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Payroll

IRS addresses corrections to the additional Medicare tax

08/19/2014
Correcting withholding errors in the 0.9% additional Medicare tax added by the Affordable Care Act continues to cause some confusion, since these corrections don’t follow the regular FICA correction rules. An updated frequently-asked-questions document from the IRS provides details on how to correct withholding errors in the additional Medicare tax.

Advance health credits: The math may not be so simple

08/18/2014
No one likes surprises, least of all tax surprises. Employees who signed up for individual health insurance through a health insurance exchange, and who took the advance premium tax credit on a monthly basis, may be in for doozy of a tax bill, after they reconcile those advance credits with their eligibility for the actual credit on their 2014 Forms 1040.

IRS reg alert: ACA waiting periods, FICA/FUTA exemptions

08/14/2014
The IRS has been busy adding to its regulatory agenda. Here’s the latest news from the regulations front.

IRS issues final regs on the health care tax credit

08/14/2014
Under final ACA regulations, employers that have fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees who earn up to $50,000 (adjusted for inflation), and that make nonelective contributions equal to at least 50% of employees’ health premiums, are eligible for a 50% health care tax credit (35% for nonprofits).

Shhh! How to make certain your private data stays that way

08/12/2014
Payroll handles sensitive data all the time, so it’s vital that you develop and maintain a robust privacy policy. Carla Gracen, product manager at Ceridian HCM, Inc., gave some policy pointers during her workshop at the American Payroll Association’s 32nd Annual Congress.

Pay for time spent at home reviewing records of hours worked?

08/08/2014
Q: We are about to implement a self-service time and attendance system that will allow employees to view their time cards at home. They’re not required to do this and they couldn’t make any changes to their time cards. Do we need to pay employees for this time?

I, Robot, want to be exempt from payroll taxes

08/07/2014
Speaking at an Employee Benefit Research Institute symposium on the future of benefits, Arnold Brown posed an intriguing—some might say disturbing—question.

Should we worry about hours worked (or not worked) at home?

08/06/2014
Q: During the last storm, several nonexempts didn’t have any paid time off available and we didn’t pay them for the days not worked. They’ve since claimed that they worked at home catching up on paperwork, even though this wasn’t directed by management. Most of them work on a manufacturing line, so we’re dubious that they “worked” at home. Could this get us in trouble if we’re audited?

The ABCs of parental leave for kids’ school and illness

08/04/2014
Parents don’t have to decide between work and home if your company’s policies give them the flexibility to deal with these issues.

August 2014: Employer’s business tax calendar

07/31/2014
This is your monthly guide to critical payroll due dates.