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Payroll

2018 inflation adjustments for HSAs/HDHPs released

07/27/2017
The IRS has announced the 2018 inflation-adjusted figures for health savings accounts and high-deductible health plans.

Program underway to yank tax delinquents’ passports

07/27/2017
Legislation enacted in 2015 requires the U.S. State Department, upon certification from the IRS, to revoke the passports of taxpayers who have seriously delinquent tax debts. That may be a problem for employers. Employees who can’t take overseas business trips are employees who aren’t productive. Such drastic measures may need an equally drastic response from the Payroll department.

Employer not liable for honoring wage levy

07/27/2017
An employer that honored a lock-in letter and a wage levy from the IRS isn’t liable to the employee for doing so, a federal trial court has ruled.

Knock, knock … Who’s there?

07/27/2017
IRS … IRS, who? Phone scams involving the IRS are so common that it has become a reflex to hang up the phone before the robocaller is even finished with the initial spiel. But what if someone knocks on your company’s door, flashes what looks like an official ID and says they’re from the IRS? How do you know for sure?

St. Paul embezzler of $1.2 million heads to prison

07/21/2017
A St. Paul man who once worked as the controller of an insurance company is headed to prison following his conviction for a 20-year scheme to embezzle more than $1.2 million from his former employer.

August 2017: Employer’s business tax calendar

06/22/2017
Here’s your monthly guide to critical payroll due dates.

Substantiation eased for hardship retirement distributions

06/22/2017
One of the first things IRS auditors examine when auditing 401(k) or 403(b) plans is documentation backing up hardship distributions made to employees who need cash. New exception: New instructions to auditors ease this substantiation burden by allowing plans to ditch retaining original documentation in favor of summaries of employees’ financial need.

In the Payroll Mailbag …

06/22/2017
What do to when health benefit deductions go bad … No proof of identity from employee … Are pedometers taxable? … Rules for providing electronic W-2s … What company cars and library books have in common

The Mouse is not pleased! What’s your policy on uniforms?

06/22/2017

Mickey and Minnie have gotten their due. The Department of Labor has announced that it has reached an agreement with the Walt Disney Co. to pay $3.8 million in back wages to 16,339 “cast members” who had to pay for “costumes” to be worn at the company’s theme parks.

HHS civil rights office warns of HIPAA phishing scam

06/22/2017
If you have a health plan, the odds are you’re covered under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights—the OCR—has become aware of two phishing schemes related to HIPAA.