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.
Janna Hurd is a market developer at Thrivent, a Fortune 500 financial services organization, whose primary focus is recruiting new financial advisors to the organization.
For over 20 years, she has worked in retirement and financial consulting. She holds an MBA in International Business and Finance from Sam Houston State University, as well as various financial and insurance licenses. Her passion is financial literacy, and she hopes that her work in various communities will build stronger families and futures.
Ryan Mandell is the director of claims performance for Mitchell's Auto Physical Damage division. He works hand-in-hand with insurance executives and material damage leaders to provide actionable insights and consultative direction for their claims organizations. Prior to joining Mitchell, Mandell was director of Northern Operations for B&R Auto Wrecking, a manager for Precision Collision Auto Body, and a claims representative for Progressive Insurance. He frequently speaks at industry events on trends in auto insurance, collision repair and vehicle complexity and has been quoted in publications including The New York Times, Wired UK, Road & Track and Automotive News.
Phil Strazzulla is the Founder of SelectSoftware Reviews, a website dedicated to helping HR teams find and buy the right HR software through free, in depth advice and analysis. Phil started his career working in venture capital before getting his MBA at Harvard Business School.
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.
