Hartford, CT - Connecticut Department of Revenue Services (DRS) Commissioner Kevin B. Sullivan is again reminding employers to take special care when calculating income tax withholding for employees with unusual earnings during the holiday season. Said Sullivan, “I’m sure no one wants to see employees earning extra income for the holidays get ‘Scrooged’ by inaccurate over-withholding. For new seasonal employees, employees earning holiday over-time or employees receiving end of year bonuses, we want to remind employers and their payroll processors not to treat the unusual income as if it is part of the employee’s income all year.
Commissioner Sullivan also cautioned employers who have still failed to comply with the August 1, 2011 deadline to implement the interim income tax withholding changes that cover the entire 2011 tax year. Said Sullivan, “It’s wrong and just plain mean-spirited for employers to leave their employees with nearly empty pay envelopes during the holiday season. There is no good reason why any employer should have so delayed implementing the new withholding that employees are now paying out five months of catch-up withholding in one or two paychecks.”
Again, Commissioner Sullivan reminded employers that state law allows them to correct the over-withholding of employee pay by returning the money to their affected employees.
Workers believing they may be under withheld by their employer can send an estimated income tax payment to DRS by electronically filing Form CT-1040ES, Estimated Connecticut Income Tax Payment for Individuals. Visit the DRS Taxpayer Service Center at www.ct.gov/TSC.
Taxpayers who adjusted their withholding amounts for 2011 will need to submit a new Form CT-W4 to their employer in the new year to prevent these changes from continuing into 2012.
Visit the DRS website at www.ct.gov/DRS to view Announcement 2011(6) and the attached CT-W4T, or to find other tax information and to file and pay Connecticut taxes online. For telephone assistance, call the DRS Taxpayer Services Division at (800) 382-9463 (Connecticut calls outside the Greater Hartford area) or
(860) 297-5962 (from anywhere). Media calls only should be directed to the Communications Office at
(860) 297-5610 or emailed to sarah.kaufman@po.state.ct.us.
