Iowa Admin. Code r. 701—300.9(422) — Bonding procedure

The director may, when necessary and advisable in order to secure the collection of the tax required to be deducted and withheld or the amount actually deducted, whichever is greater, require an employer or withholding agent to file with the director a bond issued by a surety company authorized to conduct business in Iowa and approved by the insurance commissioner as to solvency and responsibility in an amount the director may fix, or in lieu of bond, securities approved by the director in an amount the director may prescribe and keep in the custody of the department. Pursuant to the statutory authorization in Iowa Code section 422.16, the director has determined that the following procedures will be instituted with regard to bonds. However, the bonding procedures were applicable only to nonresident employers or withholding agents for withholding taxes due prior to January 1, 1987. The penalty for failure of a withholding agent to file a bond, described in subrule 300.9(4) applies to taxes required to be withheld on or after January 1, 1990. 300.9(1) When required. a. New applications by withholding agents. A new withholding agent applicant will be requested to post a bond or security if (1) it is determined upon a complete investigation of the applicant’s financial status that the applicant would be unable to timely remit the tax, or (2) the new applicant held a withholding agent’s identification number for a prior business and the remittance record of the tax under the prior identification number falls within one of the conditions in paragraph “b” below, or (3) the department experienced collection problems while the applicant was engaged in business under the prior identification number. b. Existing withholding agents. Existing withholding agents shall be requested to post a bond or security when they have had two or more delinquencies in remitting the withholding tax during the last 24 months if filing returns on a quarterly basis or have had four or more delinquencies during the last 24 months if filing returns on a monthly basis. The simultaneous late filing of the return and the late payment of the tax will count as one delinquency. However, the late filing of the return or the late payment of the tax will not count as a delinquency if the withholding agent can satisfy one of the conditions set forth in Iowa Code section 421.27. c. Waiver of bond. If a withholding agent has been requested to post a bond or security or if a withholding agent applicant has been requested to post a bond or security, upon the filing of the bond or security, if the withholding agent maintains a good filing record for a period of two years, the withholding agent may request that the department waive the continued bond or security requirement. 300.9(2) Type of security or bond. When it is determined that a withholding agent or withholding agent applicant is required to post collateral to secure the collection of the withholding tax, the following types of collateral will be considered as sufficient: surety bonds, securities or certificates of deposit. When the withholding agent is a corporation, an officer or employee of the corporation may assume personal liability as security for the payment of the withholding tax. The officer or employee will be evaluated as provided in 300.9(1)“a” as if the officer or employee applied as the withholding agent as an individual. 300.9(3) Amount of bond or security. When it is determined that a withholding agent or withholding agent applicant is required to post a bond or securities, the following guidelines will be used to determine the amount of the bond, unless the facts warrant a greater amount: If the withholding agent or applicant will be or is a monthly depositor, a bond or securities in an amount sufficient to cover five months’ withholding tax liability will be required. If the applicant or withholding agent will be or is a quarterly filer, the bond or Revenue[701]Ch 300, p.4 IAC 2/5/25 securities which will be required is an amount sufficient to cover nine months or three quarters of tax liability. 300.9(4) Penalty for failure of a withholding agent to file bond. If the withholding agent is requested by the department to file a bond to secure collection of the state withholding tax and fails to file the bond, the withholding agent is subject to a penalty. The penalty for failure to file a bond is 15 percent of the tax the withholding agent is required to withhold on an annual basis. However, the penalty cannot exceed $5000.