Paychex

Welcome to Paychex Tax Filing Resources Site

Paychex strives to provide up-to-date federal and state tax filing information at your fingertips. This resource site is your one-stop for the latest quarter-end and year-end payroll and tax filing regulations, as Paychex’s experts receive it. As always, if you have questions about how Paychex is handling these regulations, reach out to your service specialist; if you have questions about how this impacts your business, contact your tax professional or attorney.

What you’ll find here:

Regulations and law changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic response
Topics that are relevant based on the time of year, upcoming tax law changes that may affect you and/or your employees, and easier quarter-end reporting. The most recent information and updates will be posted at the top of the page.
Regular updates throughout the year as new information becomes available.
When we add topics to the site, you'll receive email notification with links to specific topics that may interest you.

Please “bookmark” this page on your favorite browser for easy access throughout the year.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information

COVID-19 Related Quarterly Tax Filing Second Quarter 2020 – Form 941, Form 7200 and Other Tax Credits

Important Note: We’re awaiting guidance from the IRS on the third quarter 941 changes. We’ll post an update as soon as we have the information.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act both provide refundable tax credits for qualifying wages for:

Employee Retention Tax Credit (CARES Act)
Refund of wages paid for qualified sick leave (FFCRA)
Refund of wages paid for qualified expanded family leave (FFCRA)

As a result, the second quarter 2020 Form 941 has been extensively revised. Two other factors that may affect this return are:

Filing Form(s) 7200
Employer Deferral of Social Security Tax

For more information on how these topics may affect your quarterly returns, click here.

Go to Customer Support during COVID-19 FAQs for more information on all business topics related to this pandemic.

Is Your Business Prepared for the Coronavirus?

The coronavirus (COVID-19) situation is rapidly evolving. Paychex is prepared to help you stay informed and navigate potential business challenges. Check out the online resource center on paychex.com including information on workplace health, business continuity, and answers to frequently asked questions. Please check back often for updated information.

Check out your state’s response to COVID-19

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, state and local governments continue to issue new and modify existing executive orders. At the same time, the federal government is providing additional guidance to help keep people safe and coordinate re-opening efforts.

At Paychex, we realize the challenges this represents and want to help you navigate these regulations. We’ve created a COVID-19 Resources by State webpage with details on your state’s response, plus other valuable information such as:

Stay-at-Home or Shelter-in-Place orders
Collection processes
Leave regulations
Links to additional resources (state Department of Labor, state COVID-19 pages)

These state pages are part of our Coronavirus Help Center, where you can gain access to additional free resources that are updated daily with information about relief and loan programs, return to work procedures, and much more. Plus, you’ll have an opportunity to register for webinars where our HR professionals, compliance experts, and legal team share insights and best practices on managing your business through this pandemic.

Quarter-End Taxes/Packages FAQs

Q: Can I pick up my Quarter-End package like I normally do?

A: Because of COVID-19, you cannot pick up your Quarter-End package at a Paychex branch location as our offices are temporarily closed. Be sure to contact your Paychex representative to verify or change your delivery method and mailing address if necessary.

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Topics

2020 Client Quarter-End Reference Guide – Third Quarter

Access the Client Quarter-End Reference Guide to find information to help you prepare for third quarter 2020, including COVID-19 impact on quarterly returns.

In early October, the Client Tax Package Instructions will be posted for third quarter 2020. You can use this information with your quarter-end tax package.

Upcoming 2020 State Minimum Wage Changes

The following states will increase their minimum wage rate(s) as of the date indicated.

We also want to remind you that many local jurisdictions will also be increasing their minimum wage rates this year. Employees covered by federal, state, and local minimum wage laws are generally entitled to receive the highest applicable rate.

State	Non-Tipped Employees Minimum Wage	Tipped Employees Minimum Cash Wage	Effective Date
Connecticut	$12.00	Bartenders – $8.23¹ Waitstaff – $6.38¹	9/1/20
District of Columbia	$15.00	$5.00	7/1/20
Illinois²	$10.00	$6.00	7/1/20
Nevada	$8.00 (with health insurance) $9.00 (without health insurance)	N/A	7/1/20
Oregon	$12.00 – Standard $13.25 – Portland Metro $11.50 – Nonurban Counties	N/A	7/1/20
Rhode Island	$11.50	$3.89¹	10/1/20

The information found in the above chart is accurate as of June 1, 2020 and may not reflect more current information where it exists.
¹These rates haven’t changed for 2020.
² There is pending legislation to delay the effective date of this minimum wage increase until January 1, 2021.

We are happy to assist you in complying with these new minimum wage rates. Review your payroll to determine if your business and employees are affected by these changes or applicable local minimum wage rate increases and notify us of any necessary adjustments. Failure to comply with minimum wage laws may result in substantial penalties.

Important: Paychex will not make any changes to your payroll including employee pay rates, without your express instructions to do so.

If you have questions, please contact your payroll service representative.

Updated Form W-4 for 2020 – Federal and State

The IRS updated Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate, for the 2020 tax year due to changes implemented following the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). The revisions are intended to “make accurate withholding easier for employees.”

As a result, many states reviewed their own withholding forms; attached is a list of the states, any changes made to forms in 2020, and links to the most updated state forms.

2020 State Unemployment Insurance (SUI) Wage Bases

The SUI taxable wage base is the maximum amount of earned income that employers must pay for unemployment insurance tax on each employee in a year. These wage bases vary from state to state. For your convenience, attached is a one-page reference guide of all 2020 SUI wage bases with indications about what states wage bases increased, decreased, or stayed the same.

2020 Client Quarter-End Instructions – Second Quarter

Do you have any returns you need to file yourself because you’re a non-Taxpay client, or the agency requires you to file them? Click Quarter-End Package Instructions – Second Quarter 2020 to find information to remit your returns, including COVID-19 impact on quarterly returns.

Quarter-End Checklist

To remember what you need to report at quarter-end, use the Quarter-End Checklist to make sure you report everything to Paychex for first quarter 2020 by Tuesday, March 31.

Bank and Local Paychex Holiday Closings – Remainder of 2020

This document contains bank and local Paychex office closings for the rest of 2020. For information about how these holidays may affect payroll processing, click on this link, 2020 Federal Banking Holidays.

We are happy to work with you to schedule your holiday payrolls. If you have any questions, please contact your Paychex service representative.

Holiday closings for the remainder of 2020:

Wednesday, November 11 Veterans’ Day: banks closed, Paychex offices open
Thursday, November 26 Thanksgiving Day: banks and local Paychex offices closed
Friday, December 25, Christmas Day: banks and local Paychex offices closed
Friday, January 1, 2021, New Year’s Day: banks and local Paychex offices closed

Note: On the holidays that Paychex local offices are closed, you won’t have access to your normal payroll service representative; however, we have limited resources available 24/7 for emergencies.

2020 Tax Bulletin

The 2020 social security wage (OASDI) base limit is $137,700.00.00 with a maximum of $8,537.40 in withholding. Medicare (HI) wages have no limit.

To find the following information, check out the 2020 Tax Bulletin:

Federal wage base limits
Retirement plan contribution limits
Health Savings Account (HSA) and High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) limits
Information you can post for employees

2020 Payroll Calendar

To easily keep track of important dates, including bank closings, quarter-end processing and banking holidays, click here for the 2020 Payroll Calendar.

State Unemployment Insurance (SUI) Rates for 2020

Some SUI tax agencies are already sending out 2020 SUI rates. In most cases, Paychex won't receive notification of these rate changes directly from the agency. Please make sure you send these notices to Paychex as soon as you receive them so we can make sure your 2020 SUI payments are calculated and remitted using the correct rate.

Note: Some SUI tax agencies send these notices out as late as March 2020.

Ordering Supplies for 2020

If you need supplies, such as a new Paychex binder, or other important forms, like Form I-9, visit the Paychex Store.

Information for NYS Tax Filers

If any of your employees will be reporting income of $69,000 or less on their 2019 personal income tax return, they may be able to electronically prepare and file their income tax returns for free. To make sure they aren’t charged a fee, they should visit the New York State Tax Department at www.tax.ny.gov/pit/efile to access Free File software for both their federal and state returns.

Professional Employer Organization (PEO) Clients

2020 PEO Client Quarter-End Reference Guide – Third Quarter

Access the Client Quarter-End Reference Guide to find information to help you prepare for third quarter 2020. This guide includes COVID-19 related quarterly filing information.

PEO Quarter-End Checklist

To remember what you need to report at quarter-end, use the attached Quarter-End Checklist to make sure you report everything to Paychex for first quarter 2020 by Monday, March 30.

Glossary of Terms

ALE (Applicable Large Employers): In general, ALEs are employers who averaged 50 or more full-time employees, including full-time equivalent employees, in the previous year. This term is applicable to the Affordable Care Act (ACA); ALE employers have coverage guidelines to meet to avoid potential assessment. ALEs must file the associated information returns accurately and in a timely manner to avoid significant penalties.

Fringe Benefits: The value of personal use of company cars, or any other taxable cash or non-cash benefit, must be included on Form W-2.

Report these benefits before your last payroll for the year. Reporting taxable benefits with cash wages allows the appropriate withholding taxes to be deducted from employees’ checks. If these amounts are processed without wages, you may be required to pay the employee’s portion of social security and Medicare taxes.

Third-Party Sick Pay: Third-party companies are required to furnish employers with a sick pay statement of any disability insurance benefits paid to employees during the year. The statement must show the following information about each employee who was paid sick pay: employee name, employee SSN, sick pay paid to the employee, any federal income tax withheld, any employee social security tax withheld, and any employee Medicare tax withheld. If you are notified about this information after reporting the last payroll of the year, you should call your payroll contact as soon as possible.

If you have not already done so, please notify your insurance company that Paychex will include third-party sick pay on the Forms W-2 that we prepare for you. Since third-party sick pay may affect quarter-end and year-end returns.

We’ll do the hard work of switching payroll companies

Changing payroll companies can be a hassle — but when you switch to Paychex, it’s our pleasure. We have the know-how and experience to take care of everything involved with switching payroll companies, from working with you to collect the necessary paperwork to balancing your year-to-date payroll data.

We can even get you up and running in as little as 48 hours after signing up. Simply provide some necessary paperwork and info (federal ID number, employee bank accounts, etc.) and, as your new payroll provider, we’ll take care of setting up your account. To make things go even faster, we’re often able to help you pull your data directly from your previous payroll company's system.

Dedicated help every step of the way

Throughout the onboarding process you'll have a one-to-one service experience:

Sales representative will help you gather the necessary information.
Implementation specialist will audit back to the beginning of the year and process your first few payrolls for you.
Designated payroll specialist, who will be your one point of contact once you're fully onboarded, is 100 percent accountable to make sure you're taken care of.