In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, President Trump signed an executive order on Aug. 8 directing the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury to defer the withholding, deposit and payment of the Social Security tax for pay dates paid between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31. The deferral does not apply to all payroll taxes (only the Social Security payroll tax).
Implementation of the executive order was delegated to the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.
Before taking action, employers are awaiting guidance from the U.S. Department of the Treasury regarding:
How the deferral should work.
How employers are to report deferred tax amounts.
When repayment or collection of deferred taxes will begin.
The manner in which the deferred tax amounts will be collected and paid.
WVU is closely monitoring the situation and will respond once we receive guidance from the Treasury Department. We also will provide faculty and staff with additional information as it becomes available.
At this time, it is important to note this program is considered a tax deferral, not an exemption. It also is important for employees to understand a tax deferral needs to be repaid to the federal government. The Treasury Department has not yet provided guidance on when the tax will need to be repaid.
Stay tuned to ENEWS for updates and additional information. Contact the WVU Tax Services team at tax@mail.wvu.edu with any questions.