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.
Austin Talley, Founder and CEO of Everyware, is passionate about connecting with people and providing excellent customer satisfaction through innovative payment and communications solutions. He has over 20 years of experience in developing new businesses, leading sales teams, increasing market share, and growing the bottom line. Launched in 2015, his company provides services to more than 9,000 merchants across multiple verticals including healthcare, travel, utilities, not-for-profit, and automotive. The platform offers a simple, fast, and secure way to move money while enhancing the ability for merchants to communicate with their customers in real-time with text messaging. It saves them money by improving cash flow and reducing paper billing costs, chargebacks, and fraud. For more information about Everyware, visit Everyware.com or follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Adrienne Penta is the national head of wealth management at SCS Financial.
Previously, she served as principal of private banking and executive director of the Brown Brothers Harriman Center for Women & Wealth. She led the creation of the CW&W, which supports women as they create and manage wealth and seeks to create a dynamic and inclusive environment where women can engage in conversations about wealth, family and values. She also oversaw private banking marketing and sales enablement.
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.
