partnership with Symmetry Software?
Symmetry Select is designed to provide Symmetry Tax Engine clients with a dedicated Symmetry Relationship Manager as a single point of contact for oversight of key client strategic initiatives. With Symmetry Select, clients will have access to a dedicated team of experts to answer your questions and provide helpful insights, as well as access to key Symmetry resources and tools. Learn more about Symmetry Select
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Looking for more?
- Canadian Withholding FormsCanadian Symmetry Payroll Forms automates the employee withholding form process with 100% electronic and compliant Canadian federal, provincial and territorial TD1 forms.Learn more about Canadian Symmetry Payroll Forms
- Payroll Tax EngineSymmetry Tax Engine is a payroll processing and tax calculator to build or enhance a payroll platform, embed payroll into an existing application, and increase compliance.U.S. and CanadaLearn more about Symmetry Tax Engine
- Local Tax FinderSymmetry Payroll Point determines complicated local withholding tax and wage rates within your product by applying latitude and longitude coordinates of a residential address and a work address.Learn more about Symmetry Payroll Point
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