Payroll

The late bird doesn’t get the W-2 worm

07/03/2015

Procrastinators beware: Aug. 1 is rapidly approaching. That’s when penalties increase from $100 per form (up to $1,637,500) to $270 (up to $3,275,500) for W-2 missteps.

July 2015: Employer’s business tax calendar

06/30/2015

Here’s your monthly guide to critical payroll due dates.

HHS sets 2016 adjustments for health plans

06/27/2015

The Department of Health and Human Services sets the maximum limit on out-of-pocket expenses for nongrandfathered, non-high-deductible health plans. For 2016, those limits are $6,850 for self-only coverage ($6,600 in 2015) and $13,700 for other than self-only coverage ($13,200 in 2015).

What tax rules govern cellphones?

06/25/2015

Q: We currently reimburse employees who use their own cellphones to make business calls, but then add back those amounts as taxable pay. HR wants us to stop this practice and make those reimbursements a tax-free fringe benefit. Don’t the accountable plan rules apply here?

Court affirms deductions from exempt’s leave bank

06/20/2015

It’s long been federal policy that you may deduct partial days off from an exempt’s accrued leave time without jeopardizing that status, because partial-day deductions from accrued leave banks aren’t the same as partial-day deductions from pay, which could throw that status into doubt. Does the result change if you overlay a state wage payment law that categorizes accrued vacation as nonforfeitable wages? No, according to a California appeals court.

IRS update from American Payroll Annual Congress

06/18/2015

The one sure bet is that the IRS will come to the American Payroll Association’s Annual Congress prepared to discuss its payroll-related initiatives. This year’s 33rd Annual Congress was held in Las Vegas; here’s a recap.

An all-states chart on child support for payroll pros

06/16/2015

States’ electronic mandates for child support are all over the map. Some states, for example, mandate that withheld child support be remitted electronically; others don’t. This chart helps you get a handle on the electronic child support landscape.

Payroll odds and ends from the IRS

06/15/2015

The IRS is a prodigious publisher. Here are digests of two recently released Information Letters.

Swapping benefits for pay: Is it legal?

06/12/2015

Q. Is it acceptable for a company to negotiate with employees (on a case-by-case basis) to provide higher salary in exchange for the employee not taking certain benefits that the company pays 100% for (such as life insurance, AD&D, STD and LTD)? — Ed, Virginia

The things we do for love: Help newlyweds keep pay in order

06/11/2015

June brides who take their husbands’ names and newly married couples who hyphenate their names must get new Social Security cards reflecting their new names. Reminder: Don’t change your payroll records until newlyweds show you their new Social Security cards.