Electronic Filing - PALite - Pennsylvania Local Income Tax ...

1 BUSINESS INFORMATIONGROUP, FilingWorking with PALite and BIG BackOffice UsersBIG BackOffice Tax Support ServicesRevised:November 2013 This document provides information for employers submitting information electronically to PALite memberbureaus or to tax collection entities using the BIG BackOffice tax administration :11/2013-The list ofparticipatingcollectors and bureaus has been updated. No changes to file requirements for PSD codes and specifiedline breaks for EFW2 l e c t r o n i c f i l i n gw i t h P A L I T E a n d B I GPage1 WelcomeThank you for your interest in supporting Local tax collection in Pennsylvania . This document will discusselectronic file formatsused bycollectors subscribing to the family of services and/or those thatuse the BIG BackOffice tax administration Able to Accept These FormatsThe following collectors support the formats outlined in this document:Collector NameYork Adams Tax Bureau (Adams & York Counties)Blair County Tax Collection Bureau (Blair County)Williamsport Municipal & School Earned Income Tax Office (Lycoming County)Danville Area Earned Income TaxOffice (Montour County)Forest County Earned Income Tax Office (Forest County)No PALite online Filing .

2 Submit magnetic mediadirectly toForest County Earned Income Tax OverviewsThe BIG BackOffice tax system andthe online Filing system accepteither of two formats:EFW2(also known as MMREF)and Microsoft Excel files. You can useeither ofthe formats described herein to submityour employee details to any of the bureaus noted above (and perhaps others who have adopted theseformats).WhetherEFW2 or Excel, the same format can be usedto filefor a single employer accountorformultipleemployer accounts. When Filing for multiple accounts with an Excel file, you must useaccount numbersprovided by the tax planning your file formats, remember these tips: ForEFW2/MMREF files:The file must have separate RE records. Each new RE record encountered bythe importing systems will be considered a , the file may contain more thanone RE record having the same EIN (that is, more than one set of detail records for the sameemployer).

3 For EXCEL files:The file must contain an ACC or ACCOUNT column if you are Filing for more than oneemployer account with a single Excel Federal EIN is not an acceptable account format can be used to submit EIT or LST details. Allemployeraccounts MUST be pre-registered with the tax bureau you will submit bureauscan also initiate your PALite registration where on PSD CodesAdetailrecord can valid Residential PSD, a valid Work works and lives in the stateof valid Residential PSD, 880000(out of state)for Work in PA, but works Residential PSD, valid Work out of state, but works in the Residential PSD, 880000 lives and works outside the NOT BE REPORTED HERE unless otherwise specified by the l e c t r o n i c f i l i n gw i t h P A L I T E a n d B I GPage2 Excel Format SpecificationThe Excel file format specification iseasiest foremployers or preparers who do not have a fully featured system capableof producing the more established (but more complicated) MMREF/EFW2 file file facts Columns can be in any order.

4 Formulas in cells are okay. Macros must NOT be included in the file. Blank columns or rows can cause file upload problems. Data should be contiguous. Only the visible tab in the workbook will be read when the file is recommend providing only a single tab where possible. A payroll service may file for more than one account in a single Excel file. Canbe used for EIT or LST only file EIT or LST in a single file. That is, you may not file multiple tax types in a single FileFormatThe Excel File format is very headings must appear in the first row of the berecognized by PALite ,a headingmust containone ofthe textstringslisted headings arenot case system ignores any additional (s)DescriptionNotesACCACCOUNTA ccount The Filing account assignedby the tax field is only required whenfiling for multiple EIN is not an acceptable account Security NumberFIRST NAMEFNAMEFIRSTF irst NameInclude first name and middle initial if possible, and given suffix(SR.)

5 , JR., III, etc.)LAST NAMELNAMELASTLast NameNo middle initials or suffixesin this field,pleaseADDRESSADDSTRES treet AddressNo PO Boxes,pleaseCITYCITCitySTATESTS tate2 character US state designationZIPZip CodeGROSS WAGESGROWAGG ross wages being used for this negative number is acceptable in theevent that wages were over-reported in a previous not required for LST WITHHELDTax Withheld for this include negative number is acceptable in theevent thatwithholdingswere over-reported in a previous PSD the PennsylvaniaState PSD assigned to the municipalityin which this individual State PSD codescan be found zeros are required( 010101 must be not valid). Column not required for LST PSD the Pennsylvania StatePSD assigned to themunicipality inwhich this individual works. Generallyspeaking, their home office . Pennsylvania State PSD codes can be found zeros are required( 010101 must be not valid).

6 E l e c t r o n i c f i l i n gw i t h P A L I T E a n d B I GPage3 MMREF / EFW2 file formatFiles submittedto the collector on mag media or submitted online to PALiteusing EFW2/MMREF formatfollowthe Federal Government s guidelines can be found in the Social Security Administration spublication number 42-007,Specifications for Filing Forms W2 File Format Can be used for EIT filings,notfor LST filings. The codes RE and RS are the onlyrecordsrequired by the BIG and PALite systems. Each record must be followed by a single record delimiter consisting of a carriage-return/line feed(CR/LF) placed immediately following position 512. The RErecordshould be implemented as specified in the SSA publication noted above. The RSrecordshould be implemented as specified in the SSA publication noted RS fields should be additional fields are required:PositionLengthField NameRequired Information5-95 Tax Entity CodeSee the table below3081 Tax TypeCodeMust be F 309-31911 Local Taxable WagesInclude two decimal positions but no decimal($ =00000100000)320-33011 Local Income Tax WithheldInclude two decimal positions but no decimal($ =00000100000)338-3436 Residential PSDMust supply the PSD of the municipalitywhere this individual PSDMust supply the PSD of the municipalitywhere this individual State PSD codes can be found Entity CodesNote.

7 When uploading to PALite , use the codesspecified belowOrganizationCodeBlair County Tax Collection BureauBCTCBYork Adams Tax BureauYATBW illiamsport Area Earned Income Tax OfficeWATOor WASDD anville Earned Income TaxOfficeDATOor DANVF orest County Earned Income Tax OfficeFCTOor FCTBT echnical ContactBusiness Information Group, Support Services156 North George StreetYork, PA 17401 Phone.