Year-Round Compass

Can you believe we are half-way through 2021? Be prepared for year-end by auditing, reporting, and recording employee earnings appropriately on Form W-2. In addition to auditing Forms W-2 quarterly, follow these steps:

Boost your auditing skills – An instructor-led course is available to Dayforce Live Members on the Ceridian Education Center (CEC) entitled, Auditing Your Payroll for QE and YE Success – U.S. This four-hour course is well worth the time – especially since it can help you avoid penalties and fines associated with incorrect tax filings. Learn about the fixed format reports in Dayforce and how to use them for a detailed audit each quarter. Verify your tax forms each quarter and watch your year-end transform into Q4.

Enroll in the CEC for upcoming sessions. Block off a few hours this fall and sign up for this class. You will be glad you did – especially when your flawless Form W-2s start printing in a few short months.

Potential adjustments – There are a few possible adjustments to make for an accurate Form W-2. Even if you do not know the amounts or details now, you can still identify what items may affect your company. Take care of this now to avoid penalty and interest. Be sure that you file on time by creating a timetable (and sticking to it).

Items to review:

• Were current year QE/YE adjustments with prior provider/payroll system entered into Dayforce?
• Were any checks issued in-house that were not entered into Dayforce?
• Were all undistributed checks voided?

Load and review these quarterly:

• Third-party sick pay
• Fringe benefits
• Moving expenses

There is a limited window to make adjustments after quarter-end. Dayforce allows prior quarter adjustments only between the end of the quarter and a cutoff date defined by Ceridian.

After the cutoff date, changes or corrections must be filed with CTS as an amendment. Dayforce will prompt you if an adjustment must be filed as an amendment.

For more information, Search the Payroll Administrator Guide₁ for “Prior Quarter Adjustments and Amendments”, “Adjustments and Corrections”, and “Create an Adjustment”

New hires – Start on the right foot with your new hires and add these steps to your on-boarding process:

• Verify all new hire names and SSNs before cutting their first check. A free verification service called “Business Services Online” is available through the SSA’s website.
• Ask new hires to review their first paystub to make sure that all information (from address to tax withholdings) is correct.
• Ask new hires if they would like to receive their tax forms electronically instead of paper (fewer paper forms for you to manage). Have them log into MyDayforce.com. Click Profile & Settings, edit Year End Form Delivery (under Payroll Information), check the appropriate box(es) then click Approve.

₁ Download the Payroll Administrator Guide on the Ceridian Customer Community. Search for “Payroll Administrator Guide.” Make sure you have the latest version.

On which tax statements does the IRS allow masking social security numbers (SSNs)? When truncation is allowed, employers may voluntarily mask SSNs so they appear in the form of IRS truncated taxpayer identification numbers (TTINs). TTINs display the last four digits of a taxpayer identification number (TIN) and use X or asterisks for the first five digits (i.e., XXX-XX-1234 or ***-**-1234).

This is the breakout by each tax statement:

• Form W-2:
  • IRS Rule: Employers may truncate employee SSNs on Forms W-2 furnished after December 31, 2020.
    Note: Not all States have approved masking of the SSN.
  • Dayforce configuration: System Admin > Client Properties > Properties > Payroll > SSN Display. The options are to show all or show last four digits.
• Form 1099M/R/NEC:
  • IRS Rule: Employers may voluntarily truncate employee SSNs.
  • Dayforce configuration: System Admin > Client Properties > Client Payroll Properties > SSN Display on 1099M or 1099R or 1099NEC
• Form 1095-C:
  • IRS Rule: Employers may voluntarily truncate employee SSNs.
  • Dayforce configuration: The standard display for SSN on the 1095-C is always masked and cannot be changed.

An “ACA amended return” refers to the process of changing your original ACA filing after the Ceridian ACA deadline has passed (regardless if you discovered an error or if the IRS requires corrections). This includes changes to either Form 1094-C or Form 1095-C – or a request to submit a new 1095-C return (for an employee not included in the original filing). You can make multiple correction filings, if necessary. Not correcting these errors may result in IRS notices.

The IRS allows 250 corrected paper returns for a single filing year per FEIN. If you mail your paper 1095-C Returns with a 1094-C Return (Non-Authoritative) directly to the IRS, be sure to update Dayforce to prevent these same errors for subsequent filings.

Regardless of the number of forms, you can always enter the corrections in Dayforce. Ceridian will transmit the filing to the IRS for $250 per FEIN. To reduce fees, gather all corrections to submit at one time.

Remember, Ceridian does not reprint your modified forms. There are two options:

1. Print and distribute them (if the employee has requested to receive paper forms)
2. Instruct employees to view the electronic version in Dayforce (if the employee has opted for electronic forms)

The IRS requires corrections to be completed within three years from the date of the original submission, however, Ceridian strongly encourages you complete your 2020 submissions by December 31, 2021.

Contact your Ceridian Tax Service Representative or call 866-301-6989 if you have questions about Ceridian’s ACA filing process with the IRS.

Overview

PA Act 32 established a system for the collection of Earned Income Tax (EIT) for employees who work in Pennsylvania. Companies must enter specific information for their employees so that Dayforce can accurately accumulate and report EIT. It is critical that PA Act 32 information is entered completely and correctly.

Tips

Action required: Review employee data and correct issues. It is crucial that employees be set up accurately in Dayforce. To help with this review, generate the PSD Code Report in Pay Run Management.

Review your employees and ensure they have a valid PSD codes (residence and worksite) for both EIT and LST (Local Services Tax).

Note that the tax agency uses the employee street address to allocate tax payments to the correct locality. PA Act 32 does not allow a ‘p.o. box’ in the employee Address Line 1 - even if it is combined with a valid street address. Employees with ‘p.o. box’ in Address Line 1 will drop from the filing.

This chart shows several PA Act 32 issues to watch. These issues may result in the tax agency contacting you for information or issuing an inquiry notice. In some instances, manual filing or amended returns may be needed.

Open a case with your CTS rep with questions.

Do you require any projects for delivery between October 1 and January 31? Are you expecting significant company or payroll changes to be effective on January 1, 2022? Ceridian’s Professional Services team can help! It is critical to get these projects submitted and approved as early as possible in the Ceridian Customer Community. We have updated the Project cut-off dates₁ for 2021.

Projects such as Open Enrollment, ACA setup, carrier feed changes, policy changes, merger/acquisition activities, or even automating business processes require careful planning and preparedness – our PS consultants have the expertise to provide this.

Early submission ensures the work is completed in a timely manner and delivered for the payroll run you desire. Questions or concerns related to your specific project can be included with the project submission. Submit first and figure out the fine points later – just don’t be late. Open a request in the Ceridian Customer Community to get started with a consultant today.

Project management services

Does your organization deal with internal projects that go past deadlines and/or over budget? Does your internal project team have the skill set to manage and lead large projects and keep the project on track, preventing scope creep? Have you invested time, resources and money on a project and the outcome was a process or product that did not achieve the initial project goals and/or corporate strategy?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, consider utilizing Ceridian project management services. Our project managers are highly trained and work on large projects on an on-going basis. They can execute your projects from start to finish including initial identification of project scope; providing documentation; scheduling and leading on-site meetings; and providing overall project management governance. Our experts, with an average of 12 years of HR experience and PMP certifications will streamline your project management processes and save you time and money with industry best practices.

Submit requests for Q4 before September 17 in the Ceridian Customer Community. This is also a great time to have this valuable service added to your organization’s 2022 budget for upcoming projects. Contact us for a quote today at 800-729-7655.

New offering: Configuration as a Service (CaaS)

What is Configuration as a Service (CaaS)? CaaS is a subscription-based service that provides access to experts to help with advanced/complex configurations as your business needs evolve or change. Customers will be given priority access with Support allowing them to solve their problems quickly. As a subscription-based service, customers can also minimize unexpected costs associated to custom configurations for reporting, exports, carrier feeds, open enrollment, and entitlements. Contact your Customer Relationship Executive for pricing.

₁ Project Cutoff Dates: Download the QE Packet and click “Project cut-off dates” in the table of contents.