Payroll

Special analysis: Identity theft, W-2s and you

02/02/2015

W-2s are chock full of information every identity thief needs: Social Security numbers and Employer Identification Numbers, neither of which you can truncate, plus employees’ and employers’ names and addresses. This should give you pause, now that employees have their 2014 W-2s in hand, and you’re making final preparations to file those forms with the Social Security Administration.

February 2015: Employer’s business tax calendar

01/30/2015

This is your monthly guide to critical payroll due dates.

Different jobs on different days: How do we pay?

01/30/2015

Q. Can we ask an employee to work one day at a certain position for $25 per hour and the next day work a different position for only $21 per hour? Employees on a rig crew switch positions many times, so one day they may be a rig operator, and the next day a derrick hand.

IRS updates rules for electronic transit fare media

01/27/2015

The first time the IRS allowed employees to pay for their qualified mass transit benefits (up to $130 a month for 2015) through smartcards, debit cards, etc., in 2006, most municipalities’ computer systems couldn’t handle the load. Now that those computer systems are up to speed, the IRS has reissued its 2006 ruling and brought it up to date.

The tab on $147 in unclaimed wages? Almost $1.4 million

01/23/2015

Yes, you read that correctly. Delaware is attempting to collect $1,388,573.97 from a Tennessee company that failed to escheat one $147 unclaimed paycheck to it. The company is asking a federal court to throw out the results of Delaware’s unclaimed property audit, and with it, that whopping bill.

2015 standard mileage rate increases 1.5¢, to 57.5¢ per mile

01/21/2015

Despite the steep drop in gas prices at the pump, the IRS’ standard mileage rate, which you may use to reimburse employees who drive their own cars on business, increases to 57.5¢ a mile for 2015, from 56¢ a mile.

IRS OKs safe harbors for 401(k) plan rollovers

01/20/2015

401(k) plans have long been able to accept direct rollovers from other plans or IRAs. Dilemma: You weren’t always certain that new employees could roll over their account balances in the first place. To solve this conundrum, the IRS has designed two streamlined rollover safe harbors.

How to report a canceled loan?

01/16/2015

Question: An employee left our company in 2012. While he worked here, he had taken out a loan from the company and he signed a promissory note. The problem is that the company was sold in 2013, with the outstanding loan on the books. Our new employer just canceled the loan. How do we report this canceled loan? On a W-2, since the loan arose in the course of employment? Or on a 1099-MISC form, since he’s no longer an employee?

Leave-based donations allowed for Ebola charities

01/15/2015

The Obama administration has classified the Ebola epidemic in the West African countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone as a public health emergency. As a result, through 2015, and retroactive to 2014, employers with leave-based donation programs may allow employees to donate their unused vacation days, sick days or personal days.

All-states chart: What to do with unclaimed paychecks

01/14/2015

This chart summarizes states’ unclaimed property laws. Most states require you to report on an employee-by-employee basis, if unclaimed wages exceed a certain threshold, usually $50. Unclaimed wages under the threshold may be reported in the aggregate. To get the full story on your state’s law, consult your state treasurer’s website.