What Records of Coverage Must Be Kept

§ 404.1225. Records—for wages paid prior to 1987.

(a) Who keeps the records. Every State which enters into an agreement shall keep, or require the political subdivisions whose employees are included under its agreement to keep, accurate records of all remuneration (whether in cash or in a medium other than cash) paid to employees performing services covered by that agreement. These records shall show for each employee:

(1) The employee's name, address, and Social Security number;

(2) The total amount of remuneration (including any amount withheld as contributions or for any other reason) and the date the remuneration was paid and the period of services covered by the payment;

(3) The amount of remuneration which constitutes wages (see § 404.1041 for wages and §§ 404.1047–404.1059 for exclusions from wages); and

(4) The amount of the employee's contribution, if any, withheld or collected, and if collected at a time other than the time such payment was made, the date collected. If the total remuneration (paragraph (a)(2) of this section) and the amount which is subject to contribution (paragraph (a)(3) of this section) are not equal, the reason shall be stated.

The State shall keep copies of all returns, reports, schedules, and statements required by this subpart, copies of claims for refund or credit, and copies of documents about each adjustment made under § 404.1265 or § 404.1271 as part of its records. These records may be maintained by the State or, for employees of a political subdivision, by the political subdivision. Each State shall use forms and systems of accounting as will enable the Commissioner to determine whether the contributions for which the State is liable are correctly figured and paid.

(b) Place and period of time for keeping records. All records required by this section shall:

(1) Be kept at one or more convenient and safe locations accessible to reviewing personnel (see § 404.1232(a));

(2) Be available for inspection by reviewing personnel at any time; and

(3) Be maintained for at least four years from the date of the event recorded. (This four-year requirement applies regardless of whether, in the meantime, the employing entity has been legally dissolved or, before April 20, 1983, the agreement was terminated in its entirety or in part.)

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 0960–0425)

[53 FR 32976, Aug. 29, 1988, as amended at 62 FR 38451, July 18, 1997; 66 FR 28836, May 25, 2001]