Tax Forms Support

To update your W-4 form or your state tax withholding form, find the W-4 or state form on our payroll forms page. Email the completed form to cpinquiries@ep.com.

This message indicates that you were listed as tax exempt in the system at the end of the year, which may have occurred earlier when you signed up with Central Casting. It's not uncommon for this designation to appear due to how employment status is initially processed.

Tax withholding settings are tied to your individual profile; they are not specific to any one production. Therefore, updates made for one show apply across all your shows.

Claiming exempt status on your tax withholding forms does not render your paycheck tax-free. While it may exempt you from federal income tax withholding, certain statutory deductions including State Disability Insurance (SDI), Social Security, and Medicare are still required and will continue to be withheld from your earnings.

For Crew
If you are currently working on a production and need to make changes to your W-4 after you have already submitted your Start paperwork, you will need to upload a digital W-4 to SmartStart and check the box “Notify Paymaster.” Alternatively, you may email your updated W-4 to your production office and ask them to upload it to SmartStart on your behalf.

If you are not currently working
No action is required. You may submit your updated forms when onboarding for your next production.

For Background Actors
If you are a background actor currently working for Central Casting and need to make changes to your W-4, please email your completed forms to CPInquiries@ep.com.

Residuals Earners
If you are a Residuals earner no longer working on a production, please email your completed form to paymentsupport@ep.com.

If you reside in a taxable state that does not issue a dedicated state withholding form, you may submit a Federal Form W-4 labeled for the applicable state to update your tax withholding elections. This will allow our payroll team to apply your preferences accurately even in the absence of state-specific documentation.

Yes. On both federal and state tax forms, you may request “Additional Withholding.” This is a specific whole-dollar amount you may request to be withheld from each paycheck beyond your standard tax calculation. If you request this, EP will calculate your regular tax deductions as usual and then add on the additional amount you’ve requested.

For federal withholding, you’ll find this option on Step 4C of IRS Form W-4.

Adjusting your withholding this way may reduce the chances of owing taxes when you file your return.

No. Form W-4 is only considered valid when all of Section 1 is completed, which includes your full nine-digit SSN. Submitting only the last four digits will result in an incomplete form that will be rejected or delayed.

No. The Form W-4 is a federal withholding form used by the IRS to determine how much federal income tax to deduct from your paycheck. Most states with income tax have their own state-specific withholding forms, which are separate from the W-4. If you live or work in a taxable state, you'll typically need to submit a state withholding form in addition to your federal W-4. If your work spans multiple states, you may need to complete a form for each applicable state.

In 2020, the IRS redesigned the Form W-4 and changed how dependents are claimed. Instead of entering a number of dependents, you are now asked to input a dollar amount in Step 3 of the Form. You can enter any whole dollar amount. The recommended guidelines are $2,000 for each eligible child under age 17 and $500 for other qualifying dependents. This amount helps determine your eligibility for the Child Tax Credit and Credit for Other Dependents.

To access your W-2, visit EP's W-2 page.

Yes. To access your W-2 forms digitally, you will need to opt in to the paperless option on my.ep.com. However, you can update your delivery preference at any time. Once you’ve opted to go paperless, you may switch back to mail delivery by visiting your Account Settings and updating your Tax Document Preferences.

For guidance specific to your situation, please consult with your Tax Advisor or CPA.

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If you were paid by more than one EP entity during the year, you will receive a separate W-2 for each entity.

Example
If you were paid by both Entertainment Partners Services, LLC and GEP Talent Services, LLC you will receive two W-2s. If you were also paid by GEP Cencast in addition to the other two entities, you would receive a total of three W-2s.

If you worked outside of your resident state, you will also receive a work state page for each of those additional states. These additional pages help clarify income earned in those states, but they are not officially part of the Form W-2 and should not be filed with your federal tax return. You will need to claim a credit for the income earned outside of your resident state. EP uses the work state pages to provide this amount to you so there is no need to calculate by hand.

EP does not pay Independent Contractors or Sole Proprietors. If you complete a Start packet using your individual Social Security number (SSN), you are classified as an employee, and your wages will be reported on a W-2.

Your W-2 or 1099 is now available in myEP where you can view and download your tax documents at any time. Simply log into myEP, navigate to the Annual Tax Statements section in My Pay, and select the tax statement you wish to download.

Your W-2 or 1099 is now available in myEP where you can view and download your tax documents at any time. Visit the EP W-2 Support page for more information.

Visit myEP to verify your current mailing address and tax form delivery preferences. If you previously opted for paperless delivery, a physical copy of your W-2 or 1099 will not be mailed. You can update your preference to receive paper forms in future years while still maintaining access to digital copies.

To submit an inquiry or correction to your tax form, please fill out and sign our inquires and corrections form.

The OBBBA introduces a temporary federal income tax deduction (not exclusion) for individuals who earn qualified overtime pay between 2025–2028. Eligible taxpayers may deduct up to $12,500 (single) or $25,000 (married filing jointly) of qualified overtime premium wages on their individual tax returns.

Only non-exempt employees who earn overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) — that is, hours worked over 40 per week — are eligible. Exempt employees (those not eligible for overtime) do not qualify.

Qualified overtime includes only the premium portion of overtime pay (the “½-time” above regular hourly rate). Example: If a PWE earns $30/hour and works 45 hours in a week, only the 5 hours × $15 (½-time premium) = $75 qualifies for the deduction.

No. The deduction applies only to FLSA-mandated overtime (hours > 40 per week). Daily overtime, double time, or other premium payments based solely on state law or employer policy do not qualify.

Not for 2025. The 2025 tax year is a transition year where businesses are encouraged but not required by the IRS to provide what reasonable information they can regarding qualified overtime premium.

Yes. We expect to be able to separately provide an estimate of EP-paid qualified overtime premium around the same time as you get your W-2s, which is by the end of January. The estimate statement will be available in myEP, and you will be able to access one estimate statement per EP entity that paid you in 2025.

You will need to create a myEP account to access your estimate statement. Go to my.ep.com to create your account

You will need to create a myEP account to access your estimate statement. Please contact myepsupport@ep.com for assistance.

At this time, there is no single Excel report available to download for 2025 that separates regular and overtime pay. You can view this information via your pay statement. If an export becomes available, we will share an update.

To estimate 2025 qualified overtime compensation, you should reference your 2025 W-2 together with the 2025 Qualified Overtime Compensation Estimate Statement. Using these two documents together will allow you to estimate your total gross overtime earnings and the portion attributable to the qualified overtime premium (the half-time portion of time-and-a-half).

No. This is a federal income tax deduction claimed on your personal tax return (Form 1040). It does not affect your paycheck withholding or state/local taxes.

No. The exemption is limited to federal income tax deduction purposes only. Regular FICA (Social Security/Medicare) and state tax withholding rules continue to apply to all wages, including overtime.

The current law applies to tax years 2025 through 2028, unless extended by Congress.

Yes, the IRS has further information here. And, you should also consult your personal tax professional.

This means that the Entertainment Partners pay entity referred to in your estimate statement did not pay you any qualified federal overtime premium earnings for the tax deduction.

No. Salaried exempt employees are ineligible. Only hourly non-exempt employees qualify for the federal overtime premium tax deduction.