Payroll

IRS announces disaster relief for Hurricane Sandy victims

12/17/2012

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the IRS has issued a package of payroll, 401(k) and individual tax relief measures. This relief applies to individuals and businesses located in the disaster area, and to those whose tax records are located in the disaster area.

Tax levies: Large print giveth, small print taketh away

12/14/2012

The aftermath of the Great Recession may very well be read in an increase in the number of tax levies on wages, as employees scrimped on their taxes to pay for other things. The IRS isn’t sympathetic, and that’s bad news for already overworked Payroll departments.

Fiscal Cliff Watch: The clock is ticking, and still no withholding tables

12/12/2012

Negotiations to resolve the “fiscal cliff”—a package of tax increases and spending cuts—that will kick in on Jan. 1, 2013, are taking place at an excruciatingly slow pace. Unfortunately, key payroll issues are caught up in the fracas. Until the impasse is resolved, Payroll can’t begin implementing plans for 2013 operations.

IRS retires old-fashioned letter-forwarding program

12/06/2012

If you’ve ever been unable to locate former employees who were owed 401(k) plan assets or final paychecks, you’ve probably used the IRS’ letter-forwarding program to try to contact them. No longer.

Higher Medicare taxes in 2013 means payroll headaches now

12/03/2012

Single employees earning more than $200,000 and joint filers earning more than $250,000 will pay an additional 0.9% in Medicare taxes in 2013. To avoid the additional tax, employees may take some extraordinary steps regarding their noncash compensation before the end of this month. That means additional payroll headaches for you.

Is there a formula for grossing up benefits for same-sex partners?

12/02/2012

Q: The company grosses up the fair market value of health benefits provided to employees’ same-sex domestic partners. One employee already had family coverage for his children before he enrolled his partner. How is the gross up calculated, if the cost of coverage doesn’t increase because the plan charges employees a flat amount for family coverage, regardless of the number of individuals covered?

Clients out of luck to recover embezzled payroll deposits

11/30/2012

A court has ruled that the IRS doesn’t have to return to defrauded clients a bankrupt payroll service bureau’s tax deposits that were collected from them but were used to make deposits for other clients. The defrauded clients, therefore, have paid twice …

Hello, SSA? Can you help me? I need to delete a file

11/29/2012

If you need to delete a file that was sent by mistake, the Social Security Administration doesn’t want to hear from you anymore. Instead, you can delete any file prior to processing through the SSA’s Submission Status app.

New IRS ruling differentiates between tips, service charges

11/28/2012

Regardless of what you call it, tips are amounts customers willingly determine and leave of their own accord; service charges are added to the bill. According to a new IRS revenue ruling, service charges are immediately taxable as wages; tips are taxable when employees report them to you.

You can do it! How to build a better W-2

11/27/2012

This year, completing W-2 forms will be even more challenging for employers that must report employees’ health benefits. Here’s the scoop on what you need to know to get W-2s right the first time.