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May News Updates

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Here are my news updates for the month of May.  To receive all the latest payroll news right to your inbox subscribe to Payroll 24/7 for only $149 per year.

 

May 27:  Office of Child Support Enforcement: The OCSE has added an interactive map for new hiring reporting on a new webpage.  The user may click on any state and be directed to the new hire reporting website.

May 24: Colorado: The Department of Labor and Employment (DLE) has issued guidance regarding its new state-run Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program.

May 18: Milpitas, CA: The city will increase its minimum wage to $16.40 per hour effective July 1, 2022

May 5:  New York: The New York City Council has pushed back implementation of the salary transparency law from May 15, 2022, to November 1, 2022.

 

Daily News Updates for January, 2022

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A bit more of a change up for the new year.  Several of my followers have noted that having one blog for news updates per month would be easier rather than breaking it up by week.  To further refine my new blogs I will do one for each month, in this case January, and update daily as my news letters go out.  I hope you find this helpful.

January 25, 2022: IRS: The IRS has issued guidance for employers regarding the retroactive termination of the Employee Retention Credit. Notice 2021-65 applies to employers that paid wages after September 30, 2021 and received an advance payment of the Employee Retention Credit for those wages or reduced employment tax deposits in anticipation of the credit for the fourth quarter of 2021 but are now ineligible for the credit due to the change in the law.

January 14, 2022: Virginia:  The Department of Taxation has revised the Income Tax Withholding Guide for Employers with a January 2022 revision date. The Guide was last revised November 2021. There are no substantive changes. The tax tables are not changed.

January 6, 2022: On the payroll industry phone call this morning the IRS stated to my question that it has still not issued guidance on the electronic filing threshold for Forms W-2 for 2021 W-s filed by 1-31-22. It could be 100 or more or still 250 or more.

January 4, 2022:   Form W-4 has been finalized for 2022. It is available on the IRS website.

 

 

 

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IRS Releases Deposit Schedules and Rules for 2022

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The IRS has issued the annual deposit schedules in Notice 931. To review, there are two deposit schedules—monthly or semiweekly—for determining when you deposit social security and Medicare taxes and withheld federal income tax. These schedules tell you when a deposit is due after a tax liability arises (for example, when you have a payday). Before the beginning of each calendar year, you must determine which of the two deposit schedules you must use. The deposit schedule you must use is based on the total tax liability you reported during a lookback period. Your deposit schedule isn’t determined by how often you pay your employees or make deposits. These rules don’t apply to federal unemployment (FUTA) tax. See the Instructions for Form 940 for information on depositing FUTA tax.

Your deposit schedule for a calendar year is determined from the total taxes reported on your Forms 941 in a 4-quarter lookback period. The lookback period begins July 1 and ends June 30, as shown in the chart below. If you  reported $50,000 or less of Form 941 taxes for the lookback period, you’re a monthly schedule depositor; if you reported more than $50,000, you’re a semiweekly
schedule depositor. The lookback period for a 2022 Form 941 filer who filed Form 944 in either 2020 or 2021 is calendar year 2020.

You’re a monthly schedule depositor for a calendar year if the total tax reported for your lookback period was $50,000 or less. Under the monthly deposit schedule, deposit accumulated taxes on payments made during a calendar month by the 15th day of the following month. New employers. Your tax liability for any quarter in the lookback period before the date you started or acquired
your business is considered to be zero. Therefore, you’re a monthly schedule depositor for the first calendar year of your business. You’re a semiweekly schedule depositor for a calendar
year if the total taxes during your lookback period were more than $50,000. Your deposit schedule is in the chart below:

However, it is possible to have to deposit taxes the next day. If you accumulate a tax liability of $100,000 or more on any day during a deposit period, you must deposit the tax by the close of the next business day, whether you’re a monthly or semiweekly schedule depositor. And If you’re a monthly schedule depositor and accumulate a $100,000 tax liability on any day, you become a semiweekly schedule depositor on the next day and remain so for at least the rest of the calendar year and for the following calendar year.

Reporting COVID Sick and Family Leave in 2021–Same as 2020

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The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service in September issued Notice 2021-53, which provides guidance to employers about reporting on Form W-2 the amount of qualified sick and family leave wages paid to employees for leave taken in 2021. The notice provides guidance under recent legislation, including: the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), as amended by the COVID-Related Tax Relief Act of 2020, and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

Employers will be required to report these amounts to employees either on Form W-2, Box 14, or in a separate statement provided with the Form W-2. The guidance provides employers with model language to use as part of the Instructions for Employee for the Form W-2 or on the separate statement provided with the Form W-2.

The wage amount that the notice requires employers to report on Form W-2 will provide employees who are also self-employed with the information necessary to determine the amount of any sick and family leave equivalent credits they may claim in their self-employed capacities.

In July 2020, the IRS issued Notice 2020-54, which provided guidance regarding W-2 reporting of qualified sick leave and family leave under FFCRA for wages paid to employees for leave taken in 2020.

Additional information about tax relief for employers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic can be found on IRS.gov.

APA Recommends Simplified Version of Form W-4

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The American Payroll Association has sent a letter to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recommending that the IRS create a new and separate W-4 form for employees who have a single job and no dependents.  The form, Form W-4SN, Employee’s Withholding Certificate — Single Job, No Dependents, would be used by employees whose situation would allow them simply to complete Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate, Steps 1, 4(c), and 5.

As most payroll professionals know, employees continue to struggle with completing the Form W-4 in its current form.  They find it difficult to understand the instructions and many times complete the form in error or in a manner that makes it invalid and cannot be processed by payroll. The APA believes that a simplified version using Steps 1, 4(c), and 5 can be implemented effectively for improved accuracy and without creating confusion for employees.

The APA worked with the IRS during the initial stakeholder engagement for the 2020 Form W-4 and a simplified version of the form was discussed back then. However, it was rejected because of the complications of programming and tracking. The new recommended form maintains the same lines and boxes as found on the current Form W-4. This eliminates the original issues with programming and tracking.

The APA attached a sample of the form W-4SN to help explain its recommendations.

The APA is recommending a six-month effective date to allow for payroll software adjustments, payroll training, and employee awareness.

What do you think?  Let us know your opinion of the recommended form in the comments section.

About the APA: Established in 1982, APA is a not-for-profit association serving the interests of more than 20,000 payroll professionals nationwide. APA’s primary mission is to educate its members and the payroll industry about best practices associated with paying America’s workers while complying with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. APA members are directly responsible for calculating wages and employment taxes for their employers.

What Employers Need to Know About Repayment of Deferred Payroll Taxes–Per the IRS

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The IRS has released following information concerning the repayment of the deferred payroll taxes for the calendar year 2020. The information was contained in their e-news for payroll professionals issue number 2021 – 08.

The Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act – CARES Act – allowed employers to defer withholding and payment of the employee’s Social Security taxes on certain wages paid in calendar year 2020.

Repayment of the employee’s portion of the deferral started January 1, 2021, and will continue through December 31, 2021. The employer should send repayments to the IRS as they collect them. If the employer does not repay the deferred portion on time, penalties and interest will apply to any unpaid balance.

Employers can make the deferral payments through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) or by credit/debit card, money order or with a check. These payments must be separate from other tax payments to ensure they are applied to the deferred payroll tax balance. IRS systems won’t recognize the payment if it is with other tax payments or sent as a deposit.

Also, there are special considerations in repaying the deferred taxes when an employer uses a third party payer that files aggregate Forms 941 and 943 under its own EIN.

Check out this IRS Tax Tip for more information on third party payers and deferred taxes, and learn about:

  • Important dates associated with the deferred taxes
  • How to make payments for deferred tax reported by third party payer aggregate filers

IRS Offer Guidance on ERC for 2021

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The IRS has released Notice 2021-23 which provides guidance on the employee retention credit provided under Section 2301 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, as amended by section 207 of the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020, for qualified wages paid after December 31, 2020, and before July 1, 2021.  Notice 2021-23 amplifies Notice 2021-20 and provides employers with guidance on how to determine their eligibility for and the amount of the employee retention credit they may claim for the first and second calendar quarters of 2021.

 

What the IRS Thinks You Need to Know About Repayment of Deferred Payroll Taxes

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The IRS published in its e-News for Tax Professionals on March 13th the following guidance on repaying of the employee 2020 deferred social security taxes in 2021.  This update includes the provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act signed by President Biden.

The Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act allowed employers to defer payment of the employer’s share of Social Security tax. IRS Notice 2020-65 allowed employers to defer withholding and payment of the employee’s Social Security taxes on certain wages paid in calendar year 2020. Employers must pay back these deferred taxes by their applicable dates.

The employee deferral applied to people with less than $4,000 in wages every two weeks, or an equivalent amount for other pay periods. It was optional for most employers, but it was mandatory for federal employees and military service members. Repayment of the employee’s portion of the deferral started Jan. 1, 2021, and will continue through Dec. 31, 2021. Payments made by Jan 3, 2022, will be timely because Dec. 31, 2021, is a holiday. The employer should send repayments to the IRS as they collect them. If the employer does not repay the deferred portion on time, penalties and interest will apply to any unpaid balance.

Employers can make the deferral payments through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) or by credit or debit card, money order or with a check. These payments must be separate from other tax payments to ensure they are applied to the deferred payroll tax balance. IRS systems won’t recognize the payment if it is with other tax payments or sent as a deposit. EFTPS will soon have a new option to select deferral payment. The employer selects deferral payment and then changes the date to the applicable tax period for the payment. Employers can visit  EFTPS.gov, or call 800-555-4477 or 800-733-4829 for details.

If the employee no longer works for the organization, the employer is responsible for repayment of the entire deferred amount. The employer must collect the employee’s portion using their own recovery methods.

Join us on March 24, 2021 at 10:00 am Pacific for this information-packed webinar

Be sure to register for our first payroll lecture/webinar of the year.  The topic is the 2021 Form 941 and is being held on Wednesday, March 24th starting at 10:00 am Pacific.  Click here for more details and to register.  Use coupon code CJYFRQA6 at check out to receive a 10% discount as a Payroll 24/7 BLOG FOLLOWER.  The webinar is pending approval by the APA for 1.5 RCHs.

 

2021 Payroll Lecture Series Has Begun

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I have schedule my first payroll lecture webinar to kick off the 2021 series.  My first topic is the 2021 Form 941.  The lecture will be held on Wednesday March 24, 2021 starting at 10:00 am Pacific time.  The lecture covers:

  • What’s New for 2021
  • Families First Act: Extension of existing credits into 2021 for Paid Sick Leave and Paid Family Leave
  • CARES Act: Status of  deferring employer’s and employee’s social Security
  • IRS Form 7200: Purpose for the form and how it applies to you in 2021
  • Line by line review of the latest Revised Form 941

Register on my website.  Use coupon code CJYFRQA6 at check out to receive a 10% as one of my blog followers.

The webinar has been submitted to the APA for approval for 1.5 RCHs.

Join us on March 24, 2021 at 10:00 am Pacific for this information-packed webinar

IRS Advises on Filing new Form 941-X

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The latest version of Form 941-X and its instructions are now in the draft stage. Although scheduled to be finalized in late September the IRS has issued some advice concerning using the form. This advice appeared in the e-news for Payroll Professionals issued on August 25 and states:

The newest version of the Form 941-X (to allow for corrections to the new lines added to the Quarter 2 Form 941) is expected in late September. In the meantime, for 2020:

  1. If adjusting Quarter 1 or earlier, you may use the existing Form 941-X.
  2. If adjusting Quarter 2 (or later) and not making any increase or decrease to the employer share of social security tax or to any of the new COVID-related lines that were added to the Quarter 2 Form 941, the IRS strongly recommends not using the existing Form 941-X, but rather waiting for the new Form 941-X revision to be released.
  3. If adjusting Quarter 2 (or later) and making any increase or decrease to the employer share of social security tax, or to any of the new COVID-related lines, do not use the existing Form 941-X; instead, wait for the new Form 941-X revision.
  4. Please do not send a Form 941 with “Amended” (or similar notation) written on the form.

If you have already done either of 3-4 above, wait for correspondence to find out if the IRS was able to process the tax return or had to reject it. Given the backlog of paper forms and correspondence due to COVID-19, the IRS is unable to estimate when correspondence will go out.