Introduction

SF Not Planning on Participating in Payroll Tax Deferral

SF Not Planning on Participating in Payroll Tax Deferral

September 8, 2020 – President Trump recently issued an executive order regarding the temporary deferral of an employee’s share of the Social Security tax. This order gives employers the option to place the employee’s obligation to pay the 6.2% Social Security tax on hold during the period from Sept. 1 – Dec. 31, 2020, then requires the repayment of that obligation during the period from Jan. 1 – April 30, 2021. This tax deferment would apply to employees paid at a rate of less than $4,000 bi-weekly.

At this time, Santa Fe College has elected not to implement the deferral, primarily for two reasons:

  • To Protect our Employees — since this would only be a deferral (not an elimination) of the tax, implementing it could potentially impose a financial hardship on our employees when their paychecks during the first 4 months of 2021 are reduced by an additional 6.2% from their normal amount.
  • To Protect the College — for any employee leaving SF during this period, the College would be legally responsible for the repayment of the deferred taxes, to the extent that it was not able to collect them from the employee. This could create a significant negative financial impact on the College.

We will continue to monitor any further developments regarding this issue and will keep you informed with updates.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our Payroll Manager, Chris Stenftenagel at chris.stenftenagel@sfcollege.edu