Jan 5, 2018 / by

The Payroll Report: Jan. 2 to Jan. 5


 

PayClock110917

Here is a roundup of payroll issues covered in the last week:

Federal

Employers may start the electronic filing of 2018 Affordable Care Act information returns Jan. 22, the IRS said Jan. 4. The forms are  1094-B, 1094-C, 1095-B, and 1095-C.

The IRS also said that verification codes are to appear on about 59 million 2017 Forms W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, as part of the IRS’s pilot of a fraud-prevention program. Ten payroll service providers are to use the codes: ADP, Ceridian, Interlogic Outsourcing, Intuit, National Finance Center, Paychex, Paycom, Payroll People, PrimePay, and Ultimate Software.

The IRS had no updates on guidance for income tax withholding under the new tax law, said Scott Mezistrano, agency representative for industry stakeholder engagement and outreach.

The IRS released the 2018 version of Publication 1494, “Tables for Figuring Amount Exempt From Levy on Wages, Salary and Other Income (Forms 668-W(ACS), 668-W(c)(DO) and 668-W(ICS)).” The tables are to be used with Form 668-W, Notice of Levy on Wages, Salary and Other Income, on which an affected employee indicates how many personal exemptions are to be claimed.

Under the tax-code overhaul that was signed into law Dec. 22 (Pub. L. 115-97), personal exemptions were suspended from 2018 to Jan. 1, 2026. The 2017 Forms W-4 may be used under the new tax law until further guidance is released, the IRS said.

State

Wyoming and Georgia released unemployment tax rates for 2018. New Mexico released its workers’ compensation payroll assessment rate for 2018.

By Jamie Rathjen

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