Vision Payroll

This week’s question comes from Elizabeth, a small-business owner. We just hired a part-time employee who is seventy years old. He’s already collecting social security benefits so I’m not sure if I should still withhold it from his wages. At what age does social security withholding stop? Answer: There is no age beyond which employers are no longer required to withhold social security or Medicare taxes, which are also known as FICA or OASDI. Employers must continue to withhold social security and Medicare taxes and pay the employer’s portion even if the employee is collecting social security or is eligible for Medicare. The Social Security Administration will recalculate benefits and may increase them after retirement if the additional earnings result in a benefits increase. Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on social security and Medicare tax withholding.

This week’s question comes from Carolyn, a business owner. I read recently about statutory employees and would like to find out if some of our new hires would qualify as statutory employees. Can you tell me more about statutory employees? Answer: Common law considers some workers employees and some independent contractors. By statute, some independent contractors are treated as employees for employment tax purposes.

There are four categories of independent contractors that might be statutory employees:

1. A driver who distributes beverages (other than milk) or meat, vegetable, fruit, or bakery products; or who picks up and delivers laundry or dry cleaning, if the driver is your agent or is paid on commission.
2. A full-time life insurance sales agent whose principal business activity is selling life insurance or annuity contracts, or both, primarily for one life insurance company.
3. An individual who works at home on materials or goods that you supply and that must be returned to you or to a person you name, if you also furnish specifications for the work to be done.
4. A full-time traveling or city salesperson who works on your behalf and turns in orders to you from wholesalers, retailers, contractors, or operators of hotels, restaurants, or other similar establishments. The goods sold must be merchandise for resale or supplies for use in the buyer’s business operation. The work performed for you must be the salesperson’s principal business activity.

If the independent contractor must perform the services personally as an explicit or implicit clause of the service contract, if the independent contractor does not have a substantial investment in the non-transportation facilities property and equipment, and the services are performed for the same payer on a continuing basis, then the payer must withhold social security and Medicare tax from payments to contractors.

For workers in categories 1 and 4 above who have payments subject to social security and Medicare tax under these rules, the payments are also considered wages for federal unemployment (FUTA) purposes. Payments to workers in categories 2 and 3 above are never considered wages for FUTA purposes.

Payments to statutory employees are never subject to federal income tax withholding.

Report payments to statutory employees on Form W-2, box 1, box 3 (to the wage limit), and box 5. Be sure to check the box 13 “Statutory employee” checkbox on the Form W-2. Statutory employees report the amount from Form W-2, box 1 on Form 1040, Schedule C, line 1 and complete the checkbox on that line. They may also deduct related business expenses on Schedule C, to the extent allowable by law.

Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on statutory employees.

This week’s question comes from Rachel, a business owner. I have been running payroll with almost the exact same hours every week for the last few months. In the last few weeks, the payroll cost was several thousand dollars more each week than a month ago. Why did my payroll cost increase? Answer: There are at least three employer taxes with wage caps that are often fully paid by the end of the calendar year for some or all employees. They are the social security portion of FICA or OASDI tax, federal unemployment tax (FUTA), and state unemployment tax (SUTA). Social security had a wage limit of $102,000 ($106,800 in 2009), FUTA has a $7,000 limit in each year, and the SUTA limit varies by state from a low of $7,000 to more than $35,000. At the start of a new calendar year those taxes must again be paid by the employer. With a combined tax rate of over 7% at a minimum, a $100,000 weekly payroll could easily have an increase of between $5,000 and $10,000 in employer payroll tax liability at the start of a new calendar year. Vision Payroll can work with you to find ways to legally minimize your employer tax liability. Contact Vision Payroll today for more information.

This is one in a continuing series on the 2008 Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, which employers must generally furnish to employees no later than February 2, 2009. Forms mailed on the due date are considered furnished if properly addressed. Employers unable to meet that deadline may file a request for extension of time to furnish the forms. Today we review Box 7, social security tips.

Box 7 shows the amount of tips reported by employees. In many situations, the cash wages paid are insufficient to collect the entire amount of social security and Medicare tax. Reported tips must still be shown in this box, even if social security or Medicare tax was not withheld on them. For 2008, the combined total of Boxes 3 and 7 cannot exceed $102,000. The reported tips should be included with amounts reported in Box 1, wages, tips, other compensation and Box 5, Medicare wages and tips. Since social security benefits are based on the amount of social security tips reported to the Social Security Administration (SSA), it is important that employees periodically review their social security earnings record and provide the SSA with the Form W-2 to update any incorrectly posted earnings records.

The next topic in this continuing series will be Box 8, allocated tips. Contact Vision Payroll with any questions on the 2008 Form W-2.

This is one in a continuing series on the 2008 Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, which employers must generally furnish to employees no later than February 2, 2009. Forms mailed on the due date are considered furnished if properly addressed. Employers unable to meet that deadline may file a request for extension of time to furnish the forms. Today we review Box 4, social security tax withheld.

Box 4 shows the total amount of employee social security tax withheld, including the amount withheld on tips. It does not include any employer contribution toward social security on the employee’s behalf. Since the 2008 rate was 6.2% and the taxable wage base was $102,000, the amount in this box should not exceed $6,324. If the employer paid the employee’s share of such taxes rather than withholding them, the tax must be grossed up and included in boxes 1, 3, and 5.

The next topic in this continuing series will be Box 5, Medicare wages and tips. Contact Vision Payroll with any questions on the 2008 Form W-2.

This is one in a continuing series on the 2008 Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, which employers must generally furnish to employees no later than February 2, 2009. Forms mailed on the due date are considered furnished if properly addressed. Employers unable to meet that deadline may file a request for extension of time to furnish the forms. Today we review Box 3, social security wages.

Box 3 shows the amount wages paid subject to social security tax. It does not include social security tips reported in box 7 or allocated tips reported in box 8. Wages should be reduced by amounts withheld for non-taxable benefits elected under §125 plans, certain clergy housing allowances, and third-party sick pay after the end of six calendar months after the calendar month that the employee last worked for the employer. For 2008, the combined total of boxes 3 and 7 cannot exceed $102,000. Since social security benefits are based on the amount of social security wages reported to the Social Security Administration (SSA), it is important that employees periodically review their social security earnings record and provide the SSA with the Form W-2 to update any incorrectly posted earnings records.

The next topic in this continuing series will be Box 4, social security tax withheld. Contact Vision Payroll with any questions on the 2008 Form W-2.

This week’s question comes from Janet, a sales rep: I read before that the wage base for 2008 was $102,000. I’ve made over $104,000, but FICA tax is still being withheld. Why didn’t my FICA tax deduction stop? Answer: Even though your gross wages are over $104,000, the FICA tax deduction doesn’t stop until FICA taxable wages reach $102,000 and FICA tax withheld reaches $6,324. Some wage deductions such as cafeteria or §125 plan deductions reduce the amount of FICA taxable wages. So, even though your gross earnings are over $102,000, FICA tax must be withheld until the maximum withholding is reached. Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on the Social Security wage base.

This week’s question comes from Becca, a sales rep: I read before that the wage base for 2008 was $102,000. I made over $90,000 at my first job and have earned more than $30,000 at my new job. Why didn’t my FICA tax deduction stop? Answer: The wage base generally must be applied on an employer-by employer basis. Regardless of how much you’ve earned at previous jobs, most employers must withhold the maximum tax again. There are some exceptions, including successor employers and common paymasters, but the general rule is you must reach the maximum again at your second job to stop the withholding. Even though the employer must pay the full tax and withhold it from the employee, amounts withheld above the maximum can be claimed as a credit on Form 1040. For tax year 2008, enter any excess FICA tax withheld by two or more employers on line 65 of Form 1040 and reduce your balance due or increase your overpayment by the amount of the excess. Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on the Social Security wage base.

This week’s question comes from Matt, a sales rep: Every week there’s a deduction for FICA on my paycheck. Two weeks ago, the deduction was lower than usual and last week there was no deduction at all. Why did my FICA tax deduction stop? Answer: The FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act) tax is related to Social Security’s Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program, commonly called Social Security. Under this program, there is a cap on benefits based on a maximum earnings level, called the wage base. For 2008, the wage base is $102,000 and for 2009 it is scheduled to increase to $106,800. At retirement, using current law, benefit calculations are limited to earnings at or below the wage base. Therefore, no tax is withheld on earnings above the wage base, effectively limiting the maximum withholding to $6,324 in 2008. Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on the Social Security wage base.

Are you ready to make a higher contribution to your retirement plan in 2009? Did your company establish an HSA and you’re not sure how much you can put away? Do you need to know the maximum Social Security tax that can be withheld? The election results are in and so are most of the 2009 inflation adjustments for payroll facts and figures. We’ve collected what you’ll need and added them to our 2007 and 2008 presentation and now you can get them all in one place. Click Tutorials, then Important Facts and Figures. We’ll update them as needed so you can always visit VisionPayroll.com when you need the latest results.