The automatic budget cuts that took effect on March 1, known as the sequester, will require the IRS to furlough all employees without pay and completely close its doors on July 5, July 22 and Aug. 30, with two possible additional furlough days to be announced in August or September.

Under the Affordable Care Act, open enrollment for the individual health exchanges, or HEXs, begins Oct. 1, 2013. The outlook for the Small Business Health Options Program, or SHOPs, through which small employers may buy health insurance is a bit more complicated. Here’s where things stand.

Question: What are the tax guidelines for executive bonuses payments? I need to calculate the withholding on them manually.

Under the IRS’ Voluntary Classification Settlement Program, you can voluntarily reclassify independent contractors as employees for future tax periods on favorable tax terms: you’ll be liable for just over 10% of the wages paid to those reclassified workers for the past year and no penalties or interest will be due. Recently updated FAQs shed more light on this program.

Anita Bartels, senior program analyst for employment tax policy at the IRS, spoke about the IRS’ latest initiatives to attendees at the American Payroll Association’s 31st Annual Congress, held this year in Grapevine, Texas.

Q: We purchased some technology from another company and the deal included the transfer of some employees. Since we didn’t buy the entire company, can Payroll carry over their FICA and FUTA wages?

Get ready, New York ­employers. New developments will affect how and how much you pay your employees. The state minimum wage will soon increase and the NYSDOL has proposed new regulations on wage deductions.

Employees who are exempt from the FLSA need only be paid a proportionate amount of their full, weekly salary for their first and last weeks of work if they begin or terminate employment work midweek. A federal trial court has ruled that employers have a great deal of discretion when figuring this proportionate amount.

Q. Can we use a time clock for exempt employees? If not, how can we have a record of their hours worked? 

Q: Does the authorization that appears in Part 4 of Form 941 apply only to the specific form being filed, or to all returns filed during the tax year? We want to determine if this section must be completed on each return, even if none of the information changes.

Q: When does the employer/employee relationship begin? My boss believes that relocation expenses don’t need to be reported on a W-2 form because they’re paid before an employee begins working.

In late 2012, the NLRB ruled in an unfair labor practice case that when lump-sum back pay awards span more than one year, the employer must report the awards to the Social Security Administration and reimburse employees for the excess federal and state income taxes that are attributable to those awards.

Using temporary workers can be an effective way to stretch your labor budget without making a long-term staffing commitment. But if a temp sues over alleged discrimination, you may not have saved much money. To prevent surprises, make sure you treat the temp as a guest—leave the employment details to the agency that supplies the temp.

According to research by the Electronic Payments Association and the American Payroll Association, an employer currently printing 500 weekly paychecks can save $82,000 each year by switching to direct deposit.