SECTION 7. REASONABLE EFFORTS

.01 Generally, if the employer has not repaid or reimbursed an employee, a refund for the employer share of the overpaid FICA taxes will not be allowed unless the employer has secured the employee’s consent and included a claim for the refund of such employee tax. However, these requirements do not apply if, after the employer’s reasonable efforts to obtain the employee’s consent, the employer cannot locate the employee or the employee does not furnish either the employee consent or a response indicating that the employee is not authorizing the employer to claim a refund of FICA taxes on his or her behalf.

.02 The employer will be deemed to have made reasonable efforts with respect to a request for a consent if:

(1) The employer properly requests a consent of the employee as provided in this revenue procedure;

(2) A request for a consent sent electronically provides for an acknowledgement of receipt of the email message. The request must specifically ask the employee to acknowledge receipt of the request for a consent ( e.g ., by clicking on a voting button (YES) or by sending a reply message to the employer). A read-receipt message is not sufficient;

(3) The employer retains a record of mailing the request for a consent, record of emailing the request for a consent (including acknowledgement of receipt of the email message), or record of personal delivery to the employee who does not furnish an employee consent, or a response indicating that the employee was not authorizing the employer to claim a refund of FICA taxes on his or her behalf;

(4) In the event the mailing is undeliverable, the employer makes an effort to determine the employee’s current address and, if a new address is discovered, the employer delivers a request for a consent in a paper format to the new address or delivers a request for a consent by email or by personal delivery, giving the employee not less than 45 days from the date of the request to reply to the subsequent request; and

(5) In the event of an email delivery failure ( e.g., the employer is notified that the message the employer tried to send did not reach the employee because of a problem with the email address) or in the event that the employee does not acknowledge receipt of the email message, the employer mails a request for a consent in a paper format to the employee’s last known address or provides a request for a consent to the employee by personal delivery giving the employee not less than 45 days from the date of the request to reply to the subsequent request.