1. column
  2. NEWS NOTES

IRS Expands Use of Electronic Payments, Discontinues Paper Coupons

By Alistair M. Nevius, J.D.

Please note: This item is from our archives and was published in 2010. It is provided for historical reference. The content may be out of date and links may no longer function.

Related

TOPICS

Regulations

The IRS has issued proposed regulations that would eliminate paper coupons for deposits of employment taxes, corporate income and estimated taxes, and many other taxes (REG-153340-09). The paper coupon payment system will be shut down at the end of this year.

With this change, taxpayers will be required to use the IRS’s Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) to make federal tax deposits of various withheld and estimated taxes. The preamble to the proposed regulations notes that more than 97.5% of all federal tax deposits are already deposited electronically through EFTPS.

The proposed regulations do continue the exception under Temp. Regs. Sec. 31.6302-1T(f)(4) for businesses that are depositing a minimal amount of withheld income and FICA taxes. Businesses that qualify can make their payments with their tax returns. Employers with a deposit liability of less than $2,500 for a return period can remit employment taxes with their quarterly or annual return.

The proposed regulations will require the following taxes to be deposited electronically:

1. Corporate income and corporate estimated taxes under Regs. Sec. 1.6302-1;

2. Sec. 511 unrelated business income taxes of tax-exempt organizations under Regs. Sec. 1.6302-1;

3. Sec. 4940 private foundation excise taxes under Regs. Sec. 1.6302-1;

4. Taxes withheld on nonresident aliens and foreign corporations under Regs. Sec. 1.6302-2;

5. Estimated taxes on certain trusts under Regs. Sec. 1.6302-3;

6. FICA taxes and withheld income taxes under Regs. Sec. 31.6302-1;

7. Railroad retirement taxes under Regs. Sec. 31.6302-2;

8. Nonpayroll taxes, including backup withholding, under Regs. Sec. 31.6302-4;

9. Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) taxes under Regs. Sec. 31.6302(c)-3; and

10. Excise taxes reported on Form 720, Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return, under Regs. Sec. 40.6302(c)-1.

As proposed, the new rules would be effective for payments made on or after January 1, 2011, and the IRS says it expects to finalize the regulations before then.