Year-Round Compass

Year-end is here. Thanksgiving is around the corner and the tasks required for a successful year-end to payroll are on your must-do list. Have no fear because Ceridian is here to help you prepare for this busy time.

Did you know?

• Exception Message functionality is a tool that will assist you in auditing payroll and fixing identified exceptions to avoid amendments, fees, penalties, and interest.
• If an exception to your payroll exists, you will receive an indicator each time the Payroll Administrator logs in.
• The best way to avoid amendments and the associated costs is by consistently auditing your payroll.
• When amendments are required, our Payroll Support and Tax Filing teams perform the work to amend quarterly or annual filings. This requires manual intervention, communication, and negotiation with applicable jurisdictions.
• In addition to penalties and interest charges, your company’s employees (including YOUR manager) could also face penalties and interest because they may have to re-file their tax returns.

Ceridian provides reports, exception warning messages, and support to pre-audit before processing, assist with notifications from jurisdictions, and audits your payroll results.

Ceridian has many guides available to you at no charge. Go to the MyCeridian.com page and sign up today. This will give you to access training materials on fringe benefits, third-party sick pay, ACA, grossing up bonus checks, and much more. And don’t forget to review the Q4 QE Packet, which contains important information about year-end dates, deadlines, processes, and additional tools to make this your best year-end ever.

The Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) allowed employers to defer the deposit and payment of the employer's share of Social Security taxes and self-employed individuals to defer payment of certain self-employment taxes between March 27 and December 31, 2020.

If your company participated in this program last year, you must repay 50% of the deferral amount before this year is over. The remaining 50% is due at the end of next year.

Steps:

• Calculate how much was deferred for each quarter in 2020.
  A separate payment is needed for each quarter in which the taxes were deferred. If the funds are allocated incorrectly between the quarters, then there will be an overpayment for one quarter with an underpayment for another quarter. This will incur IRS penalties.
• Divide the amount deferred in each quarter by 50%.
  This is the amount due this year.
• Email [email protected] no later than December 1, 2021.
  Include the period and the amount to be paid for each.
• Q4 is already a hectic time of year so begin this process right away.

Did you already repay your deferred taxes directly to the IRS? Email [email protected] and include both the period and the amount paid.

Make sure you sign up for access to the MyCeridian.com Portal as part of your year-end preparation. After you log into the portal, navigate to HR/Payroll (Freedom) > Reference and Training and download “Payroll Documents in ZIP file.” The zip file contains the following training documents which will help you with auditing, reviewing reports, and adding a new Special Run:

• Quick Reference Guide: Running Payroll Preview
• Filename: smb_qrg_running_payroll_preview.pdf
• Description: HR/Payroll has a preview feature that enables you to review the calculated amounts of your payroll before it is processed by Ceridian. This guide includes the simple steps for running the preview and generating the Preview Results report.
• Quick Reference Guide: Auditing the Preview Results
• Filename: smb_qrg_auditing_preview_results.pdf
• Description: This guide walks you through each section of the Preview results to ensure that all of your entries are included, and your employees will be paid correctly. Sections to be reviewed include the Trial Register, the Payments, Changes and Active Employees Not Paid, as well as the Trial Exception Report.
• Quick Reference Guide: Resolving Exception Messages
• Filename: smb_qrg_resolve_exceptions.pdf
• Description: Exception Messages are critical errors or tax variances that impact an employee's check or Form W-2. Use this short guide to learn the steps to locate the original entry, determine the cause of the error, and to enter corrections to resolve the exception message.
• Quick Reference Guide: Submitting Payroll for Processing
• Filename: smb_qrg_submit_payroll_for_processing.pdf
• Description: After you run a preview and audit the results, you are ready to submit your payroll for processing. This guide includes the steps for submitting your payroll, plus additional information about HR/Payroll Run Dates and deadlines for the timely processing of your payroll.
• Audit the Processed Payroll
• Filename: smb_audit_processed_payroll_jobaid.pdf
• Description: Use this guide to review the key reports you should audit after every payroll: the Register, Summary Report, the Audit Report, and the Direct Deposit (DD/OCC) Report.
• Editing the Payroll Schedule
• Filename: smb_qrg_editing_payroll_schedule.pdf Quick Reference Guide:
• Description: HR/Payroll allows you to edit your payroll processing schedule, eliminating the need to contact Service when you need to update or change information such as the Run Date or Check Date for an upcoming pay period.
• Quick Reference Guide: Adding a New Special Run
• Filename: smb_qrg_adding_new_special_run.pdf
• Description: It's easy to add a separate payroll run to your payroll processing schedule if you need to process payments on a date other than your regularly scheduled check date.

ACA reference and training

Whether you have contracted with Ceridian to file your 2021 ACA tax forms, or you are using another filing method, we have information to assist you in understanding and managing ACA reporting.

Download the information on the MyCeridian site under HR/Payroll (Freedom) > Reference and Training > ACA Documents ZIP file. The following documents are a great place to start:

smb_aca_data_entry_auditing.pdf

• Examples and direction on entering company-level Form 1094-C information as well as employee-level Form 1095-C information
• Details about the reports used to audit ACA data at the company and the employee-level

smb_aca_reporting_multiple_companies.pdf

• A great reference if you have multiple companies reporting ACA information
• Pay special attention to the section titled “Employees working for multiple companies with the same FEIN” in this document, if applicable

smb_aca_ER_shared_responsibility_PayEntry.pdf

• Key features and tips for auditing the ACA Management Reports. These valuable reports highlight warnings and exceptions. Contact your Payroll Support team to activate the 1094-C and 1095-C Management Reports with your next payroll processing

smb_IRS_reporting_ACA.pdf

• Contains details about the IRS reporting requirements and forms
• Note: Legal entities and employees with exceptions will be excluded from Form 1095-C generation and IRS filings, if applicable. Legal entities and employees with warnings may result in incorrect ACA filings

Be sure to correct any errors before your last 2021 payroll. Deadlines for processing 2021 payroll data can be found in the “Year-end at a glance” section in the QE Packet.

Many of our customers contract with providers (a third party) to pay their employees' sick pay. When an employee is out sick, they are paid by the provider instead of their employer. These payments are referred to as “third-party sick pay” (TPSP).

Many providers issue their summary reports in mid-to-late January for the previous year's amounts. These dates are often past the Ceridian tax filing cutoff for year-end adjustments. Request that your provider send your employee data at least quarterly – more frequently if possible. Early auditing is crucial to avoid costly amendments and unhappy employees, as well as potentially needing to create Forms W-2c related to missing or inaccurate third-party sick pay.

The deadline for adjustments is approaching

As provided in the QE Packet, the “Year-end-at-a-glance” outlines important deadlines regarding adjustments to 2021 Forms W-2. If you need to update 2021 reports, contact Payroll Support to set up a billable run.

Ensure that you are following best practices for year-end payroll auditing. This includes thoroughly reviewing the W-2 Management and W-2 Reconciliation reports.

Check your company executives’ Forms W-2

Each year, clients contact us after the Form W-2 deadline because they have discovered that their CEO’s tax information has an error. No one wants their boss to see their mistakes – especially a mistake that impacts a sensitive topic like compensation. While auditing your company’s Forms W-2 this year-end, remember to look closely at the executive team. It is well worth the effort!

Employees receiving multiple printed Forms W-2

Showing multiple Forms W-2 for an employee? Don’t panic – an employee will receive multiple forms if the employee has:

• More than four items to display in Box 12 of their Form W-2
• More than three items to display in Box 14 of their Form W-2
• Wages in more than one state
• Wages in more than one locale