I’m terrible at math. Really, really bad at it. Like the Justin Timberlake character in the movie Friends with Benefits bad. So, for most of my career here at the NASPP, posting the alert about the yearly change to the maximum wages subject to Social Security has been a challenge, because it requires me to multiply the maximum wages by 6.2% to figure out the maximum withholding. Easy enough for most people, but in a lot of years I get it wrong.
So I’ve implemented some controls. Always copy the maximum wage base from the SSA press release; never type it. Instead of using a calculator (not as reliable as you might think, due to human error typing in the numbers or transcribing them), always do the math in Excel and always copy the result from Excel to the alert. And have someone else check my work, even though that person usually thinks I’m nuts for needing help with this. And then I check it a bunch more times myself (because it turns out that a lot of people are bad at math).
But this year, dammit, I got it right. I wrote a blog about it and posted the alert and no one emailed to tell me I had it wrong.
And then…
The SSA announced that they were changing the maximum. Yep, on November 27, the SSA issued a press release announcing that the maximum wage base for 2018 that they had originally reported ($128,700) is wrong and that the correct wage base for 2018 is $128,400. So the maximum Social Security withholding for 2018 is $7,960.80 (pretty sure, but feel free to check my math).
The SSA says the reason for the change is updated wage data:
This lower taxable maximum amount is due to corrected W2s provided to Social Security in late October 2017 by a national payroll service provider. Approximately 500,000 corrections for W2s from 2016 resulted in changes for three items based on the national average wage: the 2018 taxable maximum, primary insurance amount bend points–figures used in the computation of Social Security benefits–and family maximum bend points. No other items based on national average wages were affected.
But, I don’t know. Sure, it’s a believable story, but I think maybe the SSA is just as bad at math as I am. Just kidding. I really have no reason to doubt their explanation, although I am a little surprised that just half a million corrections can move the wage base by $300. With over 123 million employees in the United States in 2016 (and that doesn’t even count part-timers), that must have been quite an error.
Back in mid-October, just before the NASPP Conference, the SSA and IRS announced the cost-of-living adjustments for 2018. I had expected to get around to blogging about this sooner, but then the House released its version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the topic of tax reform and its potential impact on stock compensation eclipsed all other topics.
COLAs
I’ve provided a description of the adjustments that impact stock compensation below. Here is an IRS chart that provides a complete list of updates.
FICA
The maximum amount of earnings subject to Social Security tax will increase to $128,700 in 2018 (up from $127,200 in 2017). The Social Security tax withholding rate will remain at 6.2%. With the new wage cap, the maximum withholding for Social Security will be $7,979.40. [Note: The SSA has since lowered the wage base for 2018 to $127,400, resulting in maximum withholding of $7,960.80. See my December 12 update.]
Medicare tax rates also remain the same and are not subject to a maximum (the threshold at which the additional Medicare tax applies is likewise unchanged).
Highly Compensated Employee Threshold
The threshold level of compensation at which an employee is considered highly compensated for purposes of Section 414(q) will remain unchanged at $120,000 in 2018. This threshold defines “highly compensated” for purposes of determining which employees can be excluded from a qualified ESPP under Section 423.
Update on the Tax Reform Bill
And, for your tax reform fix, here is an update: the House passed its version of the bill and the Senate Finance Committee approved its version to proceed to the full Senate. Debate on the bill is expected to start in the Senate after Thanksgiving. One GOP senator (Ron Johnson, WI) has already said he won’t vote it and a few other GOP senators appear to be undecided. None of the Democrat senators are expected to vote for it, so the bill won’t pass if the GOP loses two more votes (at least not this time—they could always go back to the drawing board and bring a new bill to a vote).
The provisions in both bills that directly impact stock compensation are the same as they were last Thursday (taxing stock options at vest is out, Section 162(m) expansion is in, and tax-deferred arrangements for private companies are in).
For what it’s worth, GovTrack reports that Skopos Labs gives it a 46% chance of passing (as of November 20, when I last checked it).
Happy Thanksgiving!
This will be our only blog this week because of the holiday. I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving and I hope you have a celebration that is completely free from discussions of both tax reform and equity compensation.
Lately, there’s been a lot of speculation about what a Trump presidency and a Republican Congress means for tax rates in 2017. I got nothin’ on that. But what I do have for you today are some tax changes for 2017 that are already finalized.
New Filing Deadlines
Where nonemployee compensation is reported in box 7 of Form 1099-MISC, the deadline to file the form with the IRS has been accelerated to January 31 (previously the deadline was February 28, for paper filers, and March 31, for electronic filers). This will apply to Forms 1099-MISC issued to report compensation paid to outside directors, consultants, independent contractors, and other nonemployees.
Form 1099-MISC is also used to report income recognized on (i) stock plan transactions after an employee’s death, and (ii) transactions by an employee’s ex-spouse for stock awards transferred pursuant to divorce. In each of these cases, however, the income is reported in box 3, rather than box 7. Consequently, a Form 1099-MISC for these transactions doesn’t need to be filed until the regular February 28/March 31 deadline. (Assuming, of course, no other income is reported in box 7 of the form. For instance, if an employee’s ex-spouse provided services to the company as a consultant in 2016 in addition to exercising a stock option transferred to him in their divorce settlement, and the income for the consulting fees is reported in box 7 along with the option gain in box 3, the Form 1099-MISC would have to be filed with the IRS by January 31. And if the employee died in 2016 and hadn’t updated her beneficiary designation so her RSUs were paid out to the ex-spouse in addition to the consulting fees and the option gain…well, you get the idea.)
The deadline to file Form W-2 with the Social Security Administration has also been accelerated to January 31. These changes were part of the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act and are intended to help prevent tax fraud. In the past, individual taxpayers received their copy of these forms before the IRS and could have even filed their tax return before the IRS received their Form W-2 or 1099-MISC. This could result in errors (inadvertent or intentional) that the IRS wasn’t able to catch until possibly as late as April, when the company filed these forms with the SSA/IRS. By then, a refund might have been issued to the taxpayer and the IRS was in the difficult position of trying to recover it. With the accelerated filing deadlines, the IRS will theoretically be able to catch these errors before refunds are issued.
The deadline for filing Forms 3921 and 3922 with the IRS is still February 28/March 31. Also, the deadline to distribute the employee copy of all of these forms is still January 31.
COLAs
The cost-of-living adjustments for 2017 have also been announced. Here are the highlights that related to stock compensation:
The wage base for Social Security is increasing to $127,200 (up from $118,500 in 2016). The Social Security tax rate isn’t changing (that requires Congressional action), so if I’ve done the math right (something you should never take for granted—math just isn’t my gig), the maximum withholding for Social Security will be $7,886.40 in 2017.
No changes to the Medicare rates or the threshold at which the higher rate kicks in, at least for now. Changing either of these things also requires Congressional action; while it’s certainly possible that a repeal or amendment of Obamacare might result in changes to Medicare tax rates or thresholds in 2017, it’s unlikely that either will change before the new administration begins.
The level of annual compensation at which employees can be considered highly compensated for purposes of excluding them from participating in a Section 423 ESPP will remain $120,000.
The Social Security Administration has announced that the maximum wages subject to Social Security will remain at $118,500 for 2016. The rate will remain at 6.2% (changing the tax rate requires an act of Congress, literally), so the maximum Social Security withholding for the year will remain at $7,347.
As noted in the SSA’s press release, increases in the Social Security wage cap are tied to the increase in inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics found no increase in inflation over the past year based on this index, so there are no cost of living adjustments to Social Security benefits or the wage cap.
For those of you keeping score, the last time the Social Security wage base remained the same for a two years in a row was 2010 to 2011 (see “Social Security Wage Base Will Not Increase for 2011“), but in that year the Social Security tax rate was temporarily reduced.
A few other things that currently are not scheduled to change for next year:
The Medicare tax rates remain the same and there’s still no cap on Medicare. The wage threshold at which the additional Medicare tax must be withheld is still $200,000.
The flat supplemental rate is still 25% and the maximum individual tax rate is still 39.6%.
The threshold at which supplemental wages become subject to withholding at the maximum individual tax rate is still $1,000,000.
The compensation threshold at which an employee is considered highly compensated for purposes of Section 423 will remain $120,000.
Note that all of the above items can be changed by Congress and Congress has been known to sometimes make changes to next year’s tax rates very late in the year (e.g., see the 2011 alert noted above). But as things stand now, you have one less thing to worry about on your year-end checklist (but don’t forget that you still need to reset year-to-date wages/withholding back to $0 after December 31).
It’s that time of the year – holidays, festivities and year-end prep. I’ve often wondered how the two can go hand in hand. In today’s blog I’ll combine the two; let’s see how that works out.
Send Your Holiday Selfies
Let’s get the fun out of the way first. Chapter holiday gatherings are already in full swing, and we want to see your photos. Send me your selfies and group photos – we’ll post them to our Facebook page. Some of them might even make it into a holiday oriented future blog post. The pictures are already coming in – see anyone you know from yesterday’s San Diego chapter holiday event? Hint: Raul Fajardo of Qualcomm and James Tozer of E*TRADE.
Year-End Prep Tips
Moving on to the more serious topic of year-end. It seems like it always creeps up on us – one minute we’re celebrating and the next it’s full throttle into year-end reporting, tax and proxy season. To get ahead of the game, I thought of a few things you can do now, in December, to prepare.
1) Audit non-employees in your recordkeeping system. Non-employees who had stock compensation transactions this year will need a Form 1099-MISC. This is not to be confused with “former” employees, who will still receive a Form W-2. In many organizations preparation of 1099 forms is not handled by Payroll, so you’ll want to make sure you know who your non-employees are (including outside directors) and have that list ready come January for whomever is going to prepare the forms.
2) Attend our webcast next week (Thursday, 12/12) on Annual Tax Reporting. This will feature essential information on 6039 reporting, special reporting requirements, non-employee reporting and other detailed tax reporting instructions. This is a prime opportunity to get the lay of the land heading into tax season.
3) Revisit deferred tax withholdings (e.g. FICA on retirement eligible RSUs). If you’ve delayed collection of FICA taxes until year-end, for example (based on the IRS’s Rule of Administrative Convenience, allowing deferral of collection of some taxes until calendar year-end), you’ll want to revisit those scenarios now to determine whether any tax withholding is required before year-end. In relying on the Rule of Administrative Convenience, the idea is that taxes like social security will have reached their annual maximum withholding for many employees by now, eliminating the need to collect any additional social security – meaning none would need to be collected for the award. However, if an employee has not reached the maximum and collection of such taxes were deferred under the rule, then you’ll need to make sure you adequately withhold by 12/31.
Well, there you have it. Festivity and planning tips all in one blog. The holiday season is off to a great start. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone’s photos, and I’m wishing you a smooth sailing process as you kick off year-end as well.
The IRS and the Social Security Administration have announced the COLAs for next year. That’s COLAs as in “cost of living adjustments” (in case you were wondering what the IRS and SSA have to do with soda pop).
A Quiet Year
Some years are quieter than others when it comes to tax-related changes. At this time last year we were looking at changes to FIT withholding rates, FICA withholding rates, a new Social Security wage cap, new Medicare taxes, a threshold increase relating to highly compensated employees, plus last minute tax legislation at the start of the year to restore some FIT withholding rates to 2012 levels. I count at least seven NASPP Blog entries on the tax rate changes that went into effect (and didn’t go into effect after all) at the start of 2013.
What a difference a year makes! Things are a lot quieter this year. At the federal level, it looks like the only change that impacts stock compensation is the Social Security wage cap. Bad news for Jenn and I since now we’ll have to come up with other ideas for six more blog entries but good news for you since you won’t have to sort through and implement a bunch of tax rate changes over the holidays.
FICA
As noted, the wage cap for Social Security tax purposes will increase to $117,000, up from $113,700 last year. The tax rate remains the same at 6.2%, so this increases the maximum Social Security withholding to $7,254 per employee. Incidentally, the SSA estimates that about 10 million workers will pay higher taxes as a result of the increase.
As far as I know, the Medicare rates and the threshold at which the additional Medicare tax applies will remain the same in 2014.
Highly-Compensated Employees
The threshold at which an employee is considered highly compensated for purposes of Section 423 will remain at $115,000 in 2014. (Section 423 allows, but does not require, highly compensated employees to be excluded from participation.)
On New Year’s Eve, as I was watching the various countdowns and celebrations on TV, I couldn’t help but notice the volume of interruptions and the stark contrast of “serious” reporting going on about the fiscal cliff negotiations. It was like watching two different television shows at once: celebrate, fiscal cliff, celebrate, fiscal cliff. All that reporting did lead to somewhere this time – a deal was eventually reached and passed shortly thereafter (formally known as “The American Taxpayer Relief Act 89-8”). Sorting through the outcomes has become the next challenge at hand. In today’s blog I’ll attempt to provide the current lay of the land for tax withholding in 2013.
For Many, A Reprieve
One of the big stories of the fiscal cliff doom scenario was that not only were some tax cuts expiring, but that there were so many of them slated to change all at once. The Bush Era income tax rates were set to expire and revert upward. The Social Security payroll tax holiday was coming to an end. New medicare rates were set to be introduced in 2013 for high earners and on certain types of income. So what’s the bottom line? What changed and what didn’t? The good news for many taxpayers is that it’s not as bad as it could have been, though some taxes will still increase. Higher earners will be impacted more, with increased federal rates.
Federal Withholding Rates: The American Taxpayer Relief Act effectively maintains the reduced income tax rates adopted in 2001 and 2003 for individuals earning up to $400,000 and families earning less than $450,000. Income above those levels will be taxed at 39.6%, up from 35%.
Social Security: The end of the road has come for the Payroll tax holiday of 2011 that was eventually extended through 2012. That means the 4.2% employee withholding rate that’s been in effect for the past two years has returned to 6.2% effective January 1, 2013. Employers have until February 15, 2013 to implement the new rate and until March 31, 2013 to make any adjustments related to rate implementation post effective date.
Medicare: The new medicare tax rate previously enacted remains in force and unchanged. Essentially, for income over a certain threshold, an additional 0.9% in medicare tax is withheld beginning with tax years after December 31, 2012. For more details, click here or visit our Tax Withholding and Reporting Portal.
Supplemental Income Withholding Rates: At this point, our eyes are looking for additional guidance from the Treasury Department on the status of supplemental income withholding rates. Our current thought is that the rate for supplemental payments below $1 million will stay at 25%, since this is tied to the third highest individual tax rate (which didn’t change), but that the rate for supplemental payments in excess of $1 million will increase to 39.6%, since this is tied to the highest individual tax rate. This interpretation is not based on any guidance from the Treasury, and we’ll have to wait until they release more information to confirm this component.
Timeframe to Implement
Companies have until February 15, 2013 to make the changes to withholding rates. It may make sense to move forward in making changes to known rates (like social security and medicare) as quickly as possible, and wait a bit longer to change other rates until the Treasury has issued further guidance on how the supplemental (and other) rate(s) will be affected. The IRS did release Notice 1036, which is essentially contains the rate tables to guide withholding for 2013, but that was on New Year’s Eve, before the Act was passed. As a result, their 2013 tables will need to be updated to reflect the withholding rates that are now in effect.
The NASPP is Hiring!
On a completely separate note, the NASPP is hiring! Check out our job listing in the NASPP Career Center for additional information.
I wish everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous new year!
In today’s blog, I provide an update on the status of FICA taxes as we head into next year and include a note from Alan Dye on the impact of Hurricane Sandy on EDGAR filings.
FICA Tax Increases for 2013 The Social Security Administration announced in a press release on October 16 that the annual wage base for Social Security tax is increasing to $113,700 in 2013 (up from $110,100 in 2012).
In addition, the current 2% rate cut for the employee portion of FICA is due to expire at the end of this year. If Congress doesn’t take action before the end of the year, the withholding rate for Social Security will return to 6.2% next January. If I managed to do the math correctly (something you should never take for granted), that will bring the maximum Social Security tax payment for 2013 up to $7,049.40. This is up from $4,624.20 this year, an increase of over 50%.
For the first time since I’ve started working in stock compensation, the Medicare tax is also increasing, at least for those in the top income tax brackets. As noted in my August 7 blog, “The Supreme Court and Stock Compensation,” wages in excess of $200,000 per year ($250,000 for married taxpayers that file jointly, $125,000 for married taxpayers that file separately) are subject to an additional .9% Medicare tax. Companies will apply the higher rate to any wages in excess of $200,000, regardless of the employee’s filing status and the rest will be sorted out when employees file their tax returns.
The additional Medicare tax applies only to employees; the company’s matching payment is not increased.
There are already a couple of threads started on administering the new Medicare tax in the NASPP Discussion Forum, see topics 7186 and 7354.
Highly Compensated Employees The wage threshold for which employees are considered highly compensated for purposes of Section 423 qualified ESPPs will remain at $115,000 for 2013.
Hurricane Sandy and EDGAR Filings Alan Dye notes in his blog on Section16.net that Hurricane Sandy is preventing folks on the East coast from submitting Section 16 filings and that the SEC was quick to offer relief. From Alan’s blog yesterday:
With Hurricane Sandy bearing down on DC and much of the Northeast, some filers and filing agents are having trouble getting to their offices to make Section 16(a) filings that are due today. The staff is taking an accommodating position for purposes of Section 16(a) and Item 405, saying that “For those affected by the hurricane — filers (or their lawyers/agents) along the East Coast — we won’t object if the filings that are due today are filed tomorrow (assuming that tomorrow is a day on which people can go to work). For filers not affected by the hurricane, then today is a regular business day and filings due today have to be filed today. So, this is effectively a no action position for only those filers (or their lawyers/agents) affected by the hurricane.”
Presumably filers not affected by the hurricane have no need for relief and will file on time. Filers scrambling to find a filing agent, though, now have some breathing room and can file tomorrow (assuming tomorrow is a normal business day). Thanks to the staff for getting on top of this issue quickly.
Hurricane Sandy and Option Exercises We also had a couple of threads started in the NASPP Discussion Forum on how employees that are up against the contractual expiration of their in-the-money stock options can exercise despite the market’s unexpected closure due to Hurricane Sandy. Here is a quick list of the alternatives:
pay cash for the exercise
net exercise
stock-for-stock or pyramid exercise
margin loan to be closed out when the market reopens and the stock acquired up exercise can be sold
loan from the company (if the optionee is not an officer or director) to be repaid as soon as the market opens and the stock can be sold
See NASPP Discussion Forum topics 7361 and 7362 for more information.
I’m happy as I write today’s blog to say that I hope this may be my last blog in a long while on this topic. Who would’ve thought that something as benign as a social security withholding rate could create so much buzz.
Last Friday, Congress passed an extension of the payroll tax cut that will keep the social security withholding rate at 4.2% for the rest of 2012. President Obama has said he will sign the bill as soon as he returns home from a trip to the western U.S., so it looks like a done deal.
What You Need to Know
• All social security withholding for 2012 will be at the rate of 4.2%, subject to the annual maximum of $110,100. Essentially, we are back to “business as usual” – the end result being that this year’s withholding mechanics will be no different than any other year from a social security perspective.
• Since the social security withholding rate will be the same for the entire calendar year, any concern about monitoring the annual maximum on a manual basis (the issue being that with two different withholding rates in effect for a calendar year, the annual maximum would be virtually different for every employee) has been eliminated.
• While the social security rate for 2012 will be set at 4.2%, remember this is considered a temporary tax cut. As a result, the issue of withholding rates will rise again as we draw near 2013, because the payroll tax cut is now set to expire on 12/31/12.
Obama hasn’t signed the bill yet, but has stated that he will. So, it appears that, finally, we can put this issue to bed for now.
– Jennifer
NASPP “To Do” List We have so much going on here at the NASPP that it can be hard to keep track of it all, so we keep an ongoing “to do” list for you here in our blog.
Attend local NASPP chapter meetings in Austin, Phoenix, Sacramento, and the Twin Cities. Barbara Baksa, the NASPP’s Executive Director, and Larry Reynolds of E*TRADE will be presenting on cost-basis reporting at the Sacramento meeting. Be sure to say hello!
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve blogged about the status of the social security payroll tax cut. If you’re catching up after a nice holiday break, the gist of the issue was whether Congress would extend the 4.2% social security tax withholding rate that was in effect for 2011 (in the end they did, for 60 days, through February 29, 2012.) Today, I explore some of the administrative considerations associated with the temporary extension of the payroll tax cut.
Administering Multiple Social Security Withholding Rates in One Calendar Year
Although the continuance of the social security withholding rate at 4.2% for another 60 days is seemingly good news for an estimated 160 million affected workers, there are some administrative areas that will need monitoring or adjustment. First, if the social security tax withholding rate changes mid-year (as is now scheduled to happen effective March 1, 2012), the maximum withholding amount for 2012 will be different for each employee, based on how much they earned before and after the rate change. This could be a challenge for software programs that cap social security withholding based on a maximum withholding amount, rather than wages.
Let’s look at some examples:
Employee A earns $20,000 in wages up through February 29, 2012. The same employee earns $100,000 between March 1 and December 31, 2012. In this example, his/her maximum withholding in 2012 is $6,426.00 ($20,000 x 4.2% and $90,100 (the $110,100 limit less the $20,000 already paid) x 6.2%).
Employee B earns $25,000 in wages up through February 29, 2012. This employee earns another $125,000 in wages between March 1 and December 31, 2012. His/her maximum withholding is $6,326.20 ($25,000 x 4.2% plus $85,100 x 6.2%).
Software programs that cap social security based on a maximum number will be looking to max people out at the same maximum amount across the board. As we can see from the examples above, the maximum amount of social security withholding will vary by individual. Be sure to check with your software provider or third party administrator to understand how social security withholding is calculated, and whether any work around will be necessary. The first two months of the year will be easy: you just withhold at the 4.2% rate across the board, up to the maximum of $4,624.20 ($110,100 x 4.2%). If Congress acts to extend the payroll tax cut for the entire year, none of the concern about the maximum withholding will matter. We’ll just simply apply the 4.2% withholding rate, up to the maximum of $4,624.20 for the entire year. However, if Congress does not extend the 4.2% rate and it reverts back to 6.2%, you may need to have some procedures in place to ensure that each person’s withholding reflects the correct maximum (again, it will be individually based, depending on what was withheld before and after the rate change). I’m already seeing postings in our discussion forum about this topic, so those who have ideas about how to administer this, please stop on by and share them.
A Tax Cut Recaptured
Also included in the legislation is a “recapture” provision that essentially recoups some tax dollars from employees who earn more than $18,350 by February 29th. Employees who earn more than $18,350 during the first two months of 2012 will be subject to an additional 2% in income tax (not additional social security tax). While it makes for a basically tax-neutral position for the employee (4.2% social security + 2% income tax = 6.2%, simply speaking), the company still needs to withhold at the lower 4.2% social security tax rate. This could be a key area of communication for employees who have significant income events in January and February (such as option exercises, RSU vestings, performance share delivery, etc.). How the 2% recapture tax will be collected is not yet entirely clear.
More Information
Lastly, the IRS has published notice IR-2011-124 with information regarding the payroll tax cut and recapture tax. In short, the new tax rate of 4.2% needs to be in effect by January 31, 2012, and any over withholding (for companies that went back to 6.2% in anticipation of the tax cut expiring) should be returned through an offsetting adjustment in pay as soon as possible, but no later than March 31, 2012.
It looks like our 2012 year is off to an interesting start!