[Revenews] LISTSERV May 2009

Tue Jun 2 10:29:19 PDT 2009

Payroll Tax News Listserv

May 2009 Edition

Please share this information with anyone who may benefit from it...

I. Reminders:

A. Credit memos: 

Be sure to review credit notices you receive from the payroll reporting
agencies. Overpayments can occur for a variety of reasons, including
payments that had been incorrectly applied and tax incorrectly reported
on the form OQ, such as not including 1099 withholding. Failure to do so
can result in payments that were truly meant as tax payments being
inadvertently refunded back to you.  Billings will also be issued for
taxes that had been refunded in error. 

It is important to ensure that there truly is an overpayment when you
request a refund. If there are any questions, feel free to contact the
agency that sent the credit notice for further explanation. 

B. Amended Returns: 

When submitting an amended return, be sure to provide an explanation of
any substantial changes and the documentation for those changes if
available.
For example, if a change occurred due to incorrectly withholding taxes
for Oregon, be sure to include a copy of the W2C that was issued.    

This information will allow for amended returns to be processed quickly
and correctly.  

II. Important information: 

A. Withholding tax tables: 
There are no changes to the Oregon Withholding Tax tables due to the
federal stimulus changes. The Withholding Tax Tables effective January
1, 2007 will remain in effect.

B. Federal Help with Health Insurance Premiums: 

People who have lost their jobs after August 31, 2008 may qualify for
this assistance. 

The federal government will pay 65 percent of monthly health insurance
premiums for nine months for certain laid off workers who are eligible
to continue their employer health plan under federal COBRA law or
Oregon's state continuation law. The employer has an important role in
this program and the Oregon Insurance Division has details at:
http://insurance.oregon.gov/consumer/consumer-issues/federal-stimulus-in
fo/federal-stimulus-info.html. 

If you have any questions, please contact the division's consumer
advocates: 1-888-877-4894.

Additional News: W2 Reporting

Effective for the calendar year 2009, all businesses with 250 or more
employees and payroll service providers are required to report W-2
information electronically [OAR 150-316.202(3)
<http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/rules/OARS_100/OAR_150/150_316.html> ].
This new system is called iWire, Income and Wage Information Return
E-services. The new system should be available to receive files by July,
2009.

The Oregon Department of Revenue follows the same file specification for
the W-2 information as the Social Security Administration with some
modification. Visit the Social Security Administration's website
<http://www.ssa.gov/employer/pub.htm>  for more information about their
EFW2 and EFW2C programs. 

The transmittal due date is March 31, 2010. For businesses that close
throughout 2009, W2s must be filed within 30 days of the business's
closure. Because the electronic system is not yet available, you may
hold filing W2s for closing businesses until after the system is
available for you without penalty. 

Forms W-2 are filed electronically only; paper W-2s or other forms of
media are normally not accepted unless specifically requested to
reconcile an account.  Also, forms 1099 are not required to be
electronically filed with Oregon Department of Revenue at this time.

NOTE: Large employers that do not use a payroll service and have fewer
than 250 employees may also file their W-2s electronically if they
choose, but will be required to file electronically starting with 2010
forms. Small employers (less than 50 employees) may also choose to file
electronically now, but will be required to starting with 2011 forms.

Please visit our website at
http://www.oregon.gov/sites/DOR/PERTAX/iwire_info.page, call us at 503
945-8091, or e-mail us at iWire.dor at state.or.us  for further
information. 

III. Education:

There is still plenty of time to participate in the Four Part Seminar
entitled "NAVIGATING THE TAX MAZE:  A 4-PART SERIES FOR NEW BUSINESSES
AND EMPLOYERS ON TAXES AND OTHER PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS" 

Sponsored by: Lewis and Clark Law School Business Center

Location: Portland Development Commission

Times:    4:00pm-7:00pm

The next class on June 4th is entitled "SSA/IRS Wage Reporting Tips"
(IRS and Social Security)

The final class on June 18th will be "Combined State Payroll Tax
Reporting" (Department of Revenue, Employment and Workers Benefit Fund)

For further information, class schedules, and to register, go to Lewis
and Clarks Small Business Legal Clinic site @
http://law.lclark.edu/org/sblc, or call 503 768-6940   

***The Payrolltax-News e-mail list provides employers with complete and
up-to-date payroll tax information. Employers can self-subscribe here
<http://listsmart.osl.state.or.us/mailman/listinfo/payrolltax-news> .
Representatives in the Business Division will send information to
employers through this list. Employers can request additional
information by e-mailing payroll.help.dor at state.or.us
<mailto:payroll.help.dor at state.or.us> .

As a standard practice, e-mail sent from the department will be in text
form only. Department of Revenue will not open attachments because of
the possibility of viruses.

Questions about list content and subscription problems should be
directed to the list-owner:  

Cathy Tavares
Oregon Dept of Revenue
Cathleen.M.Tavares at state.or.us
503-945-8762 <mailto:Cathleen.M.Tavares at state.or.us> 

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