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Payroll

IRS releases a potpourri of ACA guidance

02/17/2016
The IRS has released guidance covering an assortment of issues under the Affordable Care Act, including how certain cafeteria plan flex contributions affect affordability, adjustments to the affordability safe harbors and penalty relief for failing to file correct Forms 1095-C/1094-C or 1095-B/1094-B.

‘Ghosts’ on payroll haunt HR, but not hallways

02/15/2016
Here’s a new worry for employers: “Ghost” employees who receive paychecks and benefits but never actually show up for work.

2015 W-2s cast their last shadows

02/12/2016
Groundhogs scurry back home after they see their shadows. You have no such luxury. Paper W-2s are due to the Social Security Administration by the end of the month; e-filed forms are due by March 31. This checklist applies to e-filers who are using the SSA’s EFW2 filing specs.

In the mailbag this month …

02/05/2016

Payroll’s Super Bowl, also known as year-end, is done. Congratulations. Now it’s time to tackle what’s piled up during the last several months.

Payroll odds and ends: Uniforms and third-party signatures

02/01/2016
The IRS is a prodigious publisher. Here are digests of two Legal Memoranda.

February 2016: Employer’s business tax calendar

01/31/2016
Here’s your monthly guide to critical payroll due dates.

Employer not liable for failing to file W-2s/W-3

01/25/2016
An employer that failed to prove it filed its Forms W-2/W-3 with the Social Security Administration was, nevertheless, not liable for a tax penalty for intentionally disregarding the filing requirement. This may be a comfort if you’re filing paper W-2s/W-3, which are due to the SSA by the end of the month.

A list of the Social Security Administration’s Employer Service Liaison Officers

01/21/2016
Contact the Social Security Administration’s Employer Service Liaison Officers with questions about e-filing or submitting paper Copy A to the SSA. This chart shows all the contact information you need.

PATH Act throws obstacles in Payroll’s way

01/20/2016
Congress has enacted the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015, or PATH Act, which is the tax extenders bill, and an omnibus spending bill. The PATH Act accelerates the filing date for both paper and electronic Forms W-2s and 1099-MISC to Jan. 31, beginning with forms filed in 2017. It also extended several key payroll ­provisions.

DOL addresses retirement options for small employers

01/20/2016
California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington are on the front line of facilitating retirement plans for small employers. Although each state takes a different approach, all have been hemmed in by the possibility that ERISA, the federal benefits law, will pre-empt their efforts.