You may recall that President Trump issued a memorandum earlier in August 2020 directing the Treasury Secretary to defer the withholding, despite and payment of the employee portion of social security tax for certain employees.
On Friday, the Secretary released a new notice on that point; however, as my colleagues explain in a new post on Employment Law Letter, the notice fails to conclusively answer many important legal and practical questions.
The biggest takeaway for employers is that businesses are not compelled to implement the deferral contemplated by the notice.
But employers should also be in touch with their payroll service provider, and ultimately both their employment law and tax attorneys with respect to implementing the deferral. There may be significant administrative complexities and headaches to worry about.
For more on the subject, read my colleagues’ full FAQ on the blog here.