October 17, 2017 Illinois state unemployment insurance returns must now be filed electronically using the Department of Revenue's MyTax filing system The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced that it has successfully transitioned employer state unemployment insurance (SUI) tax reporting from the now-defunctTaxNet reporting system to the Illinois Department of Revenue (DOR)'s MyTax Illinois reporting system. Employers with 25 or more employees not already registered to file and pay state income tax withholding over the DOR's MyTax Illinois system are advised to register immediately so that they will be able to file the third quarter 2017 SUI contribution and wage report (Form UI-3/40) due on October 31, 2017. Failure to file monthly wage reports and/or quarterly contribution and wage reports (Form UI-3/40) electronically could result in the assessment of a penalty. Details The Illinois Departments of Employment Security (IDES) and Revenue (IDOR) announced that the IDES retired its TaxNet unemployment tax reporting system beginning in September 2017. Employers will instead use the DOR's MyTax Illinois reporting system for both unemployment and withholding tax reporting. Starting in September 2017, Illinois employers are now able to use MyTax Illinois to complete all their SUI tax processes, including the monthly SUI wage reporting and the quarterly contribution and wage reporting and payment. MyTax Illinois is the secure website portal that is maintained by the IDOR and used by Illinois employers to electronically file withholding tax returns and pay taxes and fees. Benefits of the switch to MyTax Illinois MyTax Illinois now serves as a one-stop shop for all Illinois employer state taxes. Employers are able to register their new business with both the IDES and the IDOR in one location at the same time (previously, this involved two separate processes). Employers are able to see all of their tax correspondence and account balances online sooner and get quick confirmation that reports and payments have been received/processed rather than waiting on responses that were previously mailed from the IDES. The IDES has instead developed clearer tax letters and correspondence to be delivered online. The IDES also plans to offer a new online method for employers to (1) request refunds; (2) submit tax appeals and request penalty/interest waivers; (3) set up a deferred payment plan; (4) submit Power of Attorney (POA) relationships; (5) report zero quarterly wages; and (6) view SUI tax rates. IDES to stop mailing blank paper returns While employers with less than 25 employees are still allowed to file paper quarterly SUI tax returns, the second quarter 2017 Form UI 3/40, Employer's Quarterly Contribution and Wage Report was the last pre-printed quarterly report mailed to the small businesses. The IDES says that this move is due to increased security concerns surrounding employee names and Social Security Numbers. Instead, those small employers that plan to continue reporting on paper must download Form UI 3/40 from the IDES website. Employers of less than 25 employees may also choose to file and pay electronically through the MyTax Illinois website. Zero wage tele-filing system to be discontinued As of August 31, 2017 the zero wage tele-filing system is discontinued. Now, employers will be able to file their quarterly zero wage reports through (1) a non-log in feature on MyTax Illinois, needing only their FEIN and SUI account numbers; (2) MyTax Illinois if an account has been set up; or (3) by downloading and filing paper quarterly Form UI-3/40s. Credit card payment option also to be discontinued As of August 31, 2017, the ability to pay SUI taxes by credit card is discontinued. Instead, SUI tax payments can be made for free through MyTax Illinois by ACH debit from a checking or savings account. Employers also have the option to mail in a payment using a check or money order. Other changes FTP filing has been eliminated. The last day to file FTP wage reports was August 31, 2107. For quarterly ICESA filers, there are minor changes to the file format. Employers that use third party software to create their ICESA files may want to contact the third party provider regarding the following changes: — For the E record position 267, you will need to fill with either an a. O for original, b. an A for amendment (which is a full file replacement) or c. an S for supplemental (which is used when adding employees to the original file) — For the T record positions 258-267, the Document Control Number field is now "Not Used by IDES" Employers that use SIDES to respond to UI claim notices (or wish to do so) may establish a SIDES profile through MyTax Illinois. Employers that currently use a payroll service company to handle tax processing needs should note that the IDES and IDOL provided transition information to them directly (see below for more details). Registration information Employers that already have a MyTax Illinois account have immediate access to their SUI accounts to begin monthly and quarterly return processing. Employers without a MyTax Illinois account must establish their account by registering at the MyTax Illinois website ?or by contacting the IDOR Central Registration staff at +1 217 785 3707 For more information on this important change, see the IDES website. Changes for payroll service companies? The IDES contacted payroll service companies (referred to by the IDES as Service Bureaus) directly during the month of August 2017 with specific login information on how to correctly?establish a MyTax Illinois Service Bureau account. Registered Service Bureaus should have received a verification PIN in August 2017 to use along with their Service Bureau ID to create a MyTax Illinois account. Upon registration, the Service Bureau was provided with an authorization code to complete the registration process. Once completed, Service Bureaus have full client functionality. Service Bureaus involved in the IDES quarterly SUI rate exchange will see a change in the process. Service Bureaus will no longer need to submit CDs to IDES and IDES, in turn, will no longer need to return those CDs with the Service Bureau's client's SUI rate information. Under the new MyTax Illinois process, Service Bureaus with a valid POA with their client will be able to extract the client's SUI rate and account balance information whenever they need to by simply clicking on a button to request information on their client's rates. An output file should be received the day after the request is made. Service Bureaus should go here for more information. ———————————————
——————————————— EY Payroll News Flash
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