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Payroll

IRS now provides special PINs to service bureau clients

03/11/2014
If you’re a client of a payroll service bureau or reporting agent, the IRS will provide you with an inquiry PIN. Inquiry PINs allow you to track your tax accounts so you can keep tabs on your third-party provider’s activities. Keeping tabs on your third-party provider is crucial.

Should we pay nonexempt employees for voluntarily running office errands before work?

03/06/2014
Q. Because our office is in a residential area, mail isn’t delivered until the late afternoon. One of our secretaries volunteered to pick up the mail at the post office on her way to work every day. It’s not too far out of the way, but it does change her regular route to work. Are we required to reimburse her for the additional time, as well as mileage?

Should child support be deducted from contractor’s payment?

03/06/2014

Q: An employee who was having child support withheld from his pay became an independent contractor. He received two payments last year and another payment this year, but support wasn’t withheld from those payments. The child support agency has told us that we must withhold support. How do we complete the withholding order with regard to how he’s paid?

New rules proposed for excepted benefits

03/03/2014
Excepted benefits aren’t subject to the Affordable Care Act health care reform law. Proposed regulations would modify limited-scope dental and vision excepted benefits, create new wraparound coverage to group plans that would be considered excepted benefits and clarify Employee Assistance Plans.

Spring forward March 9, calculate pay accordingly

02/28/2014
Daylight-saving time begins at 2 a.m., March 9. Graveyard-shift workers, therefore, will actually work only seven hours that day. Here’s how to calculate their pay.

March 2014: Employer’s business tax calendar

02/28/2014
NOTE: Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays as observed in the District of Columbia are taken into account to determine due dates. Under the federal deposit rules, you’re allowed a deposit shortfall of the greater of $100 or 2% of your tax liability.

Must we hand over final paycheck, or is it OK to put it in the mail?

02/26/2014
Q. One of our employees is resigning at the end of the month. Can we mail her final paycheck?

Sometimes you can require repayment out of last check

02/26/2014

Do you offer a store credit card to your employees? If so, you likely want any balance due repaid if the employee quits or is fired. You may be able to get the employee’s agreement to repay the balance on termination out of his or her vacation or sick account balance.

Cover employee expenses–or prepare for court

02/26/2014

Now is a good time to make sure your employees are being properly reimbursed for expenses they incur while performing their jobs. The problem: If they aren’t reimbursed for those expenses, their pay may fall below minimum wage. And if that’s the case, they can quit and sue, alleging constructive discharge.

Et tu W-2? How to handle the reissue process

02/19/2014
Panicky phone calls to the Payroll department from employees who lost their original W-2s are about as predictable as the sun rising in the east. Here are some tips for controlling the re­­issued W-2 process.