Gibson, “All Has Been Done As It Should Be.” on 2017 Tax File Transfer Issue – Video
April 9th, 2019 by iPhone
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County-Federal Tax File Transfers Cause Hassles for Employee Refunds – March 27, 2019
Monday, MLive received information about county employees having problems getting their federal tax refunds / credits / etc. completed, due to county documentation not being filed with the federal government.
The issue specifically deals with 2017 W-2s, which were not properly transmitted/ mailed by the county, In January 2018.
County clerk Lyna Gulledge told us that, since she has done this process for years, felt that she had done this filing process as she had in years before.
A letter was sent to the clerks office, from the Social Security Administration in Baltimore, questioning the oversight (2017), in February, 2019
That letter showed the amount that had been sent in for each employee’s 941 form (Social Security, Medicare, wage tip employee totals, etc.)
and asked about status the 2017 W-2 documentation.
Since February, the clerks office has worked to correct the issues, by re-filing the W-2 documentation for that year, and correcting data entry issues from when some employees were incorrectly entered into the system, dealing with their tax status, single/married, etc.
At this point, the data entry issues have been corrected, the updated W-2s will be mailed and/or transmitted-this week.
County clerk Lyna Gulledge assured MLive, and others who have asked, that all withholdings have been paid to their appropriate agencies, including Social Security IRS and state income tax, unemployment, Workmen’s Comp., garnishments, and any other withheld funds. This indicates that only end of year filings has been questioned.
Any monies involved due to errors or miscalculations would have remained in the normal county bank accounts, until they were transferred to the appropriate agencies, based on the updated calculations.
Clarification: It needs to be said that the 2017 W-2 tax forms were presented to the employees, for their filing, bookkeepers, etc. The only error was in the transmission of that information to the Federal government agencies
Also, it was emphasized that all agencies that use withholding on payroll, are compensated with those funds either monthly or with each paycheck, depending on state statute
2018 W-2s were distributed to employees on or before January 31,as has been the case for years.
The IRS and social security administration, were sent their information for 2018 on January 31,. Gulledge indicated that she will attempt to confirm the 2018 documents were received or send duplicate, trackable documentation, to avoid this reoccurring in the future.
Gulledge added that a similar situation occurred with the transmission of 2016 tax information, to federal government agencies. In mid 2018 they contacted her office, and the information was re-filed in July of that year.
Multiple sources indicate that the majority of county employees that are affected by this situation or those who may have applied for a tax credit, of some kind. This situation may require tax agents to compare taxpayer documentation to employers, which is currently being updated.
Employees who have contacted the clerks office have been offered individual help, such as letters to their tax assistant or reviewer, along with documented W-2 forms, in hopes of speeding up the completion of their return/refund.
Gulledge repeated her offer to help anyone affected, on a personal level; “Just come to me and tell me what I can do to help. Just let me know what tax document needs to be sent to which agency, to help get your situation resolved.”
She closed our conversation, “I apologize to every employee for inconvenience is this his calls, and will gladly help anyone comes to me, asking for any assistance, to resolve any ongoing issues.”
