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Payroll

Memo to the Payroll Santa: Please make W-2s easy this year

12/09/2013
Holiday catalogs have been piling up on your entry hall table for quite some time now. So it must be getting down to W-2 crunch time for Payroll. Here’s the scoop on what you need to know to ensure a smooth W-2 process.

You: Payroll’s elf on a shelf

12/04/2013
Since you don’t have an elf to take care of all the December year-end payroll details, you have to do it yourself. Here’s help getting started.

Streamlined refunds allowed for post-DOMA payroll taxes

12/03/2013
The demise of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) means that employers and same-sex married em­­­ployees are in line for payroll tax refunds. To expedite the process, the IRS is providing three optional streamlined refund procedures.

Stormy weather: How to pay when Old Man Winter causes absences

12/02/2013

When harsh winter weather bumps up against the FLSA, the result can be a blizzard of pay problems for you. Employees often come in late, leave early or miss work altogether. How should you count their hours—and their pay? Here’s a flowchart that breaks down your options.

December 2013: Employer’s business tax calendar

11/29/2013
NOTE: Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays as observed in the District of Columbia are taken into account to determine due dates. Under the federal deposit rules, you’re allowed a deposit shortfall of the greater of $100 or 2% of your tax liability.

How should we handle time tracking for nonexempt telecommuters?

11/27/2013
Q. We try to be a flexible workplace and sometimes get requests from employees to work from home for a day or two during school breaks and so on. I don’t have a problem with this for exempt em­­ployees, but what about hourly ones? How do we track that time?

Don’t let year-end duties ruin your Thanksgiving dinner

11/25/2013
Take a few minutes now to run down this Payroll checklist and your Thanksgiving feast will be unperturbed.

Payroll 2014: You’ll withhold something, but what, exactly, we don’t know

11/22/2013
The shutdown of the federal government earlier this autumn meant that the IRS was very late in releasing the 2014 personal exemption amount, which doubles as the annual withholding allowance amount. Also late, but now in the bag: the 2014 amounts for qualified transportation fringes.

Ex-worker didn’t return property: Can we tap his PTO?

11/22/2013
Q. After an employee quit, he failed to return certain company property (badge, access card, etc.). Can we legally withhold his PTO balance because of this? 

Holiday bonuses: Pass the bucks

11/18/2013
Good, bad or sluggish economy, there are valid reasons—mostly sustaining employee morale—to pay holiday bonuses. If your company will be doing so, now’s the time for Payroll to plan for them.