President Trump recently signed a series of executive orders. The Payroll tax order authorized deferral of employee side payroll taxes September 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020. Employers are not required to defer the payment of payroll taxes. If an employer does elect to defer payment, it applies to employees with bi-weekly pay of less than $4,000 (pre-tax) and notice 2020-65 requires the employer to withhold and pay those deferred taxes later.
From January 1, 2021 to April 30, 2021, the employer must “ratably” deduct any deferred employee OASDI taxes from the wages paid to the employee and penalties and interest could apply if deferred taxes are not paid timely.
