The status of election workers has been defined by the Federal Government as being employees. Therefore, you must set up this type of employee with your regular employees.
The rules governing the taxation of election workers’ wages as of January 1, 2008, are as follows:
- Federal and State taxes must be withheld when a worker’s wage reaches $600 or more anytime during the calendar year.
- FICA and Medicare must be withheld when a worker’s wage reaches $1,400 or more anytime during the calendar year.
These minimums may change according to the IRS’s rules from year to year.
Setting up an Election Worker in Pro Fund Accounting
On the Employment Info screen, fill in the Active Status, Pay Code, and Rate boxes, and click the box next to “Election Worker” in the Specialty Flags area. This flag will tag wages paid for election work and subject these wages to the $600/$1400 taxation thresholds. Note: Once you have checked this flag, you cannot remove it.
If you hire a regular employee as an election worker, you must set up a new employee record (new employee number) and be sure that the date of birth and social security number matches the employee “Personal Info” screen.
On the Deduction screen, give the election worker all four taxes (Federal, State, FICA, and Medicare) plus the ZD deduction code*. Be sure to make the statuses “Active.”
If the election worker is hired as a regular employee of the municipality, set up a duplicate employee record (new employee number) to record regular wages. The date of birth and the social security number must match the original record; otherwise, when W2s are printed, there will be separate W2s for regular wages and election wages. Note: If an election worker did not make at least $600 in the calendar year, a W2 form will not be printed for them.
*The ZD (Zero Deductions) code must be setup in Deduction Types Maintenance with a Calc Type 29.