January 31, 2022
Here is some of the latest news issued to payroll professionals by the IRS in their e-News for Payroll Professionals:
Tax filing season underway; IRS urges extra caution to speed refunds, avoid delays
The IRS kicked off the 2022 tax filing season on January 24, 2022 with an urgent reminder to take extra precautions to file an accurate return electronically to help speed refunds, avoid delays and avoid interest and penalty charges. Read the IRS news release for this year’s deadlines and tips for a smooth filing season.
Ken Corbin, Commissioner, Wage and Investment division, gives an overview of the 2022 filing season and tips to help file an accurate return in the latest issue of A Closer Look, The 2022 Tax Season Has Started - Tips to Help You File an Accurate Return,
Special tips for reporting the advance Child Tax Credit
The IRS shared this Fact Sheet with tips for the Advance Child Tax Credit and filing the 2021 tax return. Tax preparers and their clients should carefully read advance CTC letter 6419. tThe IRS sent letters (”2021 Total Advance Child Tax Credit (AdvCTC) Payments”) to payment recipients to help ensure tax returns are accurate, and urges people to check their IRS Online Account for questions about advance payments. The Online Account includes the official figures in the IRS systems; using this number will help avoid potential processing and refund delays. Taxpayers should correctly include the amount of advance Child Tax Credit payments they received last year when filing their tax return to ensure a timely refund.
Wage statement deadline is January 31
The deadline to file Forms W-2, Wage and Tax Statements, and Form W-3, Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements, with the Social Security Administration is January 31, 2022. Filing these documents timely helps employers avoid penalties and helps the IRS in fraud prevention.
Forms 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Information and Forms 1099-NEC, Nonemployee Compensation are also due January 31.
The IRS and SSA encourage all employers to e-file. It’s the quickest, most accurate and convenient way to file these forms. For more information about e-filing these forms visit SSA.gov/employer.
Delays in Employer Credit Advance Payments
Expect payment delays until late January 2022 for Form 7200, Advance Payment of Employer Credits due to COVID-19. Taxpayers may continue to file Forms 7200 by fax until January 31, 2022, and any applicable employment tax returns by their required due date.
More Information:
Coronavirus Tax Relief for Businesses and Tax-Exempt Entities
Standard mileage rates for 2022
The 2022 standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) are:
58.5 cents per mile driven for business use, up 2.5 cents from the rate for 2021
18 cents per mile driven for medical, or moving purposes for qualified active-duty members of the Armed Forces, up 2 cents from the rate for 2021
14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations; the rate is set by statute and remains unchanged from 2021.
Notice 2022-03 contains the optional 2022 standard mileage rates, as well as the maximum automobile cost used to calculate the allowance under a fixed and variable rate (FAVR) plan. The notice also provides the maximum fair market value of employer-provided automobiles first made available to employees for personal use in calendar year 2022 for which employers may use the fleet-average valuation rule in or the vehicle cents-per-mile valuation rule.
EITC Awareness Day was Friday January 28, 2022
Millions of workers may miss the valuable IRS Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) because they don’t claim it on their tax return. Last year, 25 million eligible workers and families received about $62 billion in EITC. Read more about EITC Awareness Day
File and pay taxes by April 18 deadline to avoid penalty and interest charges
The IRS is asking payroll professionals to remind their employees, clients and partners that they can avoid penalties and interest by filing no later than April 18, 2022 and by paying their taxes on time.
This short video, Avoiding Interest and Penalty Charges, has more details.
Sources & References:
IRS e-News for Payroll Professionals Issue Number: 2022-01