Imagine Payroll - In The Know - IRS Issues Fiscal 2018 High-Low Per Diem Rates

Imagine Payroll - In The Know! 

IRS Issues Fiscal 2018 High-Low Per Diem Rates  - September 29, 2017

The list and rates of high-cost locations used to substantiate the amount of expenses for business travel away from home in fiscal 2018 were issued Sept. 25 by the Internal Revenue Service.

The rates are used with the high-low substantiation method, the IRS said in Notice 2017-54. The per diem rates, effective from Oct. 1, 2017, to Sept. 30, 2018, are to increase to $284 for travel to any high-cost location, up from $282 in 2017. The rates for travel to other locations in the continental U.S. are to increase to $191 from $189. For 2018, high-cost locations have a federal per diem rate of at least $238, up from $236 in 2017.

The amount of the $284 high rate and $191 low rate that is treated as paid for meals remains $68 for travel to any high-cost locality and $57 for travel to any other location in the continental U.S., the notice said.

These locations were added to the high-cost list: Oakland, Calif.; Lewes, Del.; Fort Myers, Fla.; Hyannis, Mass.; Petoskey, Mich.; Portland, Ore.; and Vancouver, Wash., the notice said. These locations were removed from the high-cost list: Sedona, Ariz.; Los Angeles; Vero Beach, Fla.; and Kill Devil Hills, N.C. The special rates for meals and incidental expenses for taxpayers in the transportation industry remain at $63 for any location in the continental U.S. and $68 for any location outside the continental U.S., the notice said.

Oklahoma Releases 2018 UI Wage Base, Tax Rates 

Effective Jan. 1, 2018, Oklahoma's unemployment-taxable wage base is to be $17,600, down from $17,700 for 2017, the state Employment Security Commission said Sept. 25 on its website. Effective Jan. 1, 2018, unemployment tax rates for experienced employers are to be unaffected by a conditional factor and are to range from 0.1 percent to 5.5 percent, unchanged from 2017. The tax rate for new employers is to be 1.5 percent, also unchanged from 2017.

West Virginia UI Wage Base, Rates Unchanged for 2018 

West Virginia's unemployment taxable wage base, range of unemployment tax rates for experienced employers and unemployment tax rates for new employers are to be the same for 2018 as they are for 2017, a spokesman for the state Department of Commerce told Bloomberg BNA in an email Sept. 25. Effective Jan. 1, 2018, the unemployment taxable wage base is to be $12,000. Unemployment tax rates for experienced employers are to be determined with Column C and are to range from 1.5 percent to 4.5 percent for positive-rated employers and from 6.5 percent to 8.5 percent, including a surtax of 1 percent, for negative-rated employers.

Effective Jan. 1, 2018, the standard unemployment tax rate for new employers is to be 2.7 percent. The rate for new construction employers that are contractors headquartered outside the state is to be 8.5 percent.

Indiana Releases Local Tax Rates Effective Oct. 1 

Indiana's revised Departmental Notice No. 1, used for calculating state and local income tax withholding was released Sept. 25 by the Indiana Revenue Department and takes effect Oct. 1, 2017. Tax rates for the counties of Allen, Clinton, Fountain, LaGrange, Marion, Sullivan, and Vermillion are to change Oct. 1, based on the notice. Rates for other counties are unchanged. The state-wide withholding tax rate remains 3.23 percent.

Wisconsin Reduces Threshold for Electronic Filing

Wisconsin employers filing at least 10 wage statements or returns are required to do so electronically under a law that took effect Sept. 23, 2017. Electronic filing previously was required for employers filing at least 50 or more wage statements.