Vision Payroll

The Vermont Commissioner of Taxes has mandated the electronic filing of Forms W-2 and 1099 and the accompanying Employers Annual Withholding Reconciliation (Form WH 434) beginning with the calendar year 2010 submissions.

This mandate is effective for:

• Employers who will remit 25 or more W-2 and/or 1099 forms for 2010.
• Payroll Filing Services and accountants who prepare W-2 forms and annual reconciliations for multiple taxpayers.

The Vermont Department of Taxes’ new online Electronic Filing Service for Form W-2, Form 1099, and Form WH-434 can be accessed here.

Electronic Filing Available Soon

This service will be available for use beginning in February 2011.

Contact Vision Payroll for Assistance

Contact Vision Payroll immediately for assistance in complying with the new Vermont electronic filing mandate.

Monday, February 21, 2011 will be Washington’s Birthday, a federal holiday. Although the offices of Vision Payroll will be open and payrolls will be processed, most banks will be closed in observance of the holiday.

Date Paid	Process Deadline
2/21/2011	2/16/2011
2/22/2011	2/17/2011
2/23/2011	2/18/2011

Payroll Dates May Be Affected By Washington’s Birthday

Payrolls dated February 21 will be paid February 18 unless a previous change in schedule has been submitted. Payrolls submitted after these processing deadlines will be pushed back until the next available processing day. No changes are required for payrolls dated February 24.

Memorial Day Is Next Federal Holiday

The next federal holiday will be Monday, May 30, 2011, Memorial Day. Contact Vision Payroll as soon as possible to make changes to or for questions on your processing schedule.

An employer surcharge is not in effect for Q1 2011 in South Dakota.

UI Trust Fund Balance Determines if Surcharge Is in Effect

The surcharge automatically goes into effect when the UI Trust Fund balance is below $11 million at the end of any quarter. The balance was $26.4 million on December 31, 2010.

Higher Wage Base in Effect for 2011

As previously announced, the taxable wage base increased from $10,000 for 2010 to $11,000 for 2011.

Contact Vision Payroll for Further Information

Contact Vision Payroll for further questions on the South Dakota employer surcharge.

The unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage point to 9.0% in January, while nonfarm payroll employment changed little (+36,000), the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported recently. Employment rose in manufacturing and in retail trade but was down in construction and in transportation and warehousing. Employment in most other major industries changed little over the month.

Household Survey Data

The unemployment rate (9.0%) declined by 0.4 percentage point for the second month in a row. The number of unemployed persons decreased by about 600,000 in January to 13.9 million, while the labor force was unchanged. (Based on data adjusted for updated population controls.

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (8.8%), whites (8.0%), and Hispanics (11.9%) declined in January. The unemployment rates for adult women (7.9%), teenagers (25.7%), and blacks (15.7%) were little changed. The jobless rate for Asians was 6.9%, not seasonally adjusted.

The number of job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs fell from 8.9 to 8.5 million in January. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) edged down to 6.2 million and accounted for 43.8% of the unemployed.

After accounting for the annual adjustment to the population controls, the employment-population ratio (58.4%) rose in January, and the labor force participation rate (64.2%) was unchanged.

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) declined from 8.9 to 8.4 million in January. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.

In January, 2.8 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, up from 2.5 million a year earlier. (These data are not seasonally adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.

Among the marginally attached, there were 1.0 million discouraged workers in January, about the same as a year earlier. (These data are not seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. The remaining 1.8 million persons marginally attached to the labor force had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities.

This week’s question comes from Christina, an HR director. We use Publication 1494 to determine the amount of wages exempt from levy. Publication 1494 is usually available in December for the following year. When will the 2011 Publication 1494 be released? Answer: 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)), is used to calculate the amount of wages and other income exempt from levies for delinquent taxes and was recently released by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Use New Publication 1494 for Levies Issued in 2011

In addition to levies issued in 2011, employers use the revised amounts to calculate the exempt amount if the employee should provide a revised statement showing a change in filing status or exemptions. The amounts have increased slightly over the amounts used for levies issued in 2010.

Vision Payroll Can Assist in Publication 1494 Calculations

Contact Vision Payroll for assistance in automating the calculation of the exemption and levy amounts on employees’ paychecks.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending January 29, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 415,000, a decrease of 42,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 457,000. The 4-week moving average was 430,500, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 429,500.

Advance Seasonally Adjusted Insured Unemployment Rate Decreases

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.1% for the week ending January 22, a decrease of 0.1 percentage points from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 3.2%.

Advance Seasonally Adjusted Insured Unemployment Decreases

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending January 22 was 3,925,000, a decrease of 84,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 4,009,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,929,500, a decrease of 50,500 from the preceding week’s revised average of 3,980,000.

Employers may unknowingly trigger risks of labor violation penalties and fines by improperly classifying individuals as independent contractors. By doing so, employers may also be denying workers certain employee benefits (e.g., overtime and the federal Family Medical Leave Act). In fact, a 2007 Cornell University study had estimated the average unemployment insurance taxable wages (from 2002-2005) that were left underreported due to employers misclassifying workers as independent contractors was $4.28 billion for the state of New York alone.

Classify Employees and Independent Contractors Correctly

Employers need to take the following steps to respond proactively to recent changes:

• Become aware of developments and efforts relating to the “Worker Classification Initiative,”
• Know the various types of tests such as the 20-factor test used by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to distinguish between employees and independent contractors, and
• Take certain immediate actions in light of increased enforcement by the US Department of Labor.

Find Out More About Conducting Your Contractor Classification Check-ups Now

For more information, be sure to read the featured article by the HR pros at MyHRSupportCenter, Time to Conduct Your Contractor Classification Check-ups. If you’re not yet signed up or would like a free trial of MyHRSupportCenter, contact Vision Payroll today.

The Arizona Department of Economic Security has announced the taxable wage base for 2011. The wage base will remain at $7,000 for 2011.

Some Tax Rates Adjusted Slightly for 2011

Employer rates will go from a low 0.02% for employers with a positive ratio of 13% or more to a high of 5.86% for employers with a negative ratio of 13% or more. The new employer rate remains at 2.00% for 2011.

Find Out the Wage Base for All States by Visiting the Vision Payroll Unemployment Taxable Wage Base Page

Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on Arizona unemployment taxable wage base or visit our Unemployment Taxable Wage Base page.