The Internal Revenue Service released information on how employees now have until the end of the year to repay any payroll taxes they deferred from last year.
Former President Trump issued a presidential memorandum last August allowing Social Security taxes to be deferred for the rest of 2020, but under the order they had to be repaid by April 30, 2021. The coronavirus relief package that Congress passed last month extended the repayment period until the end of this year.
Relatively few companies actually implemented the payroll deferral for their employees because there was no guarantee that the deferred payroll taxes would ultimately be forgiven by Congress. However, federal employees and military service members were still required to accept the payroll tax deferral, meaning those taxpayers will be facing smaller paychecks later this year.
Mike Hendrickson is a vice president at Skillsoft, where he is a subject matter expert on the IT and software development market space with a talent for distinguishing products, conveying value proposition, and driving growth through strategic marketing, promotion, media placement and partner support.
Tom Rosenbaum is a data analytics intern for AP Benefit Advisors.
Shagun Kumar is the managing director of TMF India, managing seven TMF Group offices across the country. He is a Chartered Accountant and a Certified Six Sigma Black Belt with more than 20 years of experience in multiple verticals including IT/ITeS, infrastructure, real estate, hospitality, knowledge management and media. He also has diverse regional and cultural experiences, having spent time in emerging regions, such as the Middle East and South-East Asia. Having been a CFO, he also believes in the immense potential of finance teams for driving businesses forward and enabling sustainable growth. Prior to joining TMF Group, Shagun spent time in consulting with Arthur Andersen and Grant Thornton and in the industry with General Electric and Microsoft.
In Notice 2021-11, the IRS on Tuesday explained how employers who deferred payroll taxes on behalf of their employees can withhold and pay the deferred taxes throughout 2021 instead of just within the first four months of the year.
The deferral applied to employees who were paid less than $4,000 every two weeks, or an equivalent amount for other pay periods, with each pay period considered separately. The taxes, which are technically called Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance, or OASDI, are calculated at 6.2 percent of employees’ wages.
Notice 2021-11 makes changes to last year’s Notice 2020-65 to reflect the extended payment period. Payments made by Jan. 3, 2022, will be considered to be timely because Dec. 31, 2021, is a legal holiday. However, any penalties, interest and additions to tax will now start to apply on Jan. 1, 2022, for any unpaid balances
The IRS cautioned that employees could see their deferred taxes being collected immediately, so employees should check with their organization’s payroll point of contact on what their collection schedule will be.
