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IRS Patrol: IRS Releases Draft W-2 Form for 2011; Announces Relief for Employers (Optional Reporting of the Cost of Health Coverage in 2011)
engraving of the US Treasury building in 1804
Stacie says: Doesn’t good news come in three’s? Well here is good news number two for the day – the IRS announced that it will defer the new requirement for employers to report the cost of coverage under an employer-sponsored group health plan. The reporting is now optional in 2011.
WASHINGTON — The IRS today issued a draft Form W-2 for 2011, which employers use to report wages and employee tax withholding. The IRS also announced that it will defer the new requirement for employers to report the cost of coverage under an employer-sponsored group health plan, making that reporting by employers optional in 2011.
The draft Form W-2 includes the codes that employers may use to report the cost of coverage under an employer-sponsored group health plan. The Treasury Department and the IRS have determined that this relief is necessary to provide employers the time they need to make changes to their payroll systems or procedures in preparation for compliance with the new reporting requirement. The IRS will be publishing guidance on the new requirement later this year.
Although reporting the cost of coverage will be optional with respect to 2011, the IRS continues to stress that the amounts reportable are not taxable. Included in the Affordable Care Act passed by Congress in March, the new reporting requirement is intended to be informational only, and to provide employees with greater transparency into overall health care costs.
The IRS Announces: No More Paper Coupons It’s Time to Learn How To Use EFTPS
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Stacie Clifford Kitts, CPA
It’s time for those taxpayers who are fighting the electronic age to step it up. The IRS today issued proposed Regs to discontinue the use of paper coupons as early as next year. If you try to send in a paper coupon after December 31, 2010, there wont be anyone at the Treasury Department to process it. More information about the proposed Regs is presented below:
Proposed Regulations Expand the Use of Electronic Payment System and Discontinue Paper Coupons Next Year
Consistent with a Financial Management Service initiative announced in April of this year, the IRS today issued proposed regulations to significantly increase the number of electronic transactions between taxpayers and the federal government.
The proposed regulations (REG 153340-09) would eliminate the rules for making federal tax deposits by paper coupon because the paper coupon system will no longer be maintained by the Treasury Department after Dec. 31, 2010. The proposed regulations generally maintain existing rules for depositing federal taxes through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS).
Using EFTPS to make federal tax deposits provides substantial benefits to both taxpayers and the government. EFTPS users can make tax payments 24 hours a day, seven days a week from home or the office.
Deposits can be made online with a computer or by telephone. EFTPS also significantly reduces payment-related errors that could result in a penalty. The system helps taxpayers schedule dates to make payments even when they are out of town or on vacation when a payment is due. EFTPS business users can schedule payments up to 120 days in advance of the desired payment date.
Information on EFTPS, including how to enroll, can be found at EFTPS website or by calling EFTPS Customer Service at 1-800-555-4477.
Some businesses paying a minimal amount of tax may make their payments with the related tax return, instead of using EFTPS. More details regarding taxes required to be deposited using EFTPS, dollar thresholds and other specific requirements are in the proposed regulations.
Additional Information:
- Publication 4132, which explains the process of enrolling and paying via the Internet
- Publication 966, The Secure Way to Pay Your Federal Taxes for Businesses and Individuals
- Publication 4169, Tax Professional Guide to Electronic Federal Tax Payment System
- Publication 4320, EFTPS Toolkit, which contains PDF(s) and descriptions of EFTPS educational materials and their intended target audience, and is for use by tax professionals and financial institutions to assist in educating their clients on the benefits of EFTPS.
- Publication 4275, Express Enrollment for New Businesses
Electronic Payment Options Home Page
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