Oh no! The IRS is changing the W-4! While the final version of the form isn't expected until November, the current draft gives us a good idea of what employers and employees will begin using starting in 2020.

What does this mean for my employees and the taxes they pay (because you know they're going to ask you those questions)? Taxes, payroll, the IRS, their forms, and everything associated with these requirements can all seem so confusing and stressful to employees. These things are often referred to as “adulting” because they bring with them anxiety and fear, and they seem to encourage avoidance. In reality, the changes aren't as daunting as they seem. Here's an overview of what you should know when your employees ask.

If you are filing your quarterly tax returns through Aatrix, the State of Oregon has a new requirement that a company’s BIN number has to be verified by a previous quarter’s taxes. The requirement can be fulfilled by doing the following:

It’s that time of year when the impact of the recent Oregon Legislation Session is starting to be realized by employers. Several new laws (and at least one that previously was implemented) are, or will be, affecting employers and employees. Following is a summary of just some of the changes on the horizon.

It's quarter end again, which means - among many other tasks - that it's time for Oregon employers to submit reports to the state for the Oregon Statewide Transit Tax. For Sage 100 Payroll users, we previously provided a method for storing Oregon Statewide Transit Tax information in Sage 100 Payroll. Subsequently, we developed a process and a pair of Crystal Reports that can be installed in Sage 100 for getting the information out of the Sage 100 Payroll module so that it can be transferred to the State of Oregon via Revenue Online, the Oregon Department of Revenue's site for tax reporting and payment. Since this process is done only quarterly, we thought refreshing your memories with the steps might be welcome. Those are below.

Do you have employees in Washington state? Have you been collecting premiums for the Paid Family and Medical Leave since January 1, 2019?

In October 2018, we published a blog post entitled 'Washington Based Employers: Family Leave Act Premiums Begin January 1, 2019'. The post provided details on the program that became effective on January 1, 2019 as well as the new requirements for employers with employees in Washington state. Here's an update with an important change to the first quarter reporting deadline.

With a new year come new changes and updates to payroll requirements. 2019 is quickly approaching, so - like last year - we compiled the following list of items that may initiate some payroll changes in your organization. You might start thinking about these and take action sooner than later.

On December 19th, Sage will release a year-end Interim Release Download (IRD) with program changes for Accounts Payable and Payroll, as well as a 2019 Tax Table Update. Please note that the IRD and Payroll Tax Table Update are available for only specific versions of Sage 100 and Sage 100cloud; so please keep reading to find out which versions those are!

In June, we provided a method for collecting your Oregon Statewide Transit Tax information in Sage 100 Payroll. This approach involved storing the tax collection data in Sage's State of Oregon 'Employee SDI' field, since the State of Oregon doesn't have SDI tax. Now it's time to submit reports to the state for this tax, and you'll need to get the information out of the Sage 100 Payroll module so that it can be transferred to the state via Revenue Online, the Oregon Department of Revenue's site for tax reporting and payment. We've come up with a way to make this process as easy as possible.

In late June, the Supreme Court of the United States - in a 5-4 decision - ruled in favor of South Dakota that states may charge tax on purchases made from out-of-state sellers, even if the seller does not have a physical presence in the taxing state. This decision is a drastic departure from the high court's previous interpretation of The U.S. Commerce Clause in this area and in fact overturns Quill Corp. v. North Dakota. Such a broad expansion of nexus has out-of-state retailers concerned about a new set of obligations with regard to sales tax collection and reporting. This ruling is just the latest chapter in the story of sales tax nexus, which has been heating up since states found themselves starved for revenue during the recession of 2008.

Why do states select some companies for audit while leaving others in peace? There are several factors, few of which will come as a surprise:

• Past audit history
• Volume of sales a company reports to the state
• Volume of exempt sales claimed
• Ratio of exempt sales to total sales
• Industry

While most of these elements seem obvious, that last criterion can be puzzling: Industry. Yet this factor has started accounting for more and more audit activity across the United States, and it doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. So what exactly does a company's industry affiliation have to do with the chances of an audit, and what else should businesses know? Download this free white paper, compliments of the tax experts at Avalara, and find out.