The 2018 Accounting year, is  here!

With 2018 here, we’re here to update you with some tax changes, what to do for those bonus checks, and important information about your 940 and W-2 forms.

Payroll Tax Updates

Here’s the latest on what’s changing for 2018. We’ve updated our service to incorporate the items below, so you don’t have to worry.

• Social Security wage base is changing—The 2018 Social Security wage base will increase to $128,400.
• Additional Medicare Tax—Wages in excess of $200,000 will continue to be subject to an extra 0.9% Medicare tax in 2018.
• Credit reduction states—If you pay wages in California, you will pay more in federal unemployment tax (FUTA) when you file your Form 940 for 2017. Visit the IRS website for more information.
• New W-2 and 1099 filing deadlines—In an effort to combat fraud, The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015 was passed by Congress and signed by President Obama in December 2015. One key provision revises the filing deadline for W-2 forms and certain types of 1099 forms.

The deadline for both employee and agency copies is January 31, 2018.

For Your Employees: Import W-2 forms to TurboTax

As part of your payroll service, your employees’ W-2 form information is automatically made available for their use with TurboTax. Get more details about the feature and instructions for changing your preference option.

Running Your Final Payroll for 2017

If you use direct deposit to pay your employees, here are some things to keep in mind as the year comes to a close:

• Direct deposit deadline for 2017—The last day to submit a direct deposit payroll for a pay date in 2017 is Wednesday, December 27, 2017 by 5 PM PT.
• Bonus checks—You can pay your bonuses as a separate check or as a part of your employees’ regular paychecks.

Customer Care Corner

Here are more tips from our very own customer care team.

• Looking for Form W-3?—Click Reports then type Tax and Wage Summary in the search field and hit Enter to review the information you would find on Form W-3. Form W-3 is not required when filing electronically using QuickBooks Online Payroll. Learn more about Form W-3.
• Update your state unemployment insurance (SUI) rates—If you received a notice from your state agency telling you to update your rate starting January 1, 2018, click the gear icon in the upper-right to access your Settings. Choose Payroll Settings > Tax Setup and then State Tax Information. Then click Change or add new rate to enter the new rate and effective date. Click OK to save.

Need to file 1099-MISC Forms?

QuickBooks makes tax time easier than ever for small businesses with 1099 contractors.

• Be ready for tax time—NEW! Invite contractors to electronically provide their current tax info (W-9) so you’re ready to file 1099-MISC forms at tax time. All you need to provide is their name and email – QuickBooks will do the rest.
• Get your 1099 filing done right in less time—The Intuit 1099 E-File Service lets you file your 1099-MISC forms electronically with the IRS.

Coming in January! When you E-File through QuickBooks by January 27 at 5 PM (PT), we’ll deliver copies to your contractors by the IRS deadline so you don’t have to.

 

Don’t forget, the first IRS deadline is January 31, 2018.