1st Quarter 941 Form

The time has already come to be thinking about the Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return (Form 941). Employer's are required to report wages paid, tips received by employees, federal income tax you have withheld, both the employer's and employee's Medicare and Social Security taxes withheld, your current quarter's adjustments to social security and Medicare taxes for fraction of cents, sick pay, tips, group-term life insurance, advanced earned income tax credit payments and credit for COBRA premium assitance payments. The COBRA premium assistance payments box is new to the 941 this quarter. The 941 form is due April 30, 2009 and includes payroll from Jan, February and March.

Employers whom are still calculating withholding taxes and generating their federal forms manually could save vast amounts of time and energy by using a Payroll Software. The IRS has changed the federal income tax tables due to the The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (The Stimulus Package) and ,as stated above, the 941 form. This may be the perfect time for employers to invest in a Payroll Program that could make this transition painless.

I am a small business owner and have been using this particular payroll software for almost a year now. I am continually impressed by this software and the support I get from the company.Payroll Mate has been completely updated (tax tables and 941 form) and frequently sends new updates, for the year, at no additional cost.

 Please try a free download of the payroll software 

W2/1099 Electronic Filing Deadline

The deadline for electronically filing W2 and 1099 forms is nearing. Per IRS and SSA regulations any person/s required to file 250 returns or more must file those returns electronically. Others with less than 250 returns may also choose to electronically file their returns.

For the tax year 2008 the deadline to E-File your W2 and 1099 Misc forms is March 31, 2009. In order to E-File a return you must have a software that generates an electronic file that meets IRS/SSA specifications.

W2 Mate offers a complete solution for importing, preparing, processing, printing and E-Filing 1099 and W2 forms. This W2/1099 form printing and reporting software supports an unlimited number of companies, employees, recipients and forms.

You can download a free demo version of the software at http://www.realtaxtools.com/download.html

Form 941 Changes

The federal government has changed the 941 form. With the stimulus package income tax changes the form 941 has changed to accommoate the COBRA payments. The COBRA premium payment assistance payments are reflected on box 12a. Box 12b reflects the number of individuals provided COBRA premium assistance. Box 13 has been added, this box will be filled with the total from boxes 11 and 12a. The value of box 12b will not affect the values in boxes 13, 14 or 15.

The other change is with box 7. Box 7 now includes this quarter's adjustments only which are 7a, 7b and 7c. This means adjustments 7d, 7e 7f and 7g no longer exist on the form.

The Payroll Software I use, Payroll Mate, has updated the 941 form. The three new boxes 12a, 12b and 13 have been added to part 1of the 941 form. Payroll Mate calculates box 13 from boxes 11 and 12a. However, Payroll Mate does not calculate the values of boxes 12a and 12b the user inputs the values. Payroll Mate will reflect the value of both boxes on the printed form.

My Payroll Program has been updated to reflect the income tax changes of the The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

You can download a free demo version of the program at http://www.realtaxtools.com/Downloads/PayrollMateSetup.exe

Stimulus Package Changes Withholdings

President Obama has signed the stimulus package. What does this mean for employers? We are required to have the tax table changes in effect for our employees as soon as possible no later then April 1, 2009.

I have contacted my Payroll Software provider, they have advised me that the program will be updated. As I have stated before Payroll Mate makes doing payroll easy, predictable, and affordable. Any updates to the Payroll Program are free of charge including the new IRS tax tables. All updates for Payroll Mate are sent via the Internet. This makes getting the updates quick and hassle free.

This software has been wonderful at a time when we need to be cutting back on spending, I feel this program is economical. As with other providers Payroll Mate fees were not raised. For $99 you get a terrific program, helpful technical support and free updates.

You can download a free demo version of the software from the following link http://www.realtaxtools.com/payrollsoftware/Small-Business-Payroll-Software.html [Payroll Software Download].

Printing My W2 Forms

It's that time of year again. It does seem to come around awful quickly. Hopefully, by now, we have all printed and mailed W2 forms to our employees.

I was able to complete this task directly from my
Payroll Program . Payroll Mate allows me to print W2 copies B, C, D, state 1 and 2 to blank paper. The employees' W2 numbers are automatically generated from the year's payroll.

As I talked about last year Payroll Mate added a new feature for laser substitute printing. This feature allows me to print W2 copy A and the W3 forms to blank paper. I paid an additional $25 for the convenience of bypassing the red ink forms of the past. The option is well worth the money. One note, you do need to print the laser substitute forms with a laser printer.

I was able to print all copies of W2 and W3 forms to blank paper directly from Payroll Mate .

You can download a free demo if you want to from the link below:
Payroll Software Download

2009 Payroll Reminders

Just a reminder of deadlines to come

1.February

Furnish 1099-MISC Forms to independent contractors and W-2 forms to employees who worked for you during 2008.

Deposit FUTA tax owed through Dec 2008 if $500 or less.

File 2008 Form 940 (Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return).

Deposit Payroll tax for January if applicable.

2.March

File Form W-3 (Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements) with Copy A of all Forms W-2 you issued in 2008.

Deposit Payroll tax for February if applicable.

3.April

File Form 941 for the 1st quarter of 2009. Deposit FUTA tax owed through March if more than $500.

Deposit Payroll tax for March if applicable.

4.May,June

Deposit Payroll tax for the month before if applicable.

5.July

Deposit Payroll tax for June if applicable.

Deposit FUTA owed through June if more than $500.

File Form 941 for the 2nd quarter of 2009.

6.August,September

Deposit Payroll tax for the month before if applicable.

7.October

Deposit Payroll tax for September if applicable.

File Form 941 for the 3rd quarter of 2009.

Deposit FUTA owed through September if more than $500.

8.November

Ask employees whose withholding allowances will be different in 2009to fill out a new Form W-4.

Ask employees who want to receive advanced earned income credit payments during 2009 to complete Form W-5.

Deposit Payroll tax for October if applicable.

9.December

Deposit Payroll tax for November if applicable.

Verify the names and Social Security Numbers of your employees by using the Social Security Number Verification Service (SSNVS).

Place your order for W-2 forms for employees and 1099 forms for independent contractors.

Remind your employees to update their W-4 forms.




I have found useful information about payroll software and W2/1099 forms and supplies on the website www.realtaxtools.com

Changes for 2009 Wage Withholding

Thought this may be helpful information

As in past years the IRS issued a 2009 tax guide for employers. Below is a summary of the new changes for the new year.

1. Social security and Medicare taxes (rate and cutoff)

Employers must stop withholding social security tax after an employee reaches $106,800 in social security wages in 2009. The maximum social security withholding amount in 2008 was $102,000.

2. New employment tax adjustment and claim for refund process

The IRS is introducing two new forms for the 2009 tax year: Form 941-X, Adjusted Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return or Claim for Refund, and Form 944-X, Adjusted Employer’s ANNUAL Federal Tax Return or Claim for Refund.

3. Credit card payments

Employers can pay the balance due on Form 943 (Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return for Agricultural Employees) and Form 945 (Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax) by credit card. Employers can't use a credit card to make federal tax deposits.


4. Social Security Administration and magnetic media

Employers requesting verification of names and social security numbers between 51 and 250,000 employees can no longer use magnetic media to submit their requests to the Social Security Administration. Employers can upload a file through the Social Security Number Verification System (SSNVS).

5. Paid preparers must sign Form 941 and Form 944

The paid preparer’s section is no longer optional and is included in Part 5 of Form 941(Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return) and Form 944 (Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return).

Employers using an up to date 2009 payroll software to generate payroll and calculate withholding, shouldn't have a problem dealing with any of these changes for tax year 2009.