Treasury Secretary Clarifies Executive Order Regarding Social Security Withholding
August 18, 2020
As previously reported on, President Trump has issued an Executive Order deferring the employee portion of Social Security taxes from September 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. The deferral is only available to employees who are paid less than$4,000 bi-weekly ($104,000 per year). The Order directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue guidance; no such guidance has been issued as of yet. However, subsequent to the Order being issued, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stated that the deferral wouldnot be mandatory for employers to implement. In light of this announcement and the specific language in the Order, we are now recommending that employers do not implement the change to withholding unless employees affirmatively elect to do so.
