Blog

With the 2016 tax reporting season mostly in the rear view mirror, it’s time to take a look back at the significant changes to the reporting landscape that occurred over the last 12 months. It’s also important to think about what those changes mean for the future. One thing is certain: 2016 was a year […]

The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue has revised its instructions for completing Form PA-501, Employer Deposit Statement of Employer Withholding Tax. There are clarifications and modifications to this instructions of which filers should take note: • “Gross Compensation” was clarified to mean “Total Compensation Subject to PA Tax.” • “Credits” was clarified to instruct filers to […]

The Ohio Department of Taxation (ODT) recently published new instructions which modify the way businesses request a refund when there is over-withholding. ODT still uses the Withholding Tax Application for Refund (Form WT-AR), but now limits the circumstances in which filers may use the form to request a refund. Generally, if over-withholding occurs, it will […]

    The IRS’s International Data Exchange Service (IDES) has published an answer to a Frequently Asked Question regarding TIN reporting in 2018 – for Tax Year 2017 information. Beginning in 2018, Model 1 FFIs will no longer be permitted to use nine zeros in place of a U.S. TIN. Article 6(3)(b) of the Model […]

The IRS has announced that IDES will be open for the testing of FATCA files from Monday, June 19, 2017 at 8:00 AM EST until Friday, July 14, 2017 at 5:00 PM EST. The test session will be open to users who have completed IDES enrollment by Thursday, June 15, 2017 at 5:00 PM EST. […]

The Italian Internal Revenue Service has published a newly enacted order relative to the implementation of FATCA for this year’s filing season. This order updates the technical annexes, replacing the previous ones that were used for the last year’s filing. The new specifications are intended to reflect the changes to the IRS FATCA XML Schema […]

Jersey’s tax authority has published Practical AEOI Guidance ahead of this year’s filing season in order to clarify certain issues and provide updates regarding account reporting and transmittals. The Practical Guidance addresses the following specific topics: • The release and change over to the US FATCA v2.0 schema • New elements in the US FATCA […]

Sovos is predicting the majority of transmittals submitted by qualifying financial institutions to early adopter tax jurisdictions in the next two months may be rejected and returned for correction and resubmission. As a result, institutions may require several rounds of resubmissions before their data is accepted. The majority of transmittals submitted by qualifying financial institutions […]

Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) legislation is constantly evolving worldwide as the standard is rolled out around the world. The Sovos research team continually monitors new regulations and updates across the globe and publishes them in our Taxport Compass tool. Here are some important changes that occurred in recent weeks: Germany Releases FATCA Schema Files […]

The IRS has published additional Frequently Asked Questions that address general compliance issues related to FATCA obligations. Specifically, the FAQs touch upon Foreign TIN and Date of Birth requirements. A withholding agent must obtain a foreign TIN for: • A foreign person claiming a reduced rate of withholding under an income tax treaty if there […]

The Affordable Care Act Employer Mandate is in full force for tax years 2016 & 2017, despite the ongoing dialogue in Washington DC.  Although it is a “good faith” filing year, corrections and replacements are still required and penalties can be enforced. The Affordable Care Act Employer Mandate has been a crucial talking point for […]

Recently, the Cayman Islands published its version 2.0 for CRS Guidance. The Guidance is a very important document for CRS reporting as it contains important information for due diligence and reporting requirements. In particular, Cayman will require Reporting FIs to send separate reports for each of its jurisdictions where it maintains reportable accounts. Moreover, it […]

Germany’s BZSt released both FATCA schema files (XSD files are provided in the [zip file|www.bzst.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/FATCA_downloads/ELANKOM_Schema_FATCAXML2.0_230317_zip.zip?__blob=publicationFile]), and guidance ([Communications Manual Part III, version 2.0|www.bzst.de/DE/Steuern_International/FATCA/Kommunikationshandbuch/Kommunikationshandbuch_FATCA_Teil_III.pdf?__blob=publicationFile]). Both provide important information on how to properly create FATCA returns. Information about the releases can be found in the latest [Infobrief|www.bzst.de/DE/Steuern_International/FATCA/Infobrief/Aktuell/Infobrief_Aktuell.pdf?__blob=publicationFile]. In addition, Germany published guidance on notifications (“[Verarbeitungsprotokolle FATCA|www.bzst.de/DE/Steuern_International/FATCA/zul.Korrekturwege/Verarbeitungsprotokolle.pdf?__blob=publicationFile]”), and […]

Regulatory and legislative updates to 1099 form requirements that took place in recent weeks. Individual states and the IRS introduce new 1099 form requirements and changes to existing legislation on a frequent basis. Sovos documents each of these updates in its Taxport Compass portal to arm clients with the most current and accurate information and […]

SSA has released Draft Form W-2 and Form W-2c Specifications for TY2017 Reporting. There are a number of changes from the previous revisions of the two form specifications. Form W-2 Changes Form W-2 has a new box 12 Code FF money field, Permitted Benefits Under a Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement (Code FF), and […]

Paul Banker, General Manager – Sovos Compliance, attended a meeting of Working Party No. 10 on Exchange of Information and Tax Compliance, as a member of the CRS Business Advocacy group that works with the OECD on the automatic exchange of information (AEOI). ‘Roles are now at stake’ in financial institutions around the world as […]

Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) legislation is constantly evolving worldwide as the standard is rolled out around the world. The Sovos research team continually monitors new regulations and updates across the globe and publishes them in our Taxport Compass tool. Here are some important changes that occurred in recent weeks: Cayman Island Publishes List of […]

Financial institutions (FIs) will face major challenges when preparing for the Common Reporting Standard (CRS). Among the most significant of these will be compiling and organizing their data at the risk of failing to achieve compliance and suffering from damaged reputations. According to Corinna Hedtke, Senior Manager for Client Tax Information Compliance, Europe at Standard […]