ETPS info

[S T]

Phone Call

John, thanks for your post on phoning for a PTIN #, but it didn't work, all that EFTPS would do, is take a phone payment which was okay as the deadline for payroll deposit was fast approaching.

EFTPS stated we would have to wait to receive the letter with the PTIN to set up the online.

Sandy

[gboykin]

Perhaps that's one of the new EFTPS rules. I know that in the past, I've had clients that went over the 2500 threshold and paid with the 941 prior to the 15th and never got any penalties. This is a good one to know a definitive answer on. I will research further tomorrow.

[JohnH]

I don't think that's correct, but would like to know if I'm wrong. It's my understanding that if the total tax liability on the 941 is over $2,500 (before any deposits are taken into account), then there's a 10% penalty for submitting payment by check no matter when it's received. The penalty would apply to any remaining amount paid by check, and not paid through EFTPS.

[gboykin]

But if they pay with the 941 and mail it tomorrow, it will probably arrive before the 15th, so there would be no penalty, as the payments were all made prior to 15th.

I had all of my payroll clients set up in November, and did all payments through EFTPS in December. I fill out the telephone worksheet that has blanks for the amounts in the order of the telephone prompts and have the clients make their own deposits. Don't like being a responsible party for their payments.

[JohnH]

I looked up the penalty for sending a check with the return and it looks like I was wrong. It's 10%' - not the 5% I had guessed. So it looks like the client is risking $135 if the mail it in with a check in hopes that they can get an abatement. (I still think it's likely that they would, but I'd be sure the client understands that's just a guess if I were discussing this with them.) this is getting into the territory that you can charge them for your time to get this worked out and they will still save some money.

You can probably get some good direction on what to do by calling the customer service number that Bob provided. On the other hand, maybe a $135 penalty might be a good lesson to encourage the client to listen to your advice in the future.

[BOB W]

For general EFTPS Customer Service assistance, call 800.555.4477

[JohnH]

Sandy:
You can call EFTPS and get a PIN number on the phone - you don't need to wait for anything in the mail. I did that back in November for several clients who lost their "Welcome to EFTPS" letter. Once you get the PIN number, you can jump through the hoops & have them signed up & ready to make their FTD in about 10 minutes. All you need is the bank account info and an agreed-upon Username and Password. My procedure was to process a $50 transaction immediately, then have the client check their bank account the next day to be sure it processed. This confirmed I had done everything correctly. Then they would make their FTD using EFTPS on a subsequent day, deducting the $50 form their amount due.

But if you don't want to do that for some reason, the penalty would only be about $50-$60 if they mail a check with the report. And I'll bet IRS will probably waive the penalty for first-time offenders provided they demonstrate that they have signed up for EFTPS and are using it in the future. (By the time a penalty notice arrived in Feb or Mar, the client would have already made one or two FTD's using EFTPS for Jan & Feb payroll).

[S T]

New Rules for Payroll Deposits

Since an employer can no longer use the 8109 tax deposit form and take to the bank effective Jan 1, 2011, I believe I have an issue.

I alerted Taxpayer - "Taxpayer" resisted, and just last week, I filed for the EFTPS registration for Taxpayer - It is probably obvious that Taxpayer will not receive the EFTPS package in time for the payroll tax deposit due 1/18/2011 (4th Qtr) 2010 - month of December 2010.

Taxpayer has already deposited the payroll taxes for Oct 2010 and Nov 2010 - just has to deposit Dec 2010 - amount is $ 1,352.

There was a phone # on the EFTPS enrollment confirmation (If it is urgent and you need to make a payment today call 1-800------)- but not sure if this will work -
Taxpayer's total liabilities for quarter are in excess of $ 2,500 however, all that is due is $ 1,352. Can Taxpayer send in the Form 941 with payment of $ 1,352 and not receive penalties???

Anyone had any experience with this?

I know even though IRS has been promoting the EFTPS for several years, there are always the "Diehard" Clients and now here we are? Wish IRS would have issued the notice earlier to allow for processing time. Guess Taxpayer was lucky that the 12-15 payment for Nov 2010 was accepted

Thanks,

Sandy

[oceanlovin'ea]

around 10th

I have 2 or 3 people that I do their EFTPS payments for. I usually do them around the 10th of the month and schedule them to post on the due date. That would give time to void if necessary.
I am just afraid that I will forget if I wait too long. Since you can schedule it for the due date, I prefer just to get it done.

Linda

[JohnH]

Something to note about EFTPS that I just discovered last month. If you make a mistake entering the amount, you can't reverse or correct it unless you reverse it 2 days prior to the draft date.

So this means that any transaction entered on the 14h cannot be reversed if you notice an error after its approved. On the other hand, if you enter the transaction on the 10th with instructions that it be drafted on the 14th, you have a couple of days to catch any mistakes and reverse them before the draft is actually processed.

This may not matter to anyone who never makes mistakes, but for others it might be wise to set up the transaction several days in advance rather than waiting until the day before.

[Jesse]

Thanks Sandy, at least I know it's not me! I'll try again tomorrow.

[luke]

JenMo

be sure to go to EFTPS no later than the DAY BEFORE payment is due (14th for 15th due date)....

[S T]

Eftps

No I can't connect either at 3:30 PM NC time
System must be down

Sandy

[Jesse]

Has anyone tried to get on the system today? I can't seem to connect and not sure if it is me, my system/providor, or the site itself?

[BOB W]

Thanks, I wasn't sure if ETPS would accept the 15th, so I guess it won't, so I can't schedule a payment on a day I'm not supposed to. I'll schedule for the 17th, which will still be timely, right? On 941's with under $2500 liability, I can still pay that by paper check?

Yes on both questions.................