IRS issues guidance on repayment of deferred payroll taxes

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.

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.

CORONAVIRUS IMPACT: ADDITIONAL COVERAGE
Leslie Bowen

Leslie helps Financial Services companies transform how they connect with their customers using the Salesforce platform. Prior to joining Salesforce, Leslie was a Digital Marketer and Software Product Manager at consumer lending FinTech startups.

Geoff Green

Geoff Green serves as the Global Head for Mortgage and Lending at Salesforce. Geoff works with leading financial services organizations across all regions spanning mortgage, consumer lending, fintech and process optimization. Geoff brings a focus on borrower experience, borrower driven strategy, AI, and regulatory compliance within the context of growth and productivity. Geoff has extensive industry experience having served as an executive at the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). Geoff received an MPA from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, and played Football at Ithaca College where he received his undergraduate degree.

Commuters walk across London Bridge against a backdrop of Tower Bridge.
Michael Cohn
February 18, 2020 3:13 PM

The Financial Reporting Council issued guidance Tuesday about the disclosure of risks surrounding the coronavirus, and is discussing with audit firms whether the virus will affect their ability to review audits in China.

1 Min Read

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

Advertisement
irs-headquarters-american-eagle-sign.jpg
IRS headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

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.