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.
Dan Iskra an assistant vice president in Group Benefits at MetLife, responsible for the development and management of disability and absence management products. Dan joined MetLife in 2007 and has held various roles within the company primarily supporting the product development and finance organizations. During his tenure with MetLife, Dan has been instrumental in driving key strategies impacting the company’s growth in the disability and absence market.
Operation HOPE Chief Executive John Hope Bryant talks about how the Community Reinvestment Act influenced him at the age of 9 and eventually led to the founding of his nonprofit, which works with banks to help communities in need. But he says the 1977 law is outdated.
John Hope Bryant is founder, chairman and chief executive of Operation HOPE Inc., the largest nonprofit dedicated to providing financial literacy, financial inclusion and economic empowerment tools and services for youth and adults. He is the author of "Up From Nothing: The Untold Story of How We (All) Succeed."
Bryant is also chairman and CEO of Bryant Group Ventures and the Promise Homes Company, the largest minority-controlled owners of institutional-quality, single-family residential rental homes in the U.S. Bryant is an American entrepreneur, author, philanthropist and prominent thought leader on financial inclusion, economic empowerment and financial dignity.
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.
