Payroll Reminders for Year-end Reporting
As you finalize year-end payroll reports this month, below are a few reminders of filings, along with information on a new payroll EIN requirement for single-member LLC’s and new forms for correcting payroll returns.
A variety of forms are due to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), employees, and independent contractors on or before Monday, February 2, 2009, including Forms 940, 941, W-2, and 1099, along with the equivalent reports, if required, to state agencies. The due date is met for all reports if the form is properly addressed and mailed on or before the February 2 due date. Forms W-2 are due to the Social Security Administration (SSA), along with Form W-3, on or before Monday, March 2, 2009.
Related to single-member LLC’s, effective for wages paid after December 31, 2008, the IRS has recently issued regulations that will require a change in reporting employee wages if wages were previously reported in the single-member’s name and identification number rather than the LLC’s itself. The IRS now requires that you treat employees as employees of the LLC, rather than as the single-member’s direct employees; therefore, a separate EIN from the single-member’s EIN is now required for payroll reporting. Note, however, that if you already have an established EIN for your LLC, this EIN will suffice for payroll reporting also.
Lastly, for 2008 and prior corrections to Form 941, a Form 941c, Supporting Statement, was filed attached to the quarterly Form 941 during the period when the error was discovered. Beginning in 2009, the IRS has released a new series of forms titled Form 941-X, Adjusted Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return. This form is similar in nature to the Form 1040X filed by individuals when correcting a past return, as it directly changes the originally-filed form. These new forms will be released in January 2009 for use beginning with changes to the 2009 quarterly Forms 941.
If you have questions or would like more detailed information related to these or other year-end payroll issues, please contact the expert listed below at (800) 270-9629.
