The suite of Tax screens in the Equus Platform allows mobility users to request tax-related services from vendors and track information about the services that were provided. This user manual covers the following screens, which are found under the Taxation menu group for an assignment (Figure 1):
Tax: This is a Summary screen that provides a high-level overview of the main set of Tax screens used to track requests for service and other details. This screen is known as the Tax Summary screen.
Tax Return Details: Used to track information related to assignees’ tax returns for specific countries and tax years.
Tax Briefing Details: Used to track information related to assignees’ tax briefings for specific countries.
Tax Service Request: Used to request tax-related services from vendors. These services are: Briefings, Returns, Extensions, Equalization, and Social Insurance (i.e. Social Security).
Tax Details: Used to track general information about the delivery of the Tax service for specific countries. From this screen, the following pages can be accessed:
Social Insurance: This tracks information related to social security contributions made while on assignment as well as Certificates of Coverage.
Tax Equalization Detail: This tracks high-level information that is used by the Tax Equalization process. From this screen, the following pages can be accessed:
Annual Hypothetical True-Up Summary: Used to track equalization details for a specific tax year and return type.
Final Grossup Summary: Used to track final gross-up amounts for a specific tax year.
Tax Service Eligibility: Used to communicate to vendors and track the tax years for which assignees are eligible to have their tax services prepared.
Figure 1: The Taxation menu group.
Tax Summary
Navigation: Assignments Tab
Taxation Menu Group
Tax Menu
The Tax Summary screen provides a high-level overview of the main set of Tax screens used to track requests for service and other details (Figure 2).
Tax Service Request Summary grid: Use this grid to order services from a vendor.
Create a new Tax Service Request by clicking the [New] button in this grid.
Update an existing Tax Service Request by clicking the [Edit] button in this grid.
Clients who don’t order services from the Tax Summary screen can hide this grid using Screen Section rights. This can be done in Role Maintenance by removing the View Screen Section Right from Tax - Service Request Summary Grid in the Security Role Maintenance section.
Tax Details Summary grid: Use this grid to view or add details about Federal and/or State/Provincial return requirements, Tax Returns, or Briefing services. Each row in this grid is for an individual country.
Create a new Tax Detail record by clicking the [New] button in this grid.
Update an existing Tax Detail record by clicking the [Edit] button in this grid.
Figure 2: The Tax Summary screen.
Tax Service Request Details
The Tax Service Request Details screen is used to order services from a vendor by allowing users to specify requested services for one or more countries and optionally send a Service Order to a vendor (Figure 3).
Create a new Tax Service Request Details record by clicking the [New] button in the Tax Details Summary grid on the Tax Summary screen.
Update an existing Tax Service Request Details record by clicking the [Edit] button in the Tax Details Summary grid on the Tax Summary screen.
Figure 3: The Tax Service Request Details screen.
After clicking the [New] button to get a new grid row, specify a Type (Home, Host, or Other), as well as a Country. A State/Province may optionally be specified.
When Type is Home or Host, the Country defaults the Assignment From Country or To Country, respectively, and may be changed by the user.
For each Country, Equus Platform allows the following services to be ordered:
Briefing: Interviews conducted with assignees by the tax vendor. The goal of these interviews is to discover details about assignees’ personal and financial situations, for the purpose of determining which tax services to provide. Details about this service are captured on the Tax Briefing Details screen, which is accessed from the Tax Details
Separate Spouse Briefing: Interviews conducted by the tax vendor with assignees’ spouses or domestic partners. The goal of these interviews is the same as described for the Briefing
Returns: The preparation of assignees’ annual statements of income and personal circumstances, which are used by the tax authorities to assess liability for tax. Details about this service are captured on the Tax Return Details screen, which is accessed from the Tax Details
Extensions: The preparation of statements requesting additional time to submit assignees’ returns. Details about this service are captured on the Tax Return Details screen, which is accessed from the Tax Details
Equalization: The preparation and calculation of the various amounts needed to ensure assignees do not pay more or less in taxes than they would have paid if they had stayed in their home country. Details about this service are captured on the Tax Equalization
Social Insurance: The calculation of social security contributions in Home and Host countries, as well as the preparation of applications for Certificates of Coverage and other related applications. Details about this service are captured on the Social Insurance
Services not included in this list can be specified in the Comments field.
When ready, create and send a Service Order to the applicable tax vendor. For details about how to do this, refer to the Service Management Manual.
The Service Request Details record can only be deleted when a Service order does not exist for it.
The list showing in Type can be managed in the Lookup Maintenance screen using the “Tax Country Type” Lookup Field.
Tax Details
The Tax Details screen is used to track general information about the service that was provided for individual countries (Figure 4 and Figure 5).
Create a new Tax Details record by clicking the [New] button in the Tax Details Summary grid on the Tax Summary screen. These records can also be created by vendors using the Vendor Portal or Vendor Integration, provided they have been issued a Tax service order.
Update an existing Tax Details record by clicking the [Edit] button in the Tax Details Summary grid on the Tax Summary screen. These records can also be updated by vendors using the Vendor Portal or Vendor Integration, provided they have been issued the service order associated with the Tax Details record.
For details about the Vendor Portal, please see the Portal User Manual. Please contact your Equus representative for more details on Vendor Integration.
Click the [Save] button to display the following sections: Documents, Briefing, and Tax Return.
Figure 4: The Tax Details screen, showing a record after it has been saved.
Figure 5: The Tax Details screen, continued.
Pertinent fields on this screen are:
Service Order: Identifies the Service Order with which the Tax Details record is associated. In other words, this Tax Details record is the result of the vendor’s work performed on that Service Order.
Service Orders are listed based on their Service Types, which are identified in the Service Type Screen mapping for the Tax Details screen. This means that Service Orders created from both the Tax Service Request and the generic Service Order screens are displayed, provided they reference the Service Type(s) configured for the Tax Details screen.
Tax Authority and Country: Identifies the type of Tax Authority (Home, Host, or Other) and the Country to which the Tax Details record applies.
Briefing, Tax Return, Extension: Identifies whether the Tax Details record captures information about Tax Briefings or Tax Returns. These are provided for information only.
Documents grid: Stores general documents that may have been produced or exchanged as part of providing the tax services. The following standard system-level Document Types have been provided:
· Tax Balance Sheet
|
· Tax Payment
|
· Tax Briefing Document
|
· Tax Payment Request
|
· Tax Certificate of Coverage
|
· Tax Policy
|
· Tax Equalization Calculation
|
· Tax Return
|
· Tax Form
|
· Tax Trip History
|
· Tax Hypothetical Calculation
|
|
For details about changing these, please see Getting Started Manual.
Briefing grid: Displays a list of briefing records for the Country and Service Order identified on the Tax Details record. Create a new Briefing record by clicking the [New] button in this grid. Update an existing Briefing record by clicking the [Edit] button in this grid.
Tax Return grid: Displays a list of tax return records for the Country and Service Order identified on the Tax Details record. Create a new Tax Return record by clicking the [New] button in this grid. Update an existing Tax Return record by clicking the [Edit] button in this grid.
Click the [Close] button to return to the Tax Summary screen.
Clients who don’t use the Federal Tax Information and State/Provincial Tax Information sections can hide these using Screen Section rights. This can be done in Role Maintenance by removing the View Screen Section Right from Tax Details - Federal and State/Provincial Tax Information in the Security Role Maintenance section.
Tax Briefing Details
The Tax Briefing Details screen is used to track information related to assignees’ tax briefings (Figure 6).
Create a new Tax Briefing Details record by clicking the [New] button in the Briefing grid on the Tax Details screen. These records can also be created by vendors using the Vendor Portal or Vendor Integration, provided they have been issued a Tax service order.
Update an existing Tax Briefing Details record by clicking the [Edit] button in the Briefing grid on the Tax Details screen. These records can also be updated by vendors using the Vendor Portal or Vendor Integration, provided they have been issued the service order associated with the Briefing’s parent Tax Details record.
The Service Order and Country identified on the Briefing’s parent Tax Details screen also apply to the Briefing record.
Click the [Save] button to display the following sections: Status, Documents, and Comments.
Figure 6: The Tax Briefing Details screen, showing a record after it has been saved.
Pertinent fields on this screen are:
Briefing Type: Identifies whether the Briefing applies to exiting or entering a country, is a regularly-scheduled annual briefing, or a different type of briefing (i.e. <Other>).
The list showing in Briefing Type can be managed in the Lookup Maintenance screen using the “Tax Briefing Type” Lookup Field.
Briefing Waived: Identifies whether the assignee wished to have the briefing. When this is not checked, it indicates the assignee did not wish to hold the briefing.
Spouse Briefing: Identifies whether the briefing was provided to the Spouse instead of the assignee.
Additional Service Date: Identifies when the tax service provider has provided an additional agreed-upon service to the employee. Examples of additional services are: providing personal investment tax advice, applying for the Netherlands 30% Ruling, or calculating projected stock award taxes.
Scheduled and Actual Briefing Date: Identifies the date the briefing was scheduled to be held, and the true date the briefing was held.
Status section: The current status of the briefing service. The intention of this field is to capture the Tax vendor’s status, but can be used by the mobility team if desired.
Documents grid: Stores general documents that may have been produced or exchanged as part of providing the briefing service. The following standard system-level Document Types have been provided:
· Tax Balance Sheet
|
· Tax Payment
|
· Tax Briefing Document
|
· Tax Payment Request
|
· Tax Certificate of Coverage
|
· Tax Policy
|
· Tax Equalization Calculation
|
· Tax Return
|
· Tax Form
|
· Tax Trip History
|
· Tax Hypothetical Calculation
|
|
For details about changing these, please see Getting Started Manual.
Comments grid: Stores comments about how the briefing interview went or other details about the briefing. Comments may be provided by the tax vendor (who provided the briefing), the mobility team, or both.
Click the [Close] button to return to the Tax Details screen.
Tax Return Details
The Tax Return Details screen is used to track information related to assignees’ tax returns and extensions (Figure 7).
Create a new Tax Return Details record by clicking the [New] button in the Tax Return grid on the Tax Details screen. These records can also be created by vendors using the Vendor Portal or Vendor Integration, provided they have been issued a Tax service order.
Update an existing Tax Return Details record by clicking the [Edit] button in the Tax Return grid on the Tax Details screen. These records can also be updated by vendors using the Vendor Portal or Vendor Integration, provided they have been issued the service order associated with the Return’s parent Tax Details record.
The Service Order and Country identified on the tax return’s parent Tax Details screen also apply to the Tax Return record.
Select <Yes> in the Return Required? field to display the lower half of the screen.
Click the [Save] button to display the following sections: Notes/Documents and Status.
Figure 7: The Tax Return Details screen, showing a record after it has been saved.
Pertinent fields on this screen are:
Return Type: Identifies the authority for which the tax return or extension is prepared. Values are State/Province, National/Federal, Local, Combined National/Federal and State/Province, and Other.
The list showing in Return Type can be managed in the Lookup Maintenance screen using the “Tax Return Type” Lookup Field.
Tax Year: Identifies the year for which the tax return or extension is prepared.
The year may be formatted as a Calendar (e.g., 2020) or Fiscal Year (e.g., 2020/2021). This formatting is determined by the Country selected on the Tax Details screen, and whether that country operates on a calendar or fiscal tax year.
The Tax Year selected on the screen is stored in a database field called “Tax Year Ending”. This field is formatted as an integer (i.e. a whole number) and can be used in calculations.
The display value for the Tax Year is stored in a database field called “Tax Year Calculated”.
A third database field, “Uses Fiscal Tax Year”, is used to capture the type of fiscal year being displayed. When false, the value displayed is in calendar year format.
All three of these fields are displayed in user reports and quick workflows and can be used as needed.
When updating the Tax Year, if the “Uses Fiscal Tax Year” value on the Tax Return record doesn’t match the value specified for the country, a warning will display: “The selected country's fiscal year type has changed and the Tax Year may need updating; please select the correct Tax Year and Save.” To remove the warning, confirm the selected Tax Year is correct (i.e. change if needed), and save.
The list of Tax Years can be managed in the Lookup Maintenance screen using one or both of these Lookup fields: “Tax Years” and “Tax Years (Fiscal)”. It is strongly advised that the Display Value and Report Value NOT be changed for these lists. Doing so will result in incorrect display and calculation of data.
The list of Countries and their Fiscal Year identifiers is maintained through the Equus Platform upgrade process.
Return Required and Reason: Identifies whether the Return is required for the specified Return Type and Tax Year, and if not, describes why it’s not required. When Yes is specified for Return Required, the lower half of the Tax Return Details screen is displayed.
Amount, Refund Due?, and Amount Belongs To: Identifies the amount specified on the tax return, whether it is a refund, and the entity that received the amount.
The list showing in Amount Belongs To can be managed in the Lookup Maintenance screen using the “Tax Payment Due Front/To” Lookup Field.
Payment History grid: Tracks the payments made between the Employee, the Company, the Tax Authorities, and/or a different entity.
The lists showing in Due From and Due To can be managed in the Lookup Maintenance screen using the “Tax Payment Due Front/To” Lookup Field.
Refund Amount Received: In the case a Refund is due (i.e. only when the Refund Due? field value is “Yes”), this will display a sum of the following:
All Payment Amounts (in the Payment History grid) where the Due To value is the same as the value selected in Amount Belongs To.
and
All Payment Amounts where the Due To value is blank.
Status grid: The status of the tax return service for the specified Return Type and Tax Year. The intention of this field is to capture the tax vendor’s status, but can be used by the mobility team if desired.
Milestones section: Identifies the dates when specific milestones occurred during the tax return service. The intention of this field is to capture the tax vendor’s milestones, but can be used by the mobility team if desired. The milestones are:
Calendar Due Date: The date the employee’s final travel calendar is due to the vendor. After this is set, it can be referenced in quick workflows and checklists to provide reminders to the employee, or notifications to the vendor.
Calendar Received Date: The date the vendor received the assignee's travel dates. This information is used for calculating residency and length of stay in the country for tax purposes.
Compensation Received Date: The date the vendor received the assignee's compensation
Organizer Due Date: The date the employee’s final tax organizer is due to the vendor. After this is set, it can be referenced in quick workflows and checklists to provide reminders to the employee, or notifications to the vendor.
Organizer Received Date: The date the vendor received the assignee's personal information. Typically this is a form (online or paper) that is provided to the assignee which the assignee completes and returns to the vendor.
If configured, this field can also be populated by Equus Tax Organizer when employees finalize their tax organizers. Equus Tax Organizer will update the National/Federal Tax Return for a given Tax Year. This uses the Questionnaire functionality described in the Connecting Equus Platform to Equus Applications user manual. Please contact an Equus Client Account Manager for details.
Information Complete Date: The date the vendor considers the assignee's information complete.
Sent/Delivered Date: The date the vendor sends the tax return to the employee for signature.
Filed Date: The date the tax return was filed with the tax authority.
Click the [Close] button to return to the Tax Details screen.
Social Insurance Details
Navigation: Assignments Tab
Taxation Menu Group
Social Insurance Menu
The Social Insurance screen is used to track information related to social security contributions made while on assignment as well as applications for Certificates of Coverage (Figure 8).
Figure 8: The Social Insurance screen.
Pertinent fields on this screen are:
Service Order: Identifies the Service Order with which the Social Insurance record is associated. In other words, the information in this Social Insurance record is the result of the vendor’s work performed on the Service Order.
Service Orders are listed based on their Service Types, which are identified in the Service Type Screen mapping for the Social Insurance screen. This means that Service Orders created from both the Tax Service Request and the generic Service Order screens are displayed, provided they reference the Service Type(s) configured for the Social Insurance screen.
Home Country Contributions During Assignment: Identifies whether an assignee is provided all, some, or no social security contributions while on assignment. Choices are Yes, No, and Partial.
<Partial> may be used in the scenario where a company has chosen to forgo the use of the certificate of coverage (even when a totalization agreement is available), but continues certain home country contributions to satisfy its assignees.
Totalization Treaty Between Home and Host Country: Identifies whether an agreement exists between two countries to improve social security protection for expatriates working in those two countries.
Treaty Exempts Assignee from Host Country Payments: Identifies whether the totalization agreement covers all, some, or no payments in the host country. Choices are Yes, No, and Partial.
3121(l) Agreement: Identifies whether an agreement was entered into by a United States employer to extend its “U.S. employer status” to affiliates outside the U.S., so U.S. individuals working for the affiliates can continue U.S. social security contributions.
Treaty Coverage, Issuing Agency, and Contact sections: For cases when a totalization agreement exists, these sections track information related to the application for a certificate of coverage, and details about that certificate of coverage.
Click the [Close] button to enter a view-only mode of the Social Insurance screen.