---
title: "Bona Fide Puerto Rico Residency"
slug: "bona-fide-puerto-rico-residency"
updated: 2026-01-30T05:22:51Z
published: 2026-01-30T05:22:51Z
canonical: "zenoplesupport.aqore.com/bona-fide-puerto-rico-residency"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://zenoplesupport.aqore.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Bona Fide Puerto Rico Residency

This enhancement introduces dedicated support in Zenople by Aqore for employees who are bona fide residents of Puerto Rico, ensuring their Federal Income Tax (FIT) setup and payroll withholding follow appropriate rules.

With this release, clients can:

- Capture and verify Puerto Rico residency via a dedicated **Bona Fide Puerto Rico Residency Verification** form (in English and Spanish).
- Automatically **archive Federal W-4 forms** when Puerto Rico residency is confirmed.
- **Prevent FIT deductions** during payroll for employees flagged as bona fide Puerto Rico residents.
- Automatically **remove the Bona Fide Puerto Rico Resident status** and re-derive FIT settings if the employee later submits a new Federal W-4.

These changes improve:

- **Compliance** with Puerto Rico-specific Federal Income Tax handling requirements.
- **Accuracy**, by tying tax behavior to residency verification and address data.
- **Efficiency**, through automation of form assignments, archival, and payroll behavior.

### Functionality

##### New FIT Tax Parameter: “Bona Fide Puerto Rico Resident”

- A new Employee Federal Income Tax (FIT) Tax Parameter called “Bona Fide Puerto Rico Resident” has been added in the Tax navigation within the Employee Information System (EIS).
- The parameter supports the following values:
  - True
  - False
- The selected value is stored and retained in the database as part of the employee’s FIT configuration.
- This parameter is intended for internal FIT configuration and payroll behavior and is not transmitted to external tax mapping or external tax calculation services.

##### Bona Fide Puerto Rico Residency Verification Form

- A new form titled “Bona Fide Puerto Rico Residency Verification” is available for employees whose resident address is Puerto Rico.
- The system identifies employees with Puerto Rico as their resident state based on information entered on the Personal Information form and makes this assigns the residency verification form available to them.
- This form:
  - Is assigned before the Federal W‑4 form in the employee’s onboarding or update rehire process.
  - Includes a residency confirmation question with at least:
    - A value of “Yes” to confirm bona fide Puerto Rico residency.
  - Is available in both English and Spanish to support Spanish-speaking employees.
- The form is accessible through the appropriate Employee / New Hire related workflows within the Employee Applications (such as NHO/Employee-related flows tied to EIS).

##### Automation with the Bona Fide Puerto Rico Residency

**When the Bona Fide Puerto Rico Residency Verification Form Is Completed with “Yes”**:

1. **FIT Tax Parameter Update**
  - The Employee FIT Tax Parameter **“Bona Fide Puerto Rico Resident”** is automatically set to **True**.
2. **Is Exempt Flag for FIT**
  - The **“Is Exempt”** setting in the employee’s **Federal Income Tax parameters** is automatically **turned on**.
3. **Federal W-4 Archival**
  - The employee’s **Federal W-4Form W-4 is archived**.
  - This ensures that the employee’s FIT configuration is driven by their bona fide Puerto Rico residency status, rather than an active Federal W-4.

##### Payroll Behavior – Preventing FIT Deduction for Bona Fide Puerto Rico Residents

For employees whose Employee FIT Tax Parameter **“Bona Fide Puerto Rico Resident”** is set to **True**:

- During payroll calculations, the system **does not calculate or deduct Federal Income Tax (FIT)** for the employee.
- Social Security and Medicare withholdings still apply.
- This ensures that payroll calculations are aligned with the rules applicable to employees who are treated as bona fide Puerto Rico residents for Federal Income Tax purposes.

##### When a Former Bona Fide Puerto Rico Resident Completes a New Federal W-4

If an employee who previously had:

- The Employee FIT Tax Parameter **“Bona Fide Puerto Rico Resident”** set to **True**, and
- Their Federal W-4 archived as a result of that status,

later **completes a new Federal W-4Form W-4**, the system behaves as follows:

1. **Update of Bona Fide Puerto Rico Resident Status**
  - The Employee FIT Tax Parameter **“Bona Fide Puerto Rico Resident”**is automatically updated to:
    - **False** (effectively: “Is Bona Fide Puerto Rico Resident” = No).
2. **Status from Federal Form W-4**
  - The employee’s **federal withholding** is then **re-derived based solely on the information entered in the new Federal W-4**.
  - This means:
    - If the new W-4 indicates that the employee should be exempt or non-exempt, the system sets the FIT configuration accordingly, independent of the prior Puerto Rico residency-based exemption.

This ensures that employees who leave **bona fide Puerto Rico resident status** and intentionally submit a new Federal W-4 are **no longer exempt** from Federal Income Tax solely due to their former Puerto Rico residency status.