West Virginia Wage Base Change

The WorkForce West Virginia, Unemployment Compensation Division increased its wage base limit to $12,000 from $8,000 for tax year 2009. Details are provided in the following Notice. Intuit QuickPayroll is releasing Payroll Update 20916 to comply with this change.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if I'm affected?
You may be affected if:

· You pay West Virginia State Unemployment Insurance (SUI) taxes on behalf of  your employees; and

· At least one of your employees have exceeded the wage base limit of $8,000

1. in the first quarter (01/01/2009-03/31/2009) or

2. by the end of the second quarter (06/30/2009).

If these conditions apply, refer to the instructions below. If needed, consult with your accountant or tax advisor for guidance. 

Will I have to amend my first quarter Contribution Report if one or more of my employees have met or exceeded the wage base limit of $8,000?

Yes. Because Intuit QuickPayroll is programming the wage base change with an effective date of January 1, 2009, an amendment to the first quarter Contribution Report will be necessary if one or more of your employees have exceeded the $8,000 wage base limit.

What steps do I need to take?

1. Download and install Payroll Update 20916 as soon as it is released.

2. Identify employees who exceeded the $8,000 wage base limit and enter resulting Payroll Liability Adjustments.

3. Prepare an amendment for first quarter only if you have employees that earned more than $8,000 by the end of the first quarter.

Step 1 – Download and install Payroll Update 20916 as soon as it is released.

For more information on how to download and install a Payroll Update, click on the Help menu, select User’s Guide from the drop down list, click on the Index tab, and then type “Updating” in first field.  Help is provided for both downloading and installing Payroll Updates.

Step 2 - Identify employees who exceeded the $8,000 wage base limit and enter resulting Payroll Liability Adjustments.

Backup your Company File

1. Go to the File menu and click on Back Up.

2. Select where you want to save the backup copy; click Save.

Insure you have a copy of your first quarter Contribution Report.

Generate and print the Payroll Item Detail report to identify employees who have exceeded the $8,000 wage base limit. 

1. Go to the Reports menu, highlight Payroll Reports and then click on Item Detail.

2. Click on the Customize tab.

3. Select Last Calendar Quarter (01/01/2009 to 03/31/2009) on the Report Dates drop-down.

4. In the Columns section, select (left margin), Type, Date, Name, Payroll Item, Income Subject to Tax, Wage Base, and Amount. Click OK.

5. Select on Employee in the Total By drop-down list.

6. Select the Filters tab. In the Choose Filter section, click on Payroll Item on the Filter drop-down list.

7. Then select on WV – Unemployment Company on the Payroll Item drop-down list. Click OK.

8. Print a copy of the report.

9. Then run a report for second quarter by selecting This Calendar Quarter (04/01/2009 to 6/30/2009) on the Dates drop-down list.

10. Print a copy of the report.

Identify all employees who exceeded the $8,000 wage base limit in the first and/or second quarters. 

· For the First Quarter of 2009

1. Calculate the additional wages due (up to the new $12,000 wage base limit) for each employee who exceeded the $8,000 wage base limit.

2. Then calculate the additional tax due for each employee by multiplying the employee’s additional wages due by your Company’s SUI rate. 

· For the Second Quarter of 2009

1. Calculate the additional wages due (up to the new $12,000 wage base limit) for each employee who exceeded the $8,000 wage base limit.

2. Then calculate the additional tax due for each employee by multiplying the employee’s additional wages due by your Company’s SUI rate. 

· If you have at least one employee who exceeded the $8,000 wage base limit in either the first or second quarters prior to downloading Payroll Update 20916, proceed to Payroll Liability Adjustments.

Payroll Liability Adjustments are needed to correct all discrepancies for the prior and current quarters.  

Note: Wage bases for employees who have exceeded the wage base limit of $8,000 will not adjust until a subsequent payroll is processed. These wage base adjustments will appear in the quarter the payroll was processed.

1. Go to the Activities menu and then click on Adjust Liabilities.

2. In the Date field, enter the date for which you are making the adjustments. In this case, 03/31/2009 for the first quarter or 06/30/2009 for the second quarter.

3. In the Effective Date field, enter the date that you want this adjustment to affect your liability balance. In this case, 03/31/2009 for the first quarter or 06/30/2009 for the second quarter.

4. Select the Employee radio button and choose the employee’s name from the drop-down list.

5. In the Item Name field, choose WV – Unemployment Company.

6. In the Amount field, enter the amount of the tax adjustment as a positive number. 

7. In the Memo field, enter a note to yourself about the adjustment, i.e. adjustment due to wage increase

8. Click Next Adjustment if additional adjustments are needed. 

9. When you have finished adjusting the tax liability for each affected employee, click OK.

Manual Adjustment to your Payroll Item Detail report

1. Generate and print a Payroll Item Detail report for the first and second quarters. 

2. You will see tax adjustments you entered for each affected employee under the “Amount” column.  You will not see any wage adjustments under the “Wage Base” column.

3. You will need to manually adjust the printed Payroll Item Detail report in order to determine the correct total taxable wages.

4. For the first and second quarters, if payroll liability adjustments were applied, adjust the Payroll Item Detail report by adding the additional wage base amounts to the TOTAL Wage base.

Step 3 – Prepare your first quarter amendment. Refer to the manually adjusted Payroll Item Detail Report prepared in the prior section.

1. Make a copy of your 2009 first quarter Contribution Report that you filed with the agency.

2. Line 8-Taxable Wages. Cross out the original figure and write in the TOTAL Wage Base as provided in on the Payroll Item Report.

3. Line 7-Excess wages paid during the quarter. Calculate excess wage by subtracting Line 8 from Line 6. Cross out the original figure and write in the new figure.

4. Line 10–Contributions for this quarter. Calculate new total tax due for the quarter. The tax due should equal to the TOTAL Amount from the Payroll Item Detail report. Cross out the original figure and write in the new figure.

5. Line 14 – Enter the Exact Amount of Payment Submitted with this Report.  Cross out the original figure and write in the additional taxes due for the quarter.

6. On the top left corner of the Contribution Report, write AMENDED due to wage base increase. If you do not mark the report amended, the WorkForce West Virginia, Unemployment Compensation Division will charge interest on the additional tax liability.

7. File & pay your first quarter Contribution Report on or before July 31, 2009.

Second quarter 2009 Contribution Report

1. When it is time for you to prepare your second quarter Contribution Report, follow your normal process.

2. Be sure to refer to the manually adjusted Payroll Item Detail Report prepared earlier in “Manual Adjustment to your Payroll Item Detail report” section. Adjust the Payroll Item Detail report by adding the additional wage base amounts to the TOTAL Wage base for payroll liability adjustments that were previously applied.

3. File & pay your second quarter Contribution Reports on or before July 31, 2009.

Third and Fourth quarter 2009 Contribution Reports

If you are planning to use the payroll reports in QuickPayroll to complete your third and fourth quarter 2009 West Virginia Contribution and Wage reports, you will need to carefully review these reports for any employee that met the $12,000 wage base limit in quarter 1 or quarter 2 for 2009. Manual adjustments to the TOTAL Wage Base may be necessary to adjust incorrect wages (under- and/or over-stated wages) created from subsequent payrolls generated after July 1, 2009.