HCM Insights December 2021

Upcoming Holidays

Christmas & New Year's Day

CBIZ HCM offices will be closed on Thursday, December 23, and Friday, December 24, 2021. Our offices will remain open through the New Year’s holiday. In order to guarantee the timely posting of employee direct deposits, please be aware that you should process payroll at least two CBIZ business days (by 2:00 p.m.) prior to your check date to allow the appropriate time for delivery of your checks and reports.  

Important Payroll Deadlines

For a payroll check date of December 23 - 24, it is important to process payroll on or before Tuesday, December 21, as the last bank file for the holiday week will be sent on December 23.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

The upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. holiday falls on Monday, January 17, 2022. While CBIZ HCM offices will be open this day, this is a Federal Reserve Bank Holiday, and payroll draft dates may need to be adjusted.

Important Payroll Deadlines

As always, your CBIZ HCM team is here to help should you have questions. We appreciate your continued partnership, and we wish you and your business the best of health. Please contact your payroll services team if you have any questions.

2022 CBIZ HCM Holiday Calendar

To help keep employers best informed about the 2022 holidays, CBIZ has put together the 2022 Holiday Schedule. This printable document provides a snapshot of upcoming holidays. Download the schedule to learn how the 2022 holidays affect banking operations, as well as which dates CBIZ offices will be closed in 2022.

Holiday & Year-End Shipping Reminder

The holiday season is here, which means it’s the busiest time of year for our payroll couriers! Between the holidays, current shipping delays, and the possibility of inclement weather this time of year, we encourage you to process payroll one or two days earlier than usual to ensure there is no delay in shipment. Please note that there will be no impact on bank drafts in the event payrolls are processed early. 

Deferred Social Security Repayment Due 12/31/2021

To give employers a needed temporary financial boost, the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act of 2020 (CARES) allowed employers to defer payment of the employer's share of Social Security tax.

The IRS has sent Letter 3064C to remind clients of their balance due per quarter. It is important that employers who have deferred the employer portion of social security pay at least half of the total deferred by the 12/31/2021 due date. The remaining portion will be due by 12/31/2022.

Please note if any portion of taxes deferred under CARES Act Section 2302, is not deposited by the applicable due date, the deferral of the deposit due date is invalidated for all of the employer’s deferred tax, rather than just the remaining delinquent portion. A Section 6656 penalty for failure to deposit taxes is applicable to the entire deferred amount. For example, if an employer defers a total of $50,000 for the 2020 tax period, and pays $25,000 on December 31, 2021, but fails to make any additional deposits or payments by December 31, 2022, the employer is liable for a penalty on the entire $50,000. These penalties can be substantial and will not be eligible for abatement.

Ways to make your deferral payment

• Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS)
• Credit card 
• Debit card 
• Money order 
• Check

These payments must be separate from other tax payments to ensure they are applied to the deferred payroll tax balance. IRS systems won't recognize the payment if it is with other tax payments or sent as a deposit.

EFTPS is the preferred method of repayment and has a deferral payment option. The employer selects deferral payment and then changes the date to the applicable tax period for the payment. 

Slowing the Wave of Resignations

News sources are reporting a multitude of reasons for the wave of resignations, including vaccine mandates for healthcare workers and the uncertainty of the OSHA ETS mandate. There is little doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic bears some responsibility for the growing number of workers leaving their jobs. The pandemic may have also caused folks to reassess personal priorities leaving some workers less willing to endure inconvenient hours and poor compensation. Another theory that has gained steam is the backlog of folks ready to resign, as statistics show that six million fewer resignations occurred in 2020 compared to 2019. 

No matter the cause, employers are looking for ways to retain their workforce during this volatile time. Leaders are taking note of what matters to their employees. Successful organizations will find ways to address present needs and then take it to the next step. CBIZ has put together a few strategies that can boost the employee experience and aid in keeping employees with your organization.

2022 State Unemployment Tax Rates 

Many state unemployment tax agencies have begun mailing 2022 state unemployment insurance (SUI) tax rates as well as filing frequency changes to employers. Once you receive this information please forward it to the CBIZ Payroll Tax Team. 

SUI Rates Available - November - December 2021

Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin

Please note that Georgia employers will need to obtain their rates online beginning mid-November 2021.

SUI Rates Available - January 2022

Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Washington, and Puerto Rico

Tax Software Integration

Tax season can be complicated for many workers. Sometimes just making sense of the information on the W-2 form can be challenging, let alone filing taxes. To help make things a bit easier for your employees, CBIZ continues to provide W-2 integration with TurboTax and H&R Block at no additional cost to the employer.

With H&R Block or TurboTax, employees can easily import their W-2 into either online application by entering identifying information found on their W-2 form. After entering the requested details, it only takes a click of a button for all the W-2 information to appear on the screen.

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The information contained in this HCM Insights is not intended to be legal, accounting, or other professional advice, nor are these comments directed to specific situations. This information is provided as general guidance and may be affected by changes in law or regulation. This information is not intended to replace or substitute for accounting or other professional advice. You must consult your own attorney or tax advisor for assistance in specific situations. This information is provided as-is, with no warranties of any kind. CBIZ shall not be liable for any damages whatsoever in connection with its use and assumes no obligation to inform the reader of any changes in laws or other factors that could affect the information contained herein.