Payroll tax deferral coming in your next paycheck starting 9/21

CFPB's payroll provider is implementing the President's payroll tax deferral scheme starting in pay period 18, which covers the period from 08/30/2020 to 09/12/2020. CFPB employees paid less than $4,000 per pay period after certain deductions (including health insurance, flexible spending, and health savings accounts) will notice the change in your paycheck starting 9/21.

NTEU opposes this stunt which is meant to stimulate the economy but will in reality only result in a temporary, illusory increase in paychecks that will have to be paid back starting in January.

NTEU is advising all employees, no matter your income, to check your paycheck for pay period 17 right now and note the amount of Social Security Tax you pay. Especially if you make less than $4000 a paycheck, start setting aside the Social Security tax amount yourself because you will have to pay it back starting January 1. 
 

Check whether this affects you:

You can find this information by logging in to MyEPP: 

1. Click on “E&L Statements” in the navigation menu.
2. Scroll down to the “Earnings and Deductions” table and find the row for code 76, “SOCIAL SECURITY (OASDI)”. Check the value in the "Amount P/P" column to see your Social Security Tax deduction for the current pay period. 
3. If your Social Security Tax deduction for the current pay period is zero, scroll back up to the "E/L Statement Summary" table and find the row for Pay Period 17. Click the icon in the last column of this row to view the details for Pay Period 17 in the "Earnings and Deductions" table.
4. Scroll back down to the "Earnings and Deductions" table, which should now be showing the details from Pay Period 17. Note the value in the “SOCIAL SECURITY (OASDI)” row under “Amount P/P.” This is the amount of Social Security Tax you would normally pay each pay period. Write this down!

Automatically save the money:

There is an easy way to have your paycheck automatically direct deposit money to a savings account in MyEPP.

1. Click on “Financial Allotments” in the navigation menu.
2. Click the “Self Service” button on this page.
3. Click “Start New Allotment” to add a bank account that accepts direct deposit.
4. Use your Social Security Tax amount from step 4 above as the “Allotment Amount.” This will automatically direct deposit the amount of social security tax that would normally be deducted from your paycheck. 
5. Keep in mind, your paychecks may vary over the next few months, for example if you take unpaid leave or earn overtime, so the amount of tax you ultimately have to repay starting in January may differ from the amount you set aside in savings.
6. In January, follow these steps to edit the Allotment and turn off the automatic savings deposit. We recommend you set a calendar reminder to do this.