Protect yourself from the 100% penalty on payroll taxes
Tax Tip of the Week
January 9, 2017
Protect yourself from the 100% penalty on payroll taxes
As an employer, you're responsible for collecting payroll taxes from employee wages and depositing the taxes with the IRS. The IRS takes these rules very seriously – so seriously that if your business willfully fails to deposit payroll taxes on time, the responsible person could be held personally liable for a penalty of 100% of the past due amount. In other words, if your company comes up short on payroll deposits, you might have to pay the entire balance out of your own pocket.
- Who is a "responsible person" for purposes of the penalty? You can be considered a responsible person when you're the active owner of the business. The definition can also be extended to others with authority over disbursing funds, such as the treasurer or other officer of the company, a bookkeeper, and even an independent third party. For example, in one court case, a corporate vice president had an agreement with the president of the company that stated the vice president wouldn't exercise control over funds, although he had check writing authority if the president was out of the office. Nevertheless, the vice president was found to be a responsible person.
- What is a "willful failure?" Typically, the penalty will apply if you knew or should have known about the unpaid payroll tax liability.
- What can you do to protect yourself? Make complying with payroll rules a top priority. Stay aware of due dates by setting up a "tickler" or reminder file, or notifications on an electronic calendar. Follow up to ensure that deposits have been made on time. Assign the task of payroll collection and deposits to a reliable employee and train backup staff to fill in during vacations or other absences.
You can't be too careful with your payroll tax obligations. Contact us for assistance and guidance whenever you have questions about your responsibilities as an employer.
"Tax Tips" are published weekly to provide current tax information, tax-cutting suggestions, and tax reminders. If you would like more information on anything in "Tax Tips," or if you'd like to be on our mailing list to receive other tax information from time to time, please contact our office.
The tax information contained in this site is of a general nature and should not be acted upon in your specific situation without further details and/or professional assistance.
© MC 2017
January 9, 2017
Protect yourself from the 100% penalty on payroll taxes
As an employer, you're responsible for collecting payroll taxes from employee wages and depositing the taxes with the IRS. The IRS takes these rules very seriously – so seriously that if your business willfully fails to deposit payroll taxes on time, the responsible person could be held personally liable for a penalty of 100% of the past due amount. In other words, if your company comes up short on payroll deposits, you might have to pay the entire balance out of your own pocket.
- Who is a "responsible person" for purposes of the penalty? You can be considered a responsible person when you're the active owner of the business. The definition can also be extended to others with authority over disbursing funds, such as the treasurer or other officer of the company, a bookkeeper, and even an independent third party. For example, in one court case, a corporate vice president had an agreement with the president of the company that stated the vice president wouldn't exercise control over funds, although he had check writing authority if the president was out of the office. Nevertheless, the vice president was found to be a responsible person.
- What is a "willful failure?" Typically, the penalty will apply if you knew or should have known about the unpaid payroll tax liability.
- What can you do to protect yourself? Make complying with payroll rules a top priority. Stay aware of due dates by setting up a "tickler" or reminder file, or notifications on an electronic calendar. Follow up to ensure that deposits have been made on time. Assign the task of payroll collection and deposits to a reliable employee and train backup staff to fill in during vacations or other absences.
You can't be too careful with your payroll tax obligations. Contact us for assistance and guidance whenever you have questions about your responsibilities as an employer.
"Tax Tips" are published weekly to provide current tax information, tax-cutting suggestions, and tax reminders. If you would like more information on anything in "Tax Tips," or if you'd like to be on our mailing list to receive other tax information from time to time, please contact our office.
The tax information contained in this site is of a general nature and should not be acted upon in your specific situation without further details and/or professional assistance.
