IRS Puts Burden on Companies That Use Trump’s Payroll Tax Option

President Donald Trump’s move to defer payroll taxes through year-end likely will face resistance from companies after IRS guidelines left employers on the hook to pay back the levy early next year.

Trump directed the Treasury to allow the taxes to be deferred as a boost to a U.S. economy stalled by the coronavirus pandemic, saying it would give wage-earners more money to spend immediately. But it would hit workers with a bigger tax bill next year.

The Internal Revenue Service said employers that signed on to the option have to pay the money back by April 2021, most ...