Dear Ceridian Customer,

Welcome to TaxTracks, Ceridian's bi-monthly tax newsletter. TaxTracks was designed to provide our clients with news, tips, and resources related to payroll taxes and payroll tax compliance. Please take some time to review the information provided in this newsletter, and contact your Tax Service Representative if you have any questions or need further information. 

If you have any suggestions for content or enhancements to be included in the future, we welcome you to contact your Tax Service Representative.

Thank you, 

Communications Team

Update on 2015 Transit Benefit Adjustments

The 2015 monthly limit on the amount that may be excluded from an employee's income for qualified parking benefits remains $250. The combined  monthly limit for transit passes and vanpooling expenses reverted back to $130 per month for the 2015 tax year.

2015 Standard Mileage Rates

Beginning January 1, 2015, the standard mileage rates will be:

  • 57.5 cents per mile for business miles driven (an increase from 56 cents in 2014)
  • 23 cents per mile for medical or moving purposes (a decrease from 23.5 cents in 2014)
  • 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations (no change)

For more information go to: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-14-79.pdf.

2015 Deferred Compensation Contribution Limits

For tax year 2015, contribution limits for deferred compensation plans have increased as follows:

401(k) $18,000

403(b) $18,000

457 $18,000

SIMPLE $12,500

Additional catch-up contribution limits, age 50 or older:

401(k) $6,000

403(b) $6,000

457 $6,000

SIMPLE $3,000 

Reminder - EFTPS Enrollment

Please be aware that you are responsible for the timely filing of employment tax returns and the timely payment of employment taxes for your employees, even if you have authorized a third party to file the returns and make the payments. Therefore, the Internal Revenue Service recommends that you enroll in the U.S. Treasury Department's Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) to monitor your account and ensure that timely tax payments are being made for you.  

You may enroll in the EFTPS online at www.eftps.gov, or call (800) 555-4477 for an enrollment form. State tax authorities generally offer similar means to verify tax payments. Contact the appropriate state offices directly for details.

State and Local Compliance News and Updates

Louisiana Workforce Commission New Reporting Requirements

Louisiana Workforce Commission (tax code 1904) has added a new required multi-state employer indicator field in the quarterly file to answer yes or no to the question: "Are you a multi-state employer?" 

The information requested will be used to determine the number of employers reporting wages that are also being reported to other states for the same individuals.

We began populating this field for 4th quarter 2014 per agency request. The requirement became mandatory as of January 1, 2015, at which time failure to populate this field results in the file being rejected. No customer action is required as long as your out-of-state wage information is provided to Ceridian. Ceridian will flag the multi-state employer indicator field if a valid out-of-state wage record is detected and is greater than zero.

District of Columbia New Online Filing System

The District of Columbia Department of Employment Services (DOES) launched a new online Employer Self-Service Portal (ESSP) for employers and bulk filers to electronically submit quarterly wage and contribution reports. All employers who employ at least five (5) employees are required to utilize ESSP to file quarterly reports; paper returns are no longer accepted for these employers. 

We will file on your behalf as long as you have established Ceridian as your third party administrator on the agency's ESSP portal. One error will cause the entire file to be rejected, so it is important to ensure you are set up with a valid ID # and your account status is active. 

Clients must log onto ESSP and establish a TPA (Third Party Administrator) relationship with Ceridian. For more information, to register for an ESSP account, and to designate Ceridian as your TPA, go to: https://essp.does.dc.gov/.
 

Nevada Modified Business Tax - General & Financial Rate Change

There are two separate types of Modified Business Tax returns: General Business (tax code 3411, tax rate 1.17%) and Financial Institution (tax code 3413; tax rate 2.00%). Per Nevada Legislation, the Tier 1 threshold for the General Business tax has increased from $62,500 to $85,000. This means if the sum of all taxable wages, after health care deductions, paid by the employer does not exceed $85,000 for the calendar quarter, the amount of tax is 0% of the sum of those wages. If the sum of all taxable wages, after health care deductions, paid by the employer exceeds $85,000 for the calendar quarter, the tax remains the same at 1.17% of the amount of the wages that exceeds $85,000. 

New York SIT/SUI Online Filing Mandate and PrompTax Enrollment

Effective 1st quarter 2015, the New York State Department of Taxation will be implementing an online filing mandate. Paper returns filed 1st quarter 2015 or after will be subject to penalties. In addition, the agency will no longer accept paper Form TR-370 PrompTax Withholding Tax Enrollment Application; the application has to be submitted electronically. With this update, we must be provided with a valid 6-digit access code if you are a PrompTax participant. Per agency request, we will be converting non-mandated PrompTax filers back to check filers. The agency has also suggested that all clients should have Form TR-2000 E-ZRep on file; this form allows us to access your tax information online. For more information about E-ZRep, please visit the E-ZRep website: http://www.tax.ny.gov/e-services/otc/tr_2000_info.htm.