Payroll

FICA wage base increases to $113,700 for 2013

10/16/2012

The Social Security Administration has announced that the 2013 taxable wage base for the Social Security portion of FICA increases to $113,700. That’s a 3.2% hike over the 2012 wage base of $110,100.

State chart: withholding on supplemental pay

10/08/2012

STATE WITHHOLDING RATES: Here’s a chart summarizing how states handle income tax withholding on supplemental wages. Note: To get the full story on state tax rates, visit your state tax department’s website.

Timekeeping records: Know the rules for exempt & nonexempt staff

10/08/2012

Employers with casual timekeeping systems are much more likely to face lawsuits over unpaid wages than organizations with strict record-keeping rules. Some simple procedural guidance can help keep you out of court. Here’s how the record-keeping requirements for exempt employees differ from those for nonexempt workers.

IRS nixes reimbursement plans as wage recharacterizations

10/07/2012

It would be great if you could wave a magic wand and convert some of employees’ taxable wages into nontaxable business reimbursements. But you can’t. A new revenue ruling reiterates that employees’ expenses must have a business connection before you can reimburse them tax-free.

Are cash bonuses to employees and survivors taxable? Reportable?

10/04/2012

Question: We are a public employer. Since employees haven’t had pay raises in more than four years, we will soon be making cash distributions to them. Employees’ survivors will get separate distributions. Are these distributions taxable and how do we report payments made to survivors?

Employee loans: Are they reportable or not?

10/04/2012

Question: Our company makes interest-free loans to employees so they can buy home computers. The purpose of the loan program is to allow employees to hone their computer skills. Employees can take up to four years to repay their loans. Must we report the loans on their W-2 forms?

Reporting agents: IRS offers new guidance on your responsibilities, rights

10/03/2012

Payroll reporting agents are service bureaus and other businesses that can handle all of your payroll duties, including depositing taxes and filing forms. New guidance from the IRS is designed to help you keep tabs on your reporting agent.

Special analysis: Lifestyle benefits = payroll taxes

09/28/2012

Corporate HR departments love nontraditional benefits—perks other than leave, health insurance and retirement benefits—because they’re generally cheap and build loads of employee good will. But many so-called lifestyle benefits are taxable, much to HR’s chagrin.

23-cent bonus adds up to one big payroll headache

09/24/2012

If an employer retains complete control over whether to pay a bonus and the amount of the bonus, then it can be excluded from an employee’s regular rate as a discretionary bonus. But both parts of this test count equally. Recently, a federal trial court ruled that bonuses that always equaled $50 failed the second part of the test.

Regs detail the 50% deduction limit for leased employees

09/21/2012

There’s more to leasing employees than clients remitting their pay to the leasing company. While employees can be reimbursed 100% for their substantiated meal expenses, business deductions are limited to 50%. Normally, the employer is stuck with this deduction disallowance. But the involvement of the leasing company complicates matters.