With the rush of year-end in full swing and the New Year around the corner, these four important employee notifications can slip through the cracks at the start of 2009.
1. Tax consequences of company-provided vehicles: If you change the option to withhold (or not withhold) federal income tax on the value of personal use of a company vehicle, you must notify employees by: 1) 2/2/09, or 2) within 30 days after the employee received the vehicle.
2. Changes to exempt status: Let employees who claimed exempt from withholding in 2008 know that they must file a new form by 2/15/09 to remain exempt. If they don’t submit a new form, Payroll must begin withholding federal income tax as if they are single, with zero withholding allowances.
3. Wage base and other tax changes: You’ll head off a number of questions if you let your higher-ups know about the 2009 increased Social Security wage base and all federal and state tax table changes.
4. W-2 mail dates: Giving the folks who work in the mailroom a heads-up about what date you plan to mail Forms W-2 is more than a courtesy. If you’re mailing in-house, you’ll want to make sure there’s enough postage available the day you need it. If you’re outsourcing, it’ll be helpful for the mailroom to know the mail date – and what should be done with any forms that come back undeliverable.
