TN 1 (01-20)

SL 80001.801 Reporting Responsibilities

A. State Responsibilities

1. Beginning January 1, 1987

Section 9002 of Public Law 99-509 transferred responsibility for collecting Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes for wages paid under Section 218 Agreements from the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the States to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). State and local employers are required to file quarterly IRS Form 941, Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return, with IRS. IRS is responsible for collecting Social Security and Medicare taxes, verifying the amount owed, and determining that the amount owed has been deposited.

The following subsections of Section 218 of the Social Security Act (Act) were repealed but still remain applicable to wages paid before 1987:

  • Section 218(e)—Payments and Reports by States;

  • Section 218(h)—Deposits in Trust Funds;

  • Section 218(i)—Regulations;

  • Section 218(j)—Failure to Make Payments;

  • Section 218(q)—Time Limitation on Assessments;

  • Section 218(r)—Time Limitation on Credits and Refunds;

  • Section 218(s)—Review by Secretary;

  • Section 218(t)—Review by Court; and

  • Section 218(w)—Payments of Medicare Tax.

Although the State’s liability and collection responsibility ended after 1986, States are still responsible for resolving Social Security payment and wage reporting questions concerning wages paid before 1987.

2. Pre-1987

SSA was responsible for ensuring that each State paid the correct amount of Social Security contributions for all employees covered under its Section 218 Agreement. The State Social Security Administrators were responsible for ensuring that State and local government employers filed timely and accurate returns and that they collected and paid the proper amount of Social Security and Medicare contributions to the Federal government.

With few exceptions, all required wage reports have been filed by all States for years prior to 1987 and all audits closed. Therefore, information regarding the reporting of pre-1987 wages, liability, auditing, adjustments, and corrections to pre-1987 wage reports is not included in the SL POMS. However, this information is still pertinent with respect to wages paid before 1987. Similarly, the statute of limitations concerning the extent of time under which States are held liable for contributions on wages paid prior to 1987 are not included in the SL POMS.

NOTE: 

Section 218(s) of the Act allowed a State to request administrative review of the following types of determinations issued to the State on wages paid prior to 1987:

  • An assessment by SSA of an amount due;

  • An allowance of a credit or refund of an overpayment; or

  • A disallowance of a State's claim for credit or refund.

The State had to file the request for review within 90 days after notification from SSA of the determination. Section 218(t) of the Act provided States the right to appeal SSA’s decision on the above determinations in Federal court within two years of receiving the Section 218(s) decision.

Although Sections 218(s) and (t) of the Act were repealed, Section 218(t) still applies to determinations SSA issued pursuant to Section 218(s).

B. SSA responsibilities

1. Current

  • Review and process Section 218 Agreements and Modifications;

  • Define and resolve issues related to Social Security coverage and benefits, including but not limited to, defining wages for Social Security coverage purposes;

  • Determine the amount of wages placed on an individual’s Social Security and Medicare earnings record, and correct erroneously posted amounts, as required by law;

  • Review Social Security and Medicare coverage, ensuring proper Social Security coverage and benefit payments;

  • Receive and process annual wage reports (IRS Forms W-2 and W-3 data) from employers;

  • Answer reporting questions from employers, whether filing via e-file, or paper; and assist employers in reporting correctly; and

  • Assist employers with reconciliation of Forms W-2 data with Form 941 totals.

2. Pre-1987 contributions

Prior to 1987, SSA assigned identification numbers (sometimes referred to as "69-numbers") to identify State and local entities and interstate instrumentalities that obtained Social Security coverage under a Section 218 Agreement. Because SSA was responsible for processing the wage reports and accounting for the Social Security contributions paid by State and local government employers, this number was used for reporting and record keeping purposes through tax year 1986.

Beginning with wages paid after 1986, State and local government employers with Section 218 Agreements report Social Security and/or Medicare Qualified Government Employment (MQGE) wages under their IRS-assigned Federal Employer Identification Numbers (EINs).

Some States, on their own, assign and use 69-numbers for administrative recordkeeping purposes. If a State uses a 69-number and submits a Modification that extends coverage to one or more years prior to 1987, the State should notify the SSA regional office in a cover letter what 69-number(s) should be used for the newly covered entity. However, the State still needs to provide the EIN number assigned by IRS in the Modification.

If retroactive coverage involves periods prior to 1987, the State needs to make the deposit with a Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) or branch in the same manner that pre-1987 deposits were made. This is because those subsections of Section 218 of the Act that were repealed by Public Law 99-509 are still in effect for pre-1987 years and continue to govern deposits. If the State experiences problems with a FRB deposit, contact the SSA Office of Income Security Programs.

C. IRS responsibilities

  • Advise and enforce reporting requirements for Social Security and Medicare taxes;

  • Advise and enforce withholding and depositing requirements for Social Security and Medicare taxes;

  • Receive and process IRS Forms 941;

  • Audit and collect Social Security and Medicare taxes;

  • Define and resolve employment tax liability issues;

  • Determine FICA refund requests; and

  • Advise SSA and state administrators of tax issues, clarify issues, and respond to questions from SSA, state administrators, and employers on tax matters.


To Link to this section - Use this URL:
http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/1980001801
SL 80001.801 - Reporting Responsibilities - 01/29/2020
Batch run: 01/29/2020
Rev:01/29/2020