IRS Expands Voluntary Worker Classification Settlement Program

Here's something else about the IRS...

Earlier this week, the Internal Revenue Service announced that it has expanded its Voluntary Classification Settlement Program (VCSP), paving the way for more taxpayers to take advantage of this low-cost option for achieving certainty under the law by reclassifying their workers as employees for future tax periods.

According to the IRS, the agency is modifying several eligibility requirements, thus making it possible for many more interested employers, especially larger ones, to apply for this program.  Thus far, nearly 1,000 employers have applied for the VCSP, which provides partial relief from federal payroll taxes for eligible employers who are treating their workers or a class or group of workers as independent contractors or other nonemployees and now want to treat them as employees. Businesses, tax-exempt organizations and government entities may qualify.

Under the revamped program, employers under IRS audit, other than an employment tax audit, can qualify for the VCSP.  Furthermore, employers accepted into the program will no longer be subject to a special six-year statute of limitations rather than the usual three years that normally applies to payroll taxes.

VEJ