What’s the best thing about compliance? Is it the never-ending discovery that we indulge in every day or the lightbulb moments that we encounter when we find a new update that our organization needs to adhere to? Despite that, global compliance can easily be seen as the entangled cobweb that never stops getting complicated; in fact, the different geographies that come with their own regulations only catalyzes this process. In the last episode, we had looked at recent compliance updates in the APAC region. In this episode, we intend to highlight the latest compliance updates in North America. Here’s episode 2 of Region Spotlight, for you.
USA
The IRS has announced that the standard deduction for the tax year 2021 for married couples recording mutually ascends to $25,100. For single citizens and married people filing independently, the standard allowance ascends to $12,550, and for heads of households, the standard deduction will be $18,800 for the tax year 2021.
IRS Notice 2020-76 extends the deadline for employers to furnish ACA Form 1095-C or Form 1095-B to employees. The deadlines for filing Form 1095-C and Form 1095-B with the IRS remain the same, which is February 28, 2021 (if filing by paper), and March 31, 2021 (if filing electronically). IRS also announced that a new form is available for eligible self-employed individuals to claim sick and family leave tax credits under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
The Social Security Administration announced that the Social Security taxable wage base for 2021 is $142,800
Relief by CARES Act – The deferred payments mandatorily need to be paid with half due by December 31, 2021, and the other half by December 31, 2022.
The following states have increased the minimum wage, applicable from January 1, 2021.
- Washington: $13.69
- Oregon: $12.75 (effective from July 1. 2021)
- Nevada: $9.75 for employees who aren’t offered health insurance and $8.75 for employees who are offered health insurance (effective from July 1. 2021)
- Montana: $8.75
- South Dakota: $9.45
- North Dakota: $7.25
- Arizona: $12.15
- Missouri: $10.30
- Minnesota: $8.25 for employees at enterprises with low headcount and $10.08 for employees at enterprises with high headcount
- Michigan: $9.87
- Ohio: $8.80
- West Virginia: $8.75
- Indiana: $7.25
- New York state: $12.50
- Vermont: $11.75
- Pennsylvania: $7.25
- Connecticut: $13
- Denver: $77
California
Employers required to file federal EEO-1 Component 1 reports must also send pay data annually to the state. The first pay data report (for 2020) is due March 31, 2021.
California’s minimum wage is $14 at companies with 26 or more employees and $13 at companies with fewer headcounts.
In September 2018 former Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law that required California-based companies to name at least one female director by the end of 2019. Furthermore, the law mandates that any board with at least five members must now include at least two women, and any board with six members has to include three women by the end of 2021. Also, companies get a year to add more boardroom diversity.
Canada
Employers who are eligible for the 10% temporary wage subsidy (TWS) must file their self-identification forms before March 1, 2021.
The minimum wage in Canada is set by each province and territory; it ranges from CAD 45 to CAD 16 per hour.
That’s what we have in our update vault right now, with respect to North America. In the next episode, let’s look at the recent law amendments and regulations specific to Europe. Until then, sayonara!
Are you looking to implement a global compliance solution, pre-configured for your hyper-local needs too? You might want to look at this brochure.
