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Mize CPAs Year-End Payroll Packets
We will be sending out our year-end payroll packets by October 4, 2024. This packet requests information on vehicle usage for owners and employees utilizing company cars, shareholder life insurance and health insurance information for 2024. The due date for returning the information will be October 18, 2024.
State Withholding Frequency Change Letters
States will begin mailing out withholding deposit frequency letters in September 2024 for January 1, 2025 effective dates. Please be on the lookout for these letters and send them to your payroll processor so we can set up the change to take effect in the new year.
State Unemployment Tax Rate Notices
States will begin mailing out unemployment rate notices in September and October 2024 for the 2025 tax year. Please watch for these notices and send them to your payroll processor so we can get them in our payroll system.
Form I-9 Expiration Date Extended
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has updated the expiration date for Form I-9 to May 31, 2027. The form and instructions have not changed in any other way. USCIS encourages employers to update their systems as soon as possible to use the new Form I-9 with the new expiration date. However, either version can be used until July 31, 2026, which is the expiration date of the previously issued Form I-9.
E-Verify Login Will Require Email Address Beginning This Fall
The following information comes from e-verify.gov:
E-Verify staff are contacting browser users by phone and email to let them know their E-Verify account could be locked if they don’t take steps to prepare for the transition to Login.gov.
Beginning this fall, E-Verify users will use their email address instead of their E-Verify username to sign in using Login.gov. Each browser user will create their own profile on Login.gov with their unique email address. The email address will function as their “username” for Login.gov.
All E-Verify users have an email address associated with their user account(s). Browser users must update the email associated to their user accounts to their unique email address. Use of the same email address by multiple users will no longer be permitted for E-Verify browser users.
While an individual may have multiple user accounts tied to one email, multiple people cannot use the same email address within Login.gov. Once a shared email address is established in a Login.gov profile, other users who try to use that shared email address will encounter an access block from the system after migration.
To ensure you are not restricted from accessing your browser user accounts, please update your user account email address under User Profile today.
When is an Employee Exempt from Tax Withholding?
When employees are hired, one of the forms they complete is Form W-4, Employer’s Withholding Certificate. Their withholding election remains in effect until they provide an updated form.
Sometimes an employee will request that no taxes be withheld from their pay. In order to be eligible for a withholding exemption, the employee must certify that they meet the two conditions:
- The employee had no federal income tax liability in the previous year, and
- The employee expects to have no federal income tax liability in the current year.
For most individuals, these two conditions apply only if they work very part time or seasonally (student employees, for example). In this case, the employee writes “Exempt” on Form W-4 in the space below Step 4(c). They only complete Steps 1(a), 1(b), and 5 and sign the form to validate their election.
A tax withholding exemption is only good for the current year. If an employee claims Exempt status, they must provide a new Form W-4 attesting to the exempt status by February 15 of the following year.
More information is available from the IRS website by clicking here.
ACA Affordability Percentage for 2025
For plan years beginning in 2025, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) affordability percentage will be 9.02%, up from the 2024 percentage of 8.39%. The ACA’s employer mandate requires applicable large employers (ALEs) to offer minimum essential coverage that is affordable to all of its full-time employees. Affordability is determined using a defined percentage of the employee’s household income. Since employers don’t usually know an employee’s household income, the employee’s Form W-2 wages or rate of pay can be used, along with the federal poverty threshold. As long as the required employee’s premium contribution does not exceed 9.02% of one of these three “safe harbors”, it will be deemed affordable.
If you have questions about the Affordable Care Act, contact your Mize payroll processor or relationship manager.
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