[OSSSA218-Fire-All] Update on State withholding on Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders

Thu Dec 4 15:20:58 PST 2008

Good afternoon,

After learning from an employer about the answer they received from the Department of Revenue I check with my contact and here is an update to the previous e-mail concerning the state withholding on the $30.

Have a great day!

Karen Park
State Social Security Coordinator
Oregon PERS
503 603-7633
karen.park at state.or.us

SL2

>>> On 12/4/2008 at 2:49 PM, in message 
    Good  afternoon Karen,   

        I finally have the information  you need. When I originally e-mailed you back on 11/06/08 regarding the volunteer firefighters, the information I gave you was correct. We had not yet adopted the federal exclusion.   

        I have spoken with the payroll  program manager and it has been determined that we will start following the  federal guidelines and allow the exclusion up to the first $30.00 a month for any monies not reimbursed by a qualified plan for emergency personnel and EMT's.             

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Karen Park  

I  apologize for not getting back to you  sooner. I checked with my sources here and was told that we have not  adopted the IRS change that allows the first $30.00 to be exempt.                            

The rules   still remain the  same:                                 
Volunteers are defined as someone who receives NO compensation of any kind for performing   services for a group or  organization.           

Any type of compensation, whether it is monetary  (cash or per diem payment) or non monetary (movie tickets, ski lift  tickets) is considered wages and therefore taxable.                            

  If the person is employed temporarily  as an emergency forest firefighter, wages are exempt from withholding.  (OAR 150 316.162).  Otherwise, any compensation received is considered to be taxable wages for withholding tax purposes.                               

Oregon does not always follow the federal treatment.                               

                                           -----Original  Message-----    

 I appreciate your  help   clarifying the state's position on the state    withholding for  this group   and issue. Employers are getting conflicting    answers  and are wanting to   be compliant.  

 As  indicated   by the information on the exclusion for volunteer firefighters and emergency responders, up to $30 for each month of  service during a calendar year may be excluded from income for income  tax, social security   and Medicare withholdings  
                                       _____       

                                 Further guidance   was given as follows:                

Hi Karen.      

I got further guidance  on the question about quarterly payments as it relates to Exclusion for Firefighters and    Emergency Responders. Here is the response:                                    

The frequency of  payment should be irrelevant. The way the statute is written, the  excludable amount is $30 for each month in which volunteer services were  performed.   It does not matter which months the volunteer worked in, or  even how much was earned in a particular month.                                           

If a volunteer serves  in   three  consecutive months, then a quarterly payment that  excludes up to $90 is appropriate; however, the exclusion could be  applied on a weekly, monthly, annual, etc., basis as well. If the  employee only provided  services in  one of the three months of the  quarter, then the exclusion can only be $30, regardless of total  earnings or services.                                        

                            Cheryl J. Powers                          
                            Manager -  Federal, State    and   Local Governments                     
                            Pacific Coast    Area                

                             Desk:    925-974-3827                
                            FAX:                925-9743845                

                       _____       

Thank you  and I look forward to hearing from   you. FYI.....We are looking at  the week of the 17th for the IRS phone   forum. It would be nice to have a  reply prior to the phone forum  

Karen Park    
State  Social Security Coordinator    
Oregon   PERS    
503    603-7633    
karen.park at state.or.us    

SL2                       

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