February 2022: The Small Business Owner’s HR, Benefits, Payroll and Tax Compliance Deadlines
Congratulations, you’ve made it through the first month of 2022! You and your team might be getting into the swing of things now, but don’t forget about staying on top of your compliance deadlines.
To help you stay on track, here are important tax, payroll, and benefits dates coming up in February.
Federal holidays
February 21, 2022
Whether you call it President’s Day or Washington’s Birthday, either way it’s a federal holiday so all banks will be closed. Take the day off—you deserve it.
Tax and payroll compliance deadlines
Payroll tax deposits (for semi-weekly depositors)
Employers who file Forms 940 and 941 must deposit payroll taxes at different frequencies throughout the year, depending on factors like the information returns they use and their past filing history.
Semi-weekly depositors—those who report more than $50,000 in payroll taxes during the lookback period of July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021—must follow the schedule below:
However, if you accumulate $100,000 or more of tax liability in a day, then the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires that you deposit the amount by the following business day, regardless of whether you deposit on a semi-weekly or monthly basis (we’ll cover monthly deposits below).
To learn more about federal payroll tax deposits, read Publication 15.
Note that some state and local governments that collect payroll taxes will also expect their own deposits, and those deadlines may be different from the federal ones. For more information, contact your state and local tax agencies directly.
February 10, 2022
Forms 940, 941, 943, 944 and 945 filing deadline for timely depositors
These forms are typically submitted to the IRS by January 31, but if you made timely deposits of your federal payroll taxes during the period reported, you have an additional 10 days to file these tax returns. Find out more by reading Publication 15.
Additionally, employees are required to report to you any tips of $20 or more they collected during January.
February 15, 2022
Payroll tax deposits for monthly depositors
If your company follows the monthly payroll tax deposit schedule (meaning that you reported less than $50,000 in payroll taxes during the lookback period), then your tax deposit for January payrolls is due on February 15.
Forms 1099-B, 1099-S, and 1099-MISC filing deadlines
If the IRS requires your organization to file Forms 1099-B, 1099-S, or 1099-MISC (with amounts reported in box 8 or 10), then your filing due date for these forms is February 15.
Keep in mind that if your 1099-MISC forms have boxes 8 and 10 left empty, then your due date is February 28 instead (more on this later).
If your employee(s) claimed an exemption from income tax withholding in Tax Year 2021, they are required to provide you a new Form W-4 by February 15. If they do not furnish you a new Form W-4 by this date re-confirming their exempt status for 2022, then you must start to withhold as if they are single with no other adjustments starting February 16.
Form 990 filing deadline
Tax-exempt organizations such as non-profits file Form 990 with the IRS to provide certain details about their organizations and remain compliant with IRS section 6033.
If your company’s fiscal year ended on September 30, 2021, your filing deadline for Form 990 is February 15. Visit the IRS Form 990 resource page to learn more.
State 1099 and W-2 filing deadlines
Some states that require you to file 1099 forms and W-2s may follow a different schedule from the IRS. For instance, states like New Jersey and Iowa require these forms to be submitted by February 15 instead of January 31.
If you’re not sure of your state filing deadlines (or if you need to turn in any forms at all), check with your state tax agency for more details.
February 28, 2022
Form 1099-MISC filing deadline
Employers submit Form 1099-MISC with the IRS by the end of February to report certain kinds of reportable payments—such as rent, royalties, awards, and prizes—that were paid last year. If you plan on filing paper returns, you’ll also need to include Form 1096 along with them.
For more information, read Publication 1220.
Form 8027 filing deadline
Companies in the food or beverage business must file Form 8027 with the IRS by February 28 to report receipts from food and beverages, as well as the total amount of tips your employees reported to you if you are a “large food or beverage establishment.”
The IRS defines these businesses as food or beverage operations:
- That do business in the United States
- Where employees usually receive tips
- With more than 10 employees on a typical business day during the last calendar year
To get more information about this tax document, review the form’s instructions on the IRS website.
State 1099 and W-2 filing deadlines
Some states that require you to file 1099 forms and W-2s may follow a different schedule from the IRS. For instance, California requires these forms to be submitted by February 28 instead of January 31.
If you’re not sure of your state filing deadlines (or if you need to turn in any forms at all), check with your state tax agency for more details.
What is Form 944?
Finances and TaxesHR compliance deadlines
February 1, 2022
OSHA Form 300A summary posting
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires most companies with 10 or more full-time employees to keep an annual record of all reportable workplace injuries and illnesses, the time and place they occurred, and other relevant details using Form 300.
Every year, OSHA mandates that employers post the summary section (Form 300A) of last year’s incident log by February 1. This form must be kept posted until April 30.
February 28, 2022
Forms 1094-C, and 1095-C paper filing deadline
According to the Affordable Care Act, employers must provide their employees with certain health care reporting forms every year.
Employers with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees (also known as applicable large employers) must send Form 1095-C to the IRS and to all of their employees who are eligible for health insurance coverage. The due date for furnishing Form 1095-C to employees is March 2, 2022 (except for California employees which are due January 31, 2022).
You’ll also need to turn in a cover sheet to the IRS along with your returns, in the form of Form 1094-C (for 1095-C forms). If you have less than 250 forms to file and plan to send paper documents, submit them to the IRS by February 28.
However, companies that are required to file 250 or more 1095-Cs must do so electronically by March 31.
Note: For the 2021 filing year, form 1095-C contains two new codes. These two codes should be used on form 1095-C for any employer that has sponsored an individual coverage health reimbursement arrangement (ICHRA). The IRS has also ended penalty relief for reporting errors in 2021, meaning that it is extra important that the information transmitted to the IRS for filing year 2021 is accurate and without error. In previous years, the IRS granted relief to employers if the employer filed on time and showed a good faith effort in resolving any filing errors or inconsistencies. However, this year the IRS could impose a penalty of $280 for each form that is inaccurate or incomplete and provided to a participant and a separate $280 for filing the same mistake with the IRS. This means a total possible penalty of $560 per employee. For more details, please read the 2021 Instructions for Forms 1094-C and 1095-C.
Creditable coverage disclosure deadline
The Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) requires businesses that have Medicare-eligible employees and offer health care with prescription drug coverage to disclose the creditable coverage status of their prescription drug plans.
The Disclosure to CMS Form, which can be found online, must be submitted to the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) by the 60th day of the new plan year. Most plan years start on January 1, so you still have two additional days to complete this task, but it doesn’t hurt to get ahead of the deadline.
For additional information on the creditable coverage requirement, visit the CMS website.
