DEPARTMENT
OF REVENUEMethod of Filing; Employer Quarterly Return of Income Tax Withheld, PA-W3 [43 Pa.B. 5771]
[Saturday, September 28, 2013]The Secretary of the Department of Revenue (Department) issues this notice under the provisions of section 10 of The Fiscal Code (72 P. S. § 10). This notice applies to Employer Quarterly Returns of Income Tax Withheld (Form PA-W3) that are required to be filed on or after January 1, 2014.
Employer Quarterly Return of Income Tax Withheld, (''PA-W3'')
For all calendar years following a calendar year in which a third party preparer prepares 11 or more PA-W3's, the third party preparer is required to electronically file (e-file) in the manner prescribed by Departmental instructions all such PA-W3's. Once a third party preparer is subject to this filing mandate, the third party preparer shall continue to be subject to the mandate regardless of how many PA-W3's he or she prepares during a calendar year.
A third party preparer who is subject to this filing mandate must have tax software that is compatible with Department e-filing requirements.
Rules applicable to the Filing Mandate
(a) Third Party Preparer. For purposes of this notice, the phrase ''third party preparer'' means any natural person, fiduciary, corporation or other entity who or that prepares for remuneration, or who employs one or more persons to prepare for remuneration, any return for a tax administered by the Department or is assigned a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) by the Internal Revenue Service. None of the following, however, are considered third party preparers for remuneration: (1) Tax return preparers who voluntarily prepare the returns of others for no pecuniary benefit. (2) Persons who merely provide mechanical assistance such as typing. (3) Regular employees of an employer who prepare returns for other regular employees of the employer or the employer's officers and regular employees. (4) Fiduciaries who prepare returns for the trusts or estates that they serve.
(b) 11 Return Threshold. A third party preparer must include all PA-W3's that the third party preparer or his or her members, or employees prepare and submit to the Department. This amount includes all original and amended returns. If a third party preparer has multiple business locations, the combined total of all the returns for all locations are included.
Penalty
A third party preparer who fails to file PA-W3's by the method required under this notice shall be subject to a penalty of one percent of the tax due on the improperly filed return up to a maximum of five hundred dollars ($500), but not less than ten dollars ($10).
Penalty Waiver
(a) The Department will waive the penalty applicable to a return that is not filed pursuant to this filing mandate in the following situations:
(1) The taxpayer has specifically directed the third party preparer to file the return pursuant to a different filing method than mandated in this notice. This directive must be in a written form, signed by an officer of the corporation, and provided to the Department upon request.
(2) The preparer's tax software does not support e-filing of a required attachment to the return.
(b) The Department, at its discretion, may waive the penalties applicable to returns that are not filed as prescribed in this notice, if the Department determines the filing mandate of this notice constitutes undue hardship on the third party preparer. The third party preparer must submit a written request for the waiver for every calendar year. The request must clearly explain why the filing method causes an undue hardship. A request for a waiver must be mailed to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue at the following address by November 1st of the preceding calendar year for which the waiver is requested: Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, Bureau of Business Trust Fund Taxes, Director's Office, P. O. Box 280900, Harrisburg, PA 17128-0900.
DANIEL MEUSER,
Secretary[Pa.B. Doc. No. 13-1812. Filed for public inspection September 27, 2013, 9:00 a.m.]
