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Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Was last year’s payroll tax deferral taken up by many employers?

By Lisa Freedland
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NO

The Trump administration’s optional “holiday” for Social Security tax payments last fall was not widely embraced by employers outside the federal government. The measure let employers defer collecting employees’ share of the taxes for the last four months of 2020.

In September, Forbes reported that uncertainty about administering the plan led most private employers, including UPS, Costco, General Motors and many others, to opt out. The House of Representatives declined to go along for its staff, but the administration did opt all executive branch and active military employees in.

With Trump’s defeat, talk of making cuts permanent or forgiving the 2020 taxes faded. Congress did extend the payment deadline for employers from April 30 to the end of 2021. The Treasury began notifying Trump appointees who have left their jobs to repay any 2020 taxes due within 30 days.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
White House Memorandum on deferring payroll tax obligations in light of the ongoing COVID-19 disaster
US House of Representatives How It Works: President Trump’s payroll tax deferral executive order
Forbes These 70 employers opted out of Trump’s payroll tax deferral
CNBC Large employers, US House staff, reject Trump’s payroll-tax deferral plan
Executive Office of the President Copy of collection letter to former Trump administration employee (published by Politico)
AP News Fact check: Trump payroll tax cut is Social Security risk
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Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.