Important Calendar Year End Reminders

by Karin M. Smith, MBA, SFO, CFE, Consulting Partner

Posted on January 9, 2018

It is hard to believe that the Christmas decorations are coming down, the New Year celebrations are now in the past…before we know it, we will be planning for 2019! Before we jump too far ahead, there are some important calendar year updates to be aware of. School districts, non-profits and governmental entities spent a lot of time at fiscal year-end updating important information and the calendar year updates can often slip by us.

With the calendar changing there are several calendar year-end tasks that can’t be missed. Here are a few items to make sure are on your other list, and make sure to check them twice because you may be on Santa’s naughty list for next year if they don’t get done!

Payroll

  • Update Tax Withholding Tables using 2018 Circular E before you process your first payroll. (Note – as of this publication date, the 2018 tax tables have not been released, so the 2017 rates should be used until the new tax tables are available.) 
  • Update social security maximum deductions to 6.2% of $128,400 ($7,960.80)
  • Update 403b maximum contributions amount to $18,500
  • Verify no non-exempt employee is earning less than $10.50 per hour in Arizona ($11.00 for City of Flagstaff)
  •  Updated W-4s: If you have any employees who claim ‘exempt’ on their W-4, don’t forget those exemptions expire on February 15, 2018 so it is important to obtain updated withholding certificates prior to that date.

Employee and Non-Employee Compensation Reporting

  • W-2s must be submitted to the Social Security Administration and the employee no later than January 31, 2018.
  • 1099-Misc must be issued to the vendor by January 31, 2018 and if reporting non-employee compensation in box 7, must also be submitted to the IRS by January 31, 2018. If amounts are reported in box 8 or 14 the due date to the IRS is February 15, 2018.

Public School District Tax Credits

  • As a reminder, school districts can receive 2017 tax credits through April 15, 2018. Each individual school must submit a report by February 28th showing the total number of donors, the dollar amount received and the amount spent by extracurricular program by February 28, 2018.

Be sure to complete these tasks.  Fees and penalties will surely ruin any new year cheer!!