Although the income tax filing season rests on the horizon, now is the time for Utah employers to prepare to meet new electronic filing requirements.
The 2015 Legislature passed a law requiring all employers to electronically file their state annual withholding reconciliations including W-2 and 1099 forms by Jan. 31.
“This will be a significant change for about 60,000 businesses,” said Charlie Roberts, spokesman for the Utah State Tax Commission. “Of the more than 80,000 Utah employers, only about 25 percent filed withholding documents electronically in 2015.”
The new law also prohibits the Tax Commission from issuing income tax refunds before March 1, unless both the employer and the employee have filed all required returns and forms.
“In short, the state must receive the required electronic withholding reconciliation, along with the W-2 and 1099 forms from an employer and have a return filed by an individual taxpayer before a tax refund can be issued,” Roberts said.
The Tax Commission has sent notices of the new law to all businesses and will be sending additional information in November. The agency is also working with business organizations and other state agencies to notify employers.
“We will be conducting in-person and web training sessions for businesses later this year,” Roberts said. Detailed information on the new law and how to comply is found at tax.utah.gov/training.
