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• You can search for specific information (such as a state name) in this article. Details

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  3. Enter the search term in the search field. As you type your search term, the Help & How-To Center highlights all instances of the term in the body of the article.
• If you are looking for a specific update, but it doesn't appear in this bulletin, try checking the Accounting CS Alerts & notices article. 
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Accounting

• We have updated the Tax Code Listing PDF for the 2020 tax year.

Report Designer

• We have added the Special Type variable in the following sections of the variable tree.
  • Payroll > Check > Deduction Items
  • Payroll > Check > Deduction Items > Location and Department Distributions

Layout Designer

• We have added the Special Type variable in the following sections of the variable tree for payroll check layouts.
  • Payroll > Check > Deduction Items
  • Payroll > Check > Deduction Items > Location and Department Distributions

General - Payroll

• Maine. The Maine Department of Labor has changed their supplemental rates that make up their total unemployment rate. Accordingly, we have made the following changes to the Unemployment Rate dialog (accessed from the Payroll Taxes tab of the Setup > Clients screen) for Maine clients. These changes will impact new clients and new unemployment rate records in existing clients.
  • We have added the Unemployment program administrative fund rate field to accommodate the UPAF tax rate that went into effect on January 1, 2021. The default rate is 0.13%.
  • We have updated the default Competitive skills scholarship fund rate to 0.07%.

COVID-19 changes

• We have made the following changes to the application as a result of the extension and expansion of several COVID-19 payroll provisions that were included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, which was signed into law by President Trump on December 27, 2020.
  • We have made the following enhancements to the Employee Retention Credit functionality in the application. For more information, see COVID-19 - Employee Retention Credit.
    • We have added the First quarter and Second quarter checkboxes for 2021 to the COVID-19 Acts tab of the Setup > Clients screen. Details

      When the 2021 checkboxes are marked, the application will calculate the Employee Retention Credit at 70% (up from 50% in 2020) for each employee up to $10,000 in qualified wages per quarter (up from $10,000 per calendar year in 2020).

  • We have added the following variables to the Client > COVID-19 Acts Information section of the variable tree in the Report Designer.
    • Claim First Quarter 2021 Employee Retention Credit
    • Claim Second Quarter 2021 Employee Retention Credit
  • We have updated the following reports that are available in the Accounting CS Library.
    • Cash Requirements and Deposits - COVID-19
    • Depository Totals - COVID-19
    • EFTPS Payment Worksheet - COVID-19
    • EFTPS Phone Payment Worksheet - COVID-19
    • Employee Retention Credit Summary
    • Preprocessing Summary - COVID-19

    For more information, see COVID-19 custom reports.

  • We have addressed an issue that, in certain circumstances, prevented the calculation of COVID-19 paid sick leave in 2021 even though the period begin and period end dates on the payroll check were on or before March 31, 2021.

Accounting CS Payroll, for live payroll processing

In addition to any changes made for general payroll features listed above for after-the-fact payroll processing, the following changes have been made for the live payroll processing features specific to Accounting CS Payroll.

• For every release, be sure to check the Updates for payroll tax rates, limits, and minimum wage rates (year to date) article to stay on top of changes that may affect your firm and clients.

Payroll compliance

• We have added state-specific Form 1094-C/1095-C internet files for Rhode Island. For more information, see Processing 1094-C and 1095-C forms.
• Hawaii. We have added the ability to file Form W-2 Copy 1 electronically via FSET. For more information, see Hawaii payroll tax information.
• Illinois. We have addressed an issue that, in certain circumstances, caused the application to close when attempting to process Form IL-941 electronically for a quarter with no payroll.
• Michigan local. The City of Jackson now requires all employers to file Form W-2 Copy 1 electronically and will no longer accept paper copies of the form. Therefore, we have removed the Paper filing method and added the Magnetic filing method. You can file the form using the Magnetic filing method.
• Missouri local. The City Treasurer (Kansas City) now requires all employers to file Forms RD-110, RD-113, and W-2 Copy 1 electronically and will no longer accept paper copies of the forms. Therefore, we have made the following changes to the application.
  • We have removed the Paper filing method for Form RD-110 and added the Web fill-in method. You can file the form using the Internet filing method.
  • We have removed the Paper filing method for Form RD-113 and added the Internet and Web fill-in methods. You can file the form using the Internet filing method.
  • We have removed the Paper filing method for Form W-2 Copy 1. You can file the form using the Internet filing method.

Updates for payroll tax forms, tax agents, and new hire files

To search for a specific state, locality, form, or file in one of the sections listed below, follow these steps.

• Payroll tax forms added

  We have added the following forms, internet files, and electronic files.

  State

  • Hawaii – Form W-2 Copy 1 electronic file
  • Rhode Island – Form 1094-C/1095-C internet file

  Local

  • Michigan
    
    • Treasurer, City of Jackson – Form W-2 Copy 1 magnetic file
• Payroll tax forms updated

  We have updated the following forms, internet files, and electronic files to the latest versions available from the agencies. Those forms marked with an asterisk (*) were released via an alert between application updates, not as part of the current release.

  Federal

  • Form 941-X (for all tax processing periods, including 9/30/20 and later)

  State

  • Colorado – Form DR 1093
  • Connecticut – Form 1099 internet files. We have updated the files to include the .txt extension.
  • Hawaii – Form HW-30
  • Indiana – Form WH-3*
  • Kentucky – Forms K-5
  • Montana – Form MW-3 and MW-3 Continuation
  • New Jersey – Form 1099 internet files. We now generate the 1099 internet files for New Jersey when either the client or recipient is in New Jersey.
  • Oregon – Forms STT-A and STT-2 Annual

  Local

  • Michigan
    
    • Treasurer, City of Jackson – We have removed the Paper filing method from Form W-2 Copy 1.
  • Missouri
    • City Treasurer (Kansas City) – We have removed the Paper filing method from Forms RD-110, RD-113, and W-2 Copy 1.
• Tax agents updated

  We have updated the following tax agents.

  • Pennsylvania – We have updated the municipality and school district liabilities for the following tax agents.
    • Capital Tax Collection Bureau - LST
    • Keystone Collections Group - LST
• Forms pending approval

  The following forms are pending approval. Once the forms have been approved, we will make them available in a subsequent software update.

  Forms that are approved after the current update (and before the next update) will be made available immediately. We will inform you of the approval in the following ways.

  • Via an alert message that displays when you open the application.
  • In the Payroll Alerts section of the Notices portlet on the Home or Firm dashboard.

  Annual forms

  • Kentucky local
    • Fayette County Public Schools – Form 222-S
    • Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government – Form 222
  • Ohio local
    • Central Collection Agency – Form CCA-W3
    • City of Cincinnati Income Tax Division – Form W-3
    • Columbus City Treasurer – Forms IT-13 and IT-13J
  • Pennsylvania local
    • City of Philadelphia – Form PHILADELPH_Annual

Accounting CS includes two interactive tools that provide valuable payroll tax information.

• The Payroll Form and Filing Information portlet provides information on federal, state, and certain local tax agents in the Home Dashboard or Firm Dashboard.
• The State-specific payroll tax form information article provides information on state payroll tax forms, processing tips, due dates, filing methods, agency information, tax payment details, state ID formats, e-filing notes, new hire reporting requirements, and more.