PayrollOrg Comments on IRS Employment Tax Forms

PayrollOrg’s Government Relations Task Force commented on the IRS’s information collection notice on federal employment tax forms in September (88 F.R. 47555, 7-24-23). Of primary concern to payroll are: filing employment tax forms electronically; the IRS’s ability to process forms electronically; electronic signatures on all employment tax returns and related forms; and posting of employers’ unredacted transcripts.

IRS e-Filing and Processing of Returns

The two forms of greatest priority to add to the IRS’s Modernized e-File (MeF) system for payroll professionals are the Form 941-X, Adjusted Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return or Claim for Refund, and Form 945-X, Adjusted Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax or Claim for Refund. PayrollOrg offered to help the IRS with its reported plans to create MeF capabilities for these forms in 2024.

Electronic Signatures

PayrollOrg recommended that the IRS allow electronic signatures on all federal employment tax returns and related forms. “PayrollOrg shares the IRS’s concerns about security risks, however, technology exists today that would allow for secure electronic signatures,” PayrollOrg said.

Employer Transcripts

PayrollOrg explained that employers must be able to reconcile payroll accounts on a regular basis and need current and past IRS records available electronically. Complete transcripts also will allow IRS agents to review employers’ full records to determine accurate tax liability.

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Alice P. Jacobsohn, Esq., is Director of Government Relations at PayrollOrg.