Reemployment Tax Additional Topics

If you move, sell, or close your business, or change your business structure, you must notify the Florida Department of Revenue. You can submit the information online or download an Employer Account Change Form (Form RTS-3 ).

An employer may apply for voluntary coverage for its employees by completing the Voluntary Election to Become an Employer Under the Florida Reemployment Tax Law (Form RTS-2 ). Voluntary coverage is for a minimum of one calendar year and subject to approval.

An employer will be eligible for termination if it has not met any liability criteria for an entire calendar year or if the business closes (which is different from only selling assets, selling stock, or merging into another business to be the continuing entity). If the employer qualifies because it has not paid wages for a year, the employer must apply for termination of coverage by April 30 of the following year. Contact the Florida Department of Revenue in writing to close the account of a closed business after the final wages have been paid. Once liability is terminated, the employer must reestablish liability in the same manner as any new employing unit.

The Florida Department of Revenue manages the State of Florida’s New Hire Reporting Center. Federal and state laws require employers to report newly hired, re-hired and temporary employees within 20 days of an employee’s start date. The Department’s Child Support Program utilizes employment information and employer cooperation to assist with child support order compliance. The reported employment information through the New Hire Reporting Center is also used to detect and help prevent public assistance and reemployment fraud.

Unemployed workers who are covered under the Florida Reemployment Assistance Program Law will receive benefits if they are eligible and qualified. Prompt and accurate information from employers is vital to the establishment of a claimant's right to benefits. Employers must furnish information on time when requested. This helps protect the employer's tax rate. Information must be complete, accurate, and factual.

For more information about the claims process, including qualification requirements and disqualification reasons, contact the Florida Department of Commerce (Commerce).

Commerce, which handles reemployment assistance claims and appeals, has an online claims and appeals system called RECONNECT. Employers should call 800-204-2418 if they have questions about RECONNECT.

Reemployment assistance law provides a fair and impartial hearing to resolve disputes. The Florida Department of Revenue will make every attempt to resolve informal protests. If not resolved, the employer can appeal to the Florida Department of Commerce. In most instances, appeals must be filed within 20 days from the date printed on the notice, must be in writing, and must clearly state the reasons for appealing. Read the appeal rights on the notice to ensure that you file your appeal within the specified time frame. For more information, contact Florida Department of Commerce, Division of Workforce Services at 877-846-8770.

Review Commonly Used Reemployment Tax Notices . The list contains descriptions of why the notice is issued. If you still have questions, call the Department's Taxpayer Assistance at 850-488-6800 Monday-Friday, excluding holidays.

An employer may receive an income deduction order requiring them to deduct child support payments from an employee's wages. If you are required to file and pay taxes electronically, you must also remit these payments electronically. Find out more.

A Common Paymaster is a designated corporation of a group of related corporations (“the Common Paymaster group”) that has been approved by the Florida Department of Revenue to be a Common Paymaster group. The Common Paymaster reports the Florida wages of all employees who work for it plus the Florida wages of employees with concurrent employment. An employee who performs services for and earns wages from the Common Paymaster as well as at least one other corporation in the Common Paymaster group has concurrent employment. The term “corporation” includes a limited liability company (LLC) that is classified as a corporation for federal income tax purposes.

By combining and reporting the wages of an employee with concurrent employment on the Common Paymaster’s Employer’s Quarterly Report (Form RT-6), the group pays reemployment tax on the taxable wage base for that employee just once rather than each corporation paying reemployment tax on the taxable wage base for that employee.

What a Common Paymaster is Not

Having a corporation approved to be a Common Paymaster does not:

• allow the wages of all employees of related corporations in the approved Common Paymaster group to be reported on the Employer’s Quarterly Report (Form RT-6) filed by the Common Paymaster unless all employees had concurrent employment;
• allow the wages of unrelated corporations to be reported by a Common Paymaster;
• allow the wages of employees of related entities other than corporations or LLCs that are classified as corporations for federal income tax purposes to be reported by a Common Paymaster;
• allow each corporation to continue to pay wages directly (paycheck, bank deposit, etc.) to its employees who are being reported on the Employer’s Quarterly Report (Form RT-6) of the Common Paymaster; or
• remove the quarterly filing requirement for the other corporations in the Common Paymaster group, even if the wages of all of its employees (who all have concurrent employment with the Common Paymaster) are reported by the Common Paymaster. Therefore, no fewer Employer’s Quarterly Report (Form RT-6) forms are submitted when a related group has a Common Paymaster report the wages.

Eligibility

1. Only corporations and LLCs that are classified as a corporation for federal income tax purposes (collectively referred to as “corporations”) can be part of a Common Paymaster group. No sole proprietorships, partnerships, or LLCs treated as partnerships or sole proprietorships for federal income tax purposes can be included in the Common Paymaster group.
2. All corporations must have an active reemployment tax account prior to the approval and effective date of the Common Paymaster group, but not necessarily prior to submitting an Application for Common Paymaster (Form RTS-70).
3. The group applying for a Common Paymaster must be a group of related corporations and must continue to be considered a group of related corporations. The group of corporations must meet at least one of the following four criteria to be treated in Florida as a group of related corporations:
   
   
   1. The corporations are members of a “controlled group of corporations” as defined in section 1563 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or would be members if paragraph 1563(a)(4) and subsection 1563(b) did not apply;
   2. In the case of a corporation that does not issue stock, at least 50 percent of the members of the board of directors or other governing body of one corporation are members of the board of directors or other governing body of the other corporation, or the holders of at least 50 percent of the voting power to select those members are concurrently the holders of at least 50 percent of the voting power to select those members of the other corporation.
   3. At least 50 percent of the officers of one corporation are concurrently officers of the other corporation.
   4. At least 30 percent of the employees of one corporation are concurrently employees of the other corporation.
   Documentation to demonstrate corporate status and that at least one of the above four criteria has been met must be provided with the Application for Common Paymaster (Form RTS-70).
4. There must be concurrent employment with the Common Paymaster corporation and at least one other related corporation of the Common Paymaster group. Florida employees with concurrent employment are those performing paid services for the proposed Common Paymaster corporation and for at least one other corporation in the related group of corporations that are applying to be a Common Paymaster group. Concurrent employment is subject to verification.
5. The Common Paymaster must pay concurrently employed individuals by one combined paycheck.
6. Since all corporations in the Common Paymaster group must be employers in order to obtain Common Paymaster approval, all corporations must have a current open and active reemployment tax account as of the submission of the Application for Common Paymaster (Form RTS-70), or submit a Florida Business Tax Application (Form DR-1) with the RTS-70 to open a reemployment tax account for any newly formed corporation or a corporation that had not previously met the reemployment tax filing responsibility threshold.

The Approval Process

If a group of related corporations believes it has met the eligibility requirements and desires to have one of its corporations become a Common Paymaster, the Application for Common Paymaster (Form RTS-70) must be completed and submitted with the appropriate documentation. A completed Florida Business Tax Application (Form DR-1) must be included for any applicant without an active Florida reemployment tax account. An Affidavit of Concurrent Employment (Form RTS-72) must be included to report new employees and any employees who previously did not have concurrent employment with the Common Paymaster but do for the quarter in which the application is filed.

On the Affidavit of Concurrent Employment (Form RTS-70), the Common Paymaster includes the names of new employees hired since the last RT-6 report was filed, their Social Security numbers, and the corporation(s) for which each employee will be working. This list must be signed by the officers of the corporations, attesting to the concurrent employment, and will be accepted with the Application for Common Paymaster to demonstrate concurrent employment. The attestation by the officers will be considered initial verification of concurrent employment, but further verification may be conducted by the Department.

A Common Paymaster application is never approved with an effective date prior to the submission of the application. Any approved Common Paymaster status will take effect for the quarter beginning after the date of the approval letter.

While awaiting the decision of the Department regarding the Common Paymaster application, all corporations would continue to file separate Employer’s Quarterly Reports (Form RT-6).

Adding a Corporation to the Approved Common Paymaster Group

If another related corporation desires to join the Common Paymaster group after the initial approval, a new Application for Common Paymaster (Form RTS-70) must be completed for the new group (in all situations); a completed Florida Business Tax Application (Form DR-1) and an Affidavit of Concurrent Employment (Form RTS-72) also should be submitted as appropriate. Until the quarter after the new group obtains approval, the new corporation must separately file an Employer’s Quarterly Report (Form RT-6) to report all wages paid for services performed by its employees.