Every year, business owners are audited and found guilty of mishandling payroll taxes, also known as government “trust fund money.” These infractions are not often due to a conscious intent to defraud the government. However, when an employer fails to deduct payroll tax, fails to deduct enough payroll tax or fails to deposit the tax penalties the result can devastate the organization. In more serious cases, actual misconduct by any agent of the company that governs this trust fund money may also be held personally liable resulting in penalties as severe as jail time.
Will you be ready for your payroll taxes? Whether you are new to payroll processing or a seasoned professional, you owe it to yourself to answer these following important questions:
- Do I have the payroll tax deduction rate changes for the new year?
- What will the new social security wage base be in the new year?
- Does my team understand how to best use the federal payroll tax deduction tables?
- Will the Additional Medicare Tax still apply?
- Is my department well trained on 941 filing?
- Have we considered the personal liability attached to trust fund money?
An answer of “no” or “unsure” to even one of these questions may indicate potential for error in the new year as well as current or past years. These indicators may be just the catalyst you need to develop an action plan to become compliant and audit-secure!
No business can truly be audit-proof. If you proactively tighten up your processes and maintain up-to-date standard operating procedures for payroll processes, you can achieve peace of mind in your audit-secure status. In the event an audit occurs, and innocent mistakes are uncovered, your company and employees will be in line for good faith allowances, minimizing the risk of more severe penalties.
This one-hour information-packed payroll tax training walks you through this information minefield and helps you understand how to bring your payroll department current on what they need to do to be prepared.
Every year, business owners are audited and found guilty of mishandling payroll taxes, also known as government “trust fund money.” These infractions are not often due to a conscious intent to defraud the government. However, when an employer fails to deduct payroll tax, fails to deduct enough payroll tax or fails to deposit the tax penalties the result can devastate the organization. In more serious cases, actual misconduct by any agent of the company that governs this trust fund money may also be held personally liable resulting in penalties as severe as jail time.
- The difference between employment taxes and payroll taxes.
- Tips to avoid mishandling trust fund money.
- Accurate withholding using the Federal Payroll Tax Tables.
- Tax rate changes for the new year.
- Depositing Payroll Tax Deductions.
- Tips for filing your 941 – correctly!
- Audit-secure procedures.