Note: This is a printed version of https://employeehelp.workday.uw.edu/going-green-for-tax-season. Please visit this page on the ISC website to ensure you're referencing the most current information.
Going Green For Tax Season: Opt Out of Paper Tax Forms
If you previously opted out, thank you! You do not need to do so again.
Choosing to access tax forms online via Workday – and opting out of paper tax forms – might sound like a small matter, but if everyone goes digital, we can make a real impact on reducing the UW’s reliance on paper and save valuable resources in the process.
This year, the Payroll Office will be printing out somewhere in the ballpark of 44,000 tax forms (not including any extra copies employees may request) and will use around the same number of envelopes.
And it’s not just trees that get saved when employees go green. The cost of stamps alone for 44,000 envelopes? Almost $28,000. And then there’s the cost of the paper (some tax forms can be several pages long), envelopes and printer ink, as well as the cost of human labor for ensuring those 44,000 tax forms are stuffed into those envelopes.
How to Opt Out
Make sure to opt out of paper tax forms no later than 11:59 pm on January 2, 2025, otherwise the Payroll Office will mail your paper tax forms.
Follow these steps to help reduce the UW’s carbon footprint. It only takes a moment!
- Log into Workday from the Sign in to Workday link at the top of this page.
- In Workday, select the Menu button then the Pay icon.
- On the next screen, select My Tax Documents.
- At the far right of the page, in the Printing Election column, select the Edit button.
- Select the Receive electronic copy of my Year End Tax Documents button (the red asterisk just means one of the two choices must be selected), select OK at the bottom of the screen, then select Done.
You have now successfully opted out of receiving paper tax forms – thanks for helping the UW go green!
What’s Next?
You will be able to access the online copy of your tax documents as soon as they become available in early January – the Payroll Office will email you, and all your fellow tree huggers who also opted out, as soon as your tax documents are ready in Workday. And because there’s no longer any 24-hour delay for accessing your tax documents online (thanks to the UW’s adoption of two-factor authentication, your online tax documents are more secure than letting them float through the mail), you can pull them up even while sitting at your accountant’s desk.