Vision Payroll

New Year’s Day Holiday May Require Change in Processing Schedule

Friday, January 1, 2021 will be New Year’s Day, a federal holiday. The offices of Vision Payroll will close New Year’s Eve, Thursday December 31 at 3 pm EST and re-open Monday January 4, 2021. Most banks will also be closed in observance of the holiday. Payroll changes and hours must be submitted before the processing deadlines as listed below.

Payroll Dates May Be Affected by New Year’s Day

Payrolls dated January 1 will be paid December 31 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 January 6, 2021.

Bank Withdrawal Dates Will Change for Some Payrolls

For payrolls dated December 31, including those normally paid on Fridays, ACH withdrawals from clients’ accounts will occur on Wednesday, December 30. For payrolls dated January 4, 2021, ACH withdrawals from clients’ accounts will occur on Thursday, December 31. This is necessary to ensure timely crediting of employees’ accounts on the proper day.

UPS Will Limit Deliveries and Pickups

Due to heavy USPS and UPS delivery requirements as well as limited bank hours and staffing, we strongly recommend submitting payrolls during this time as early as practicable. Since the final bank processing for ACH transactions on December 31 is 1 pm EST, in order to ensure proper crediting of transactions for Monday, January 4, 2021, we recommend submitting payrolls dated Monday no later than 2 pm EST, Wednesday, December 30. Ground packages received by UPS on December 30 and December 31 do not ship from UPS until January 4 so we do not recommend submitting on that date any payrolls dated before January 5, 2021.

Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. Is Next Federal Holiday

The next federal holiday will be Monday, January 18, 2021, the Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. Contact Vision Payroll as soon as possible to make changes to or for questions on your processing schedule.

Friday, December 25, 2020 will be Christmas Day, a federal holiday. The offices of Vision Payroll will close Christmas Eve, Thursday December 24 at 2 pm EST and re-open Monday December 28. Most banks will also be closed in observance of the holiday. Payroll changes and hours must be submitted before the processing deadlines as listed below.

Payroll Dates May Be Affected by Christmas Day

Payrolls dated December 25 will be paid December 24 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 December 30.

Bank Withdrawal Dates Will Change for Some Payrolls

For payrolls dated December 24, including those normally paid on Fridays, ACH withdrawals from clients’ accounts will occur on Wednesday, December 23. For payrolls dated December 28, ACH withdrawals from clients’ accounts will occur on Thursday, December 24. This is necessary to ensure timely crediting of employees’ accounts on the proper day.

UPS Will Limit Deliveries and Pickups

Due to heavy USPS and UPS delivery requirements as well as limited bank hours and staffing, we strongly recommend submitting payrolls during this time as early as practicable. Since the final bank processing for ACH transactions on December 24 is 1 pm EST, in order to ensure proper crediting of transactions for Monday, December 28, we recommend submitting payrolls dated Monday no later than 2 pm EST, Wednesday, December 23. Ground packages received by UPS on December 24 do not ship from UPS until December 28 so we do not recommend submitting on that date any payrolls dated before December 29.

New Year’s Day Is Next Federal Holiday

The next federal holiday will be Friday, January 1, 2021, New Year’s Day. Contact Vision Payroll as soon as possible to make changes to or for questions on your processing schedule.

The Department of Revenue has made the new 2020 Health Insurance Responsibility Disclosure (HIRD) form available to taxpayers through the MassTaxConnect (MTC) web portal.

What is the HIRD Form?

The HIRD form is a state reporting requirement for Massachusetts Employers in 2020. The HIRD form collects employer level information about your employer sponsored insurance (ESI). The HIRD reporting is administered by MassHealth and the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) through the MTC web portal. The HIRD form will assist MassHealth in identifying members with access to an ESI who may be eligible for the MassHealth Premium Assistance Program.

Who is required to complete the HIRD Form?

State law requires every employer in Massachusetts with six or more employees to submit the HIRD form annually. If you are an employer who currently has or had six or more employees in any of the past 12 months, you are required to complete the form.

When will the form be due?

The form became available beginning November 15 and must be completed by December 15. The form must be filed electronically through your MTC account and the state will not accept paper forms.

How do I submit the HIRD form?

The HIRD reporting is administered by the DOR through the MTC web portal. The MTC is where employer-taxpayers file returns, forms, and make tax payments. To file your HIRD form, login to your MTC withholding account, on the Accounts tab choose Withholding Tax, and select the “File health insurance responsibility disclosure (HIRD)” hyperlink under the “I Want To” column. If you do not have an MTC account, or if you forgot your password or username, you may follow the instructions provided on the MTC web page or contact the DOR at (617)466-3940.

Can Vision Payroll help me with this filing?

The HIRD Form contains very specific information regarding your employer sponsored health insurance plan including eligibility criteria, employment categories, enrollment periods, and plan year dates. Unfortunately, Vision Payroll does not have access to the required benefit information. Furthermore, as we are a bulk filer of Massachusetts taxes, we do not have access to individual MTC login information. For help with your login credentials, please call the DOR at (617)466-3940.

If you do need assistance with the electronic filing of the form we are offering two options to our clients:

1. If you are required to file the HIRD Form (any employer with more than 6 employees at any time over the past 12 months) but do not offer an employer sponsored plan, we will file the form electronically on your behalf. Please complete all of Part 1 and Part 2, Question 1 of the 2020 HIRD Paper Form. Sign and date the form.
2. If you are required to file the HIRD Form and do offer an employer sponsored plan, Vision Payroll will file the electronic version of the form with all the relevant information about your employer sponsored health plans that you provide to us on the 2020 HIRD Paper Form.

Please note: the state will not accept a paper copy of this form.

The fee schedule to have Vision Payroll file on your behalf is on the 2020 HIRD Paper Form.

For more information about the 2020 HIRD form reporting requirements, please contact us at (978)840-1635.