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The Families First Coronavirus Response Act And Form W
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act was signed into law on March 18, 2020, as the second major legislative initiative designed to address the COVID-19 pandemic. The Act, which is effective April 1 through December 31, 2020, addresses the impact of COVID-19 by providing expanded nutrition assistance, paid sick leave, enhanced unemployment insurance coverage, free coronavirus testing, and increased federal Medicaid funding.
On July 8, 2020, the IRS and the Treasury Department issued Notice 2020-54, providing guidance for employers when reporting the FFCRA wages. According to this Notice, employers need to report Qualified Sick Leave Wages and Qualified Family Leave Wages separately, either on Form W-2 2020 or in a statement provided with the Form W-2. The guidance also gives employers some optional language they can use in the Form W-2 2020 instructions for employees.
Employers that are subject to paid leave requirements need to ensure that their Form W-2 reporting meets the new requirements. In spite of additional efforts to maintain Form W-2 tracking and reporting in accordance with the FFCRA paid leave wages, this is necessary for ensuring payroll tax compliance and adhering to complex and changing tax regulations.
What Other Responsibilities Do I Have As An Employer
- Employers have many responsibilities beyond whats required for payroll. These include development and implementation of an employee safety program, posting required posters, providing breaks and meal periods, getting a minor work permit and authorizations when hiring workers under 18, and a number of others. Attending the Department of Labor and Industries workshops is highly recommended.
- You are also obligated to report all new employees to the Department of Social and Health Services. Instructions are available at
- Learn more about employer responsibilities in the and chapters of the Washington Small Business Guide.
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Take Time To Review Your Procedures
Remember to take time, whether on a quarterly , semi-annual or annual basis to review your payroll processes and make sure everything is accurate and working properly as well as looking for areas for improvement.
Even if you use payroll software, don’t assume that everything is running automatically and that you never need to look through the system again. Since mandatory payroll deduction errors can lead to fines and penalties from the IRS, its important to monitor your processes.
If through your review processes you find an error, are unsure of something or simply think you could benefit from outside input, you should never hesitate to ask for help. You can consult a payroll or HR expert, business accountant or tax advisor, depending on the kind of assistance you need. When in doubt, these professionals will be able to answer your questions or point you in the right direction to ensure your payroll deductions process are in the best shape possible.
Changes To Your Business Entity
If your business stops operating or the partner or proprietor dies
If your business stops operating or the partner or proprietor dies, you should do the following:
To find out how to fill out and file the T4 or T4A slips and Summary, you can do one of the following:
- see Guide RC4157, Deducting Income Tax on Pension and Other Income, and Filing the T4A Slip and Summary
If you change your legal status, restructure, or reorganize
If you change your legal status, restructure, or reorganize, we consider you to be a new employer. You may need a new business number and a new payroll program account. Call 1-800-959-5525to let us know if your business status has changed or will change in the near future.
Note
Amalgamations have different rules. For more information, see the next section, If your business amalgamates.
The following are examples of changes to a business status:
- You are the sole proprietor of a business and you decide to incorporate.
- You and a partner own a business. Your partner leaves the business and sells their half interest to you, making you a sole proprietor.
- A corporation sells its property division to another corporation.
- One corporation transfers all of its employees to another corporation.
If the situation just described does not apply, you must continue to deduct CPP/QPP, EI, and PPIP. You cannot take into consideration any deductions taken by the previous employer.
If your business amalgamates
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Information Necessary To Complete Form W
For each Form W-2, employers need to include information about their business:
- Employer ID Number,
- Businesss State Tax ID Number.
For each employee, employers need to update personal information:
- Social Security Number or other tax identification number,
- Name,
- Address.
It is necessary to provide information on total wages and withholding for each employee for last year:
- Total wages, tip income, and other compensation,
- Total Social Security wages,
- Social Security tips and allocated tips.
Information on Retirement Plans
In Box 12, for each Form W-2 employers need to indicate if each employee participates in a retirement plan or a nonqualified plan with a company, if this employee is a statutory employee, or if the person received third-party sick pay.
Information on Special Benefits
Box 13 of the Form W-2 requires information about deductions for employee benefit plans and other deductions that must be reported on the employees income tax return.
Control Number
Employers may want to add an internal control number on each Form W-2 if they are paying many employees.
How To Calculate Payroll Deductions
Calculating payroll deductions is the process of converting gross pay to net pay. To do this:
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How Can I Estimate Payroll Costs
- To calculate the cost of Washington states Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefit, use the Employment Security Departments calculator.
- For employees:
Depositing Mandatory Payroll Taxes
After you complete payroll, you must deposit the federal income taxes, social security, and Medicare funds that you withheld with the IRS. There are two deposit schedules semi-weekly or monthly for these payments. Learn more about the correct schedule for your business in IRS Publication 15-T. Remember to file your quarterly report on Form 941 or annually on Form 944 showing the wages youve paid, the tips your employees have reported to you, and your employment taxes. You will also need to comply with state tax deposit rules.
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Employees Of A Temporary
You may be the proprietor of a temporary-help service firm. Temporary-help service firms are service contractors who provide their employees to clients for assignments. The assignments may be temporary, depending on the clients needs.
Workers of these firms are usually employees of the firms. As a result, you have to deduct CPP contributions, EI premiums, and income tax from the amounts you pay them. You also have to remit these deductions and report the income and the deductions on a T4 slip.
If you or a person working for you is not sure of the workers employment status, either one of you can request a ruling to determine the status. If you are a business owner, you can use the Request a CPP/EI ruling service in My Business Account. For more information, go to My Business Account.
A worker can ask for a ruling by using the My Account service, at My Account for Individuals and selecting Submit documents and then You may be able to submit documents without a case or reference number.
For more information, see Guide RC4110, Employee or Self-Employed?
Impact Of Contribution Errors
If used improperly, some payroll software programs, in-house payroll programs, and bookkeeping methods can calculate unwarranted or incorrect refunds of CPP contributions for both employees and employers. The improper calculations treat all employment as if it were full-year employment, which incorrectly reduces both the employees and employers contributions.
For example, when a part-year employee does not qualify for the full annual exemption, a program may indicate that the employer should report a CPP overdeduction in box 22, Income tax deducted, of the T4 slip. This may result in an unwarranted refund of tax to the employee when the employee files their income tax and benefit return.
When employees receive refunds for CPP overdeductions, their pensionable service is adversely affected. This could affect their CPP income when they retire. In addition, employers who report such overdeductions receive a credit they are not entitled to because the employee worked for them for less than 12 months.
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Exception For Domestic Or Household Employees
IRS Publication 926 specifies an exception that employers do not have to withhold income taxes from the pay of domestic or household employees. However, depending on the circumstances, you may be responsible for paying Social Security, Medicare and/or unemployment taxes. Employers may withhold income taxes if the household employee requests that they do so.
References
State And Local Income Tax
Just like federal income tax, you will use gross pay as the base for the amount of state and local income tax to withhold. Each state sets these rates individually , so you will need to become familiar with the rules that apply to your location and employees. You should also make sure youre up to date on the latest payroll tax rates.
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What Is The Ltd Deduction On Paychecks
The long-term disability deduction covers a percentage of wages for employees who are injured or too sick to work for an extended period of time. When LTD is deducted pre-tax, employees pay slightly less for premiums, but are charged federal income tax on any benefits received. Post-tax LTD deductions, on the other hand, result in employees receiving slightly less take home pay each pay period, but their benefits arent subject to any further tax if they use them. Short-term disability is often taxed in the same manner.
This guide is intended to be used as a starting point in analyzing an employers payroll obligations and is not a comprehensive resource of requirements. It offers practical information concerning the subject matter and is provided with the understanding that ADP is not rendering legal or tax advice or other professional services.
Tax figures provided are as of the 2020 tax year
1Amount subject to withholding is governed by the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act.
Go deeper
The Tax Effects Of Paying Bonuses To Employees
Many employers may prefer paying bonuses to employees instead of giving raises. It’s easier to give bonuses in one year and not the next, rather than to give pay raises that are built into the employee’s base compensation. Bonuses are a great incentive for employees, but before you decide to hand them out, be sure you know the tax implications for your business and your employees.
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Cpp Coverage By An Employer Resident Outside Canada
If you are an employer who does not have a place of business in Canada, you can apply to have employment that you provide in Canada covered under the CPP. This coverage is optional. Even if your country does not have a social security agreement with Canada, you can apply for coverage by filling out Form CPT13, Application for an Employer Resident Outside Canada to Cover Employment in Canada Under the Canada Pension Plan.
Chapter 3 Employment Insurance Premiums
You have to deduct employment insurance premiums from each dollar of insurable earnings up to the yearly maximum. After you have deducted the maximum for the year, do not deduct any more premiums, even though the excess remuneration is still considered insurable. For 2020, the maximum annual insurable earnings are $54,200.
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Ei Premium Rate And Maximum
You have to deduct EI premiums from your employees insurable earnings. As an employer, you must contribute 1.4 times* the amount of the EI premiums that you deduct from your employees remuneration.
Each year, we determine both of the following:
- the maximum annual insurable earnings from which you deduct EI
- a premium rate that you use to calculate the amount to deduct from your employees .
Note
Different EI rates apply for employees working in Quebec because of the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan . See Employment in Quebec.
Example
$273.70
$469.20
You stop deducting EI premiums when the employees annual earnings reach the maximum insurable earnings or the maximum employee premium for the year .
The annual maximum for insurable earnings applies to each job the employee holds with different employers . If an employee leaves one employer during the year to start work with another employer, the new employer also has to deduct EI premiums without taking into account what the previous employer paid. This is the case even if the employee has paid the maximum premium amount during the previous employment. If your business went through a restructure or reorganization, see If you change your legal status, restructure or reorganize.
The employees EI premium rate for the next year can be found in the Payroll Deductions Tables, which are usually available in mid-December at Payroll.
Notes
Example
Hassans maximum premium is calculated as follows:
Total insurable earnings
$751.20
Employment In Canada By Certified Non
There is an exception to the withholding tax obligation for qualifying non-resident employers when they pay amounts to non-resident employees for performing the duties of an office or employment in Canada. In other words, a qualifying non-resident employer paying a qualifying non-resident employee working in Canada will not be required to withhold and remit any amount of tax to the CRA. For more information about the certification process or your obligations as a qualifying non-resident employer, go to Non-resident employer certification.
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Bonuses And White Collar Employees
Bonuses can be discretionary or non-discretionary for certain exempt employees. It’s important to know the difference, because non-discretionary bonuses may need to be included in overtime pay calculations.
A bonus is discretionary if it’s not expected. A non-discretionary bonus is one in which the employer sets specific criteria for the bonus and employees expect the bonus if they meet the criteria. If you give an employee a performance bonus at the end end of a year one time, that’s not discretionary. Holiday bonuses are considered discretionary. Another type of non-discretionary bonus is imposed by a contract, .
Employees who are executives, administrators, professionals, and outside sales employees are exempt from federal minimum wage and overtime pay requirements, as long as their income is above a specific level. As of January 1, 2020, you can use non-discretionary bonuses to satisfy up to 10% of the standard salary level for employees, to bring them up to the minimum salary level to keep their exempt status.
You may not use discretionary bonuses to satisfy any portion of the standard salary level. These bonuses are ones in which you as the employer retain the discretion of the fact of the payment and the amount. Non-discretionary bonuses must be added to weekly gross pay for overtime purposes for hourly employees and for exempt employees who are eligible for overtime.
Futa Tax Household Workers
For household workers you are subject to FUTA taxonly if you paid total cash wages of a $1,000or more for all household employees in any calendarquarter in the current or prior year.
A household worker is an employee who performshousehold work in a private home,local college club, or local fraternity,or sorority chapter.
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