News
Social Security W-2 News
For Employers and Businesses Who Submit W-2 Forms
From the IRS
Social Security Wage Base Remains at $106,800 in 2011. The Social Security Administration has announced that the 2011 social security wage base will be unchanged at $106,800. The maximum social security tax employees and employers will each pay in 2011 is also unchanged at $6,621.60.
Health Care Coverage Reporting Requirement Delayed Until 2012. The IRS has issued a draft Form W-2 for 2011 and has announced (Notice 2010-69) that it will defer the new requirement for employers to report the cost of coverage under an employer-sponsored group health plan, making that reporting by employers optional for 2011. The draft form has been posted on the APA website.
IRS Announces Mid-Year Mileage Rate Increase of 4.5 Cents
The IRS has announced an increase in the optional standard mileage rates for the final six months of 2011 [IR-2011-69, 6-23-11; www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=240903,00.html]. Citing "recent gasoline price increases," the IRS has increased the standard business mileage rate from 51 cents to 55.5 cents a mile for all business miles driven from July 1 through December 31, 2011. The rate for deductible medical or moving expenses is increased from 19 cents to 23.5 cents a mile. Note: The rate for providing services for charitable organizations is set by statute, not the IRS, and remains at 14 cents a mile.
The mileage rate may be used to compute the deductible cost of operating a passenger car (also vans, pickups, or panel trucks) for business purposes. It may also be used by employers to reimburse employees for business use of their personal vehicles and to determine the amount that needs to be imputed to an employee's income for personal use of certain company-owned or leased nonluxury vehicles.
Pension Plan Limits Remain the Same in 2011.
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today announced cost of living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2011. In general, these limits will either remain unchanged, or the inflation adjustments for 2011 will be small. Highlights include:
- The elective deferral (contribution) limit for employees who participate in section 401(k), 403(b), or 457(b) plans, and the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan remains unchanged at $16,500.
- The catch-up contribution limit under those plans for those aged 50 and over remains unchanged at $5,500.
- The deduction for taxpayers making contributions to a traditional IRA is phased out for singles and heads of household who are active participants in an employer-sponsored retirement plan and have modified adjusted gross incomes (AGI) between $56,000 and $66,000, unchanged from 2010. For married couples filing jointly, in which the spouse who makes the IRA contribution is an active participant in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, the income phase-out range is $90,000 to $110,000, up from $89,000 to $109,000. For an IRA contributor who is not an active participant in an employer-sponsored retirement plan and is married to someone who is an active participant, the deduction is phased out if the couple’s income is between $169,000 and $179,000, up from $167,000 and $177,000.
- The AGI phase-out range for taxpayers making contributions to a Roth IRA is $169,000 to 179,000 for married couples filing jointly, up from $167,000 to $177,000 in 2010. For singles and heads of household, the income phase-out range is $107,000 to $122,000, up from $105,000 to $120,000. For a married individual filing a separate return who is an active participant in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, the phase-out range remains $0 to $10,000.
- The AGI limit for the saver’s credit (also known as the retirement savings contributions credit) for low-and moderate-income workers is $56,500 for married couples filing jointly, up from $55,500 in 2010; $42,375 for heads of household, up from $41,625; and $28,250 for married individuals filing separately and for singles, up from $27,750