Maintain compliance with government regulations

As year-end approaches, there are many reporting tasks to complete in the human resources and payroll area. Getting these reports prepared and filed in a timely manner is essential for maintaining good compliance with government regulations. Penalties for noncompliance can be costly, and they add up quickly. U.S. and UK employers need to keep an eye on these rapidly approaching reporting and filing deadlines.

U.S. year-end reporting is concentrated in December and January

In the U.S., the year-end for payroll tax reporting is December 31, 2017. Employers must file several important reports by January 31, 2018. Additionally, employees and contractors need to receive their year-end tax documents from their employers by January 31, 2018.Year-end tax reporting requirements apply to all employers, regardless of size. Employers must file year-end wage reporting information for every employee and payment reporting for independent contractors who were paid more than $600 during the calendar year. Here are the filing deadlines for tax reporting:

• January 31, 2018 – Provide employees with W-2 forms.
• January 31, 2018 – Provide independent contractors with 1099-MISC forms.
• January 31, 2018 – File copies of W-2s with the Social Security Administration, whether you are filing paper forms or filing electronically.
• NEW DEADLINE – January 31, 2018 – File copies of 1099s with the Internal Revenue Service if you are reporting nonemployee compensation payments in box 7 (this applies for BOTH paper and electronic filing).

ACA reporting requires applicable large employers (ALEs) to file Forms 1094-C and 1095-C with the government, as well as provide copies of Form 1095-C to employees. Employers with more than 50 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) are required to complete ACA reporting. Here are the filing deadlines:

• January 31, 2018 – Provide employees with their copies of Form 1095-C.
• February 28, 2018 – Deadline to file Forms 1094-C and 1095-C if you are filing paper forms.
• April 2, 2018 – Deadline to file Forms 1094-C and 1095-C if you are filing electronically.

For more information about filing ACA or tax forms electronically, consult these IRS websites:

• IRS Filing Information Returns Electronically (FIRE) system: IRS.gov/FIRE
• IRS Affordable Care Act Information Returns (AIR) program: IRS.gov/AIR

UK year-end reporting is concentrated in April and May

In the UK, the year-end for tax year 2017/18 is 5 April 2018, and the new tax year begins on 6 April 2018. Employees need to receive their P60 year-end tax documents from employers no later than 31 May 2018.To send payroll reports to HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC), employers must use HMRC’s PAYE Online service. You may also be able to send these reports directly from your payroll software.At the end of the tax year, employers must submit a P11D form to report expenses and benefits for each employee.Employers are also required to submit a P11D(b) form if:

• they have submitted any P11D forms
• they have paid employees’ expenses or benefits through payroll
• HMRC has requested it by sending a form or an email

The P11D(b) tells HMRC how much Class 1A National Insurance an employer must pay on all expenses and benefits provided.Provide each employee who worked for your organization on 5 April with a P60 form that summarizes their total pay and deductions for the year. The P60 form must be provided no later than 31 May 2018. If payroll software doesn’t automatically produce P60s you can order copies from HMRC.

HCM solutions support your reporting requirements

When it comes to tax reporting, having good Human Capital Management (HCM) and payroll solutions is invaluable. These solutions make it easy to access complete information about employee benefits, payroll earnings, and deductions. They can also automate your payroll tax reporting to ensure you remain in compliance with all government regulations. Asure Software’s Payroll and Tax Management solutions ease the burden of tax reporting and make distributing forms and meeting filing deadlines easy.