Sage 100 Payroll: Program Fix for the Families First Coronavirus Response Act

Sage has announced the availability of a program fix for Sage 100 Payroll 2.20.1 to comply with the requirements of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) passed by Congress on March 19, 2020. This act, which includes the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act took effect in the U.S. on April 1, 2020.

Learn more about the details of the Employee Paid Leave Rights provided by the FFCRA on the Department of Labor website.

The program fix was created to enable Sage 100 Payroll users to pay employees who have been personally impacted by COVID-19 under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave and Emergency Family Medical Leave provisions of the FFCRA.

Three new tax rules and 12 new Federal taxes

In response to FFCRA, Sage has added three new earnings tax rules, which can then be associated with new earnings codes in Earnings Code Maintenance. The new tax rules are:

• Tax Rule – 800123, Emergency Paid Family and Medical Leave
• Tax Rule – 800121, Emergency Paid Sick Leave – Self
• Tax Rule – 800125, Emergency Paid Sick Leave – Others

Medicare and Social Security taxes for these new tax rules were also added. Sage 100 previously grouped all Social Security and Medicare wages and taxes into one category (for regular wages, tips, group term life insurance, and so forth). Because these new emergency leave wages may need to be reported separately, Sage 100 will not group the wages and taxes into the standard Medicare and Social Security categories. Instead, they will be treated as Other Federal taxes. Sage has indicated that this is the best way to handle these changes in a timely manner and to ensure that customers have the data needed for future reporting purposes.

The new Federal taxes are:

• Federal Medicare Tax EPFML Employer Liability
• Federal Medicare Tax EPFML Withholding
• Federal Social Security Tax EPFML Employer Liability
• Federal Social Security Tax EPFML Withholding
• Federal Medicare Tax EPSLO Employer Liability
• Federal Medicare Tax EPSLO Withholding
• Federal Social Security Tax EPSLO Employer Liability
• Federal Social Security Tax EPSLO Withholding
• Federal Medicare Tax EPSLS Employer Liability
• Federal Medicare Tax EPSLS Withholding
• Federal Social Security Tax EPSLS Employer Liability
• Federal Social Security Tax EPSLS Withholding

Additional future Sage 100 changes:

Sage also indicates they are aware of three additional changes that will need to be made in the future when guidance is received from the Federal government. These changes are:

• A program change to adhere to the employer tax limit on Social Security wages
• An update to the Quarterly Tax Report
• Updates to Federal and State Tax Reporting

What to do now:

There are a number of important considerations related to the implementation of this program fix and the associated adjustments to your Payroll system. We strongly suggest contacting us (or your Sage 100 business partner if Kissinger is not your partner) to schedule a date and time for us to help you through this process rather than moving ahead on your own. We will also be proactively reaching out to customers to provide assistance.

Also: If you use third-party enhancements or add-ons to Sage 100, we recommend checking with the providers of those products to find out the status of compatibility updates for this program fix.

Sage 100 program fix details

We’ve created a PDF of the Sage Knowledgebase article (current as of Saturday, April 4, 2020) that details the resolution and steps involved in setting all of this up in Sage 100, but once again, we want to suggest that you contact us for help. Here’s the PDF:

How do I set up to pay employees Emergency Paid Sick Leave and Emergency Family Medical Leave associated with the HR_6201 – Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) in Sage 100?

Summary

This program fix for Payroll 2.20.1 and related tax rules, earnings codes, and Payroll settings is necessary to comply with the FFCRA. This is not a simple fix, as there are implications for multiple aspects of your Sage 100 Payroll processing, and there will be more changes coming in the future as the Federal government provides additional guidance. For these reasons, Kissinger strongly suggests that customers contact us for assistance.

Kissinger also recommends that you check with your tax advisor for answers to questions or clarifications related to required tax reporting.