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Payroll

Reminder: Give employees summary of benefits/coverage

08/21/2012
Now that the Supreme Court has upheld the legality of the Affordable Care Act, your first responsibility under the law is to ensure that for open enrollment periods beginning Sept. 23 employees receive a summary of benefits and coverage (SBC) and a glossary that defines basic health benefit terms.

Can we charge a fee for paper paychecks?

08/20/2012

Q. We require direct deposit of employee paychecks. We have one employee who hasn’t set up an account despite frequent requests. We have to mail his check from headquarters, sometimes via courier. Can we charge him a fee?

Fired sales rep did not return our iPad! Can we deduct its value from his last check?

08/13/2012
Q. We recently fired a veteran sales representative on short notice. He still has a new iPad that we purchased to help make sales presentations. We have repeatedly asked him to return the iPad, but he is ignoring our requests. Can we now just deduct the cost from his last paycheck?

To B or not to B: Tips for handling B Notices

08/06/2012

It’s no secret that a large contributor to the tax gap—the difference between the taxes that are paid and the taxes that are owed—are independent ­contractors who don’t have taxes withheld from their payments. B Notices, properly called CP 2100/2100A notices, which require payers to backup withhold, are a key tax collection tool.

Clear the decks now for year-end Payroll processes

08/03/2012

As the hot, sticky air of summer clears out, now is the time for you and your employees to do some clearing out of your own. The payoff: A smoother year-end Payroll ­process.

Should we withhold child support from payments to contractor?

08/02/2012

Question: Our company contracts with an employee who quit and started his own business. We know he had a child support withholding order in place and that the order remains in effect. Must we continue to withhold child support?

The summer doldrums don’t have to get you down

08/02/2012
August is a slog. Forget the heat and humidity by organizing your Payroll tasks for the next four months.

What’s the timing on E-Verify case files?

08/01/2012

Question: If employees don’t have List A, B or C documents and must use replacement receipts to verify their identify and work eligibility, when can the employer create a case file in E-Verify?

What are the options for verifying employees’ names/SSNs?

08/01/2012

Question: We verify employees’ names and Social Security numbers through the telephone number employer verification service (TNEV) and the paper option. Are these methods still available?

IRS provides sample Sec. 83(b) election form

08/01/2012

Payroll usually doesn’t withhold income and FICA taxes from employees who receive restricted stock until the restriction lapses and the stock vests. Under Section 83(b), however, employees can opt to have taxes withheld currently, long before the restriction lapses. The IRS has now provided sample language for an 83(b) election.