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Payroll

Beware payroll ‘phishing’ schemes

04/19/2013
Federal law enforcement authorities urge employers that outsource payroll operations to be on the alert for phony emails from third-party providers.

Better late than never: Refunds of ‘excess’ transit benefits

04/19/2013
Tax season just came to a close for most taxpayers. Exception: A late-season update to the IRS’ website informs employees who had more than $125 a month withheld for qualified mass transit benefits during 2012 on how to claim a refund for their excess income and FICA taxes.

2013 State Direct Deposit/Paycard Laws

04/11/2013
State laws usually require that employees voluntarily participate in direct deposit or paycard programs. States may also allow paycard vendors to charge em­ployees fees, beginning with the second transaction. Here’s a chart that summarizes the states’ direct deposit/paycard rules.

Withholding on bonuses: Who chooses the method

04/11/2013
Q: An employee who’s in line for a quarterly bonus has presented Payroll with a form that requires us to treat the bonus as regular wages and withhold accordingly. It’s our policy to use the 25% flat withholding method on all supplemental pay. We’ve never seen a form like this before. Must we honor it?

Phishers use third-party providers as bait

04/09/2013
Employers that outsource their payrolls to third-party payroll providers have reported receiving phony emails referring to “Password Change Notification” or “First Notice—Digital Certificate Expiration.” It’s a scam.

Setting limits on voluntary withholding

04/04/2013
Q. A contractor would like us to voluntarily withhold her federal income taxes. Accounts Payable isn’t equipped to do this, so it’s fallen to Payroll. Having her complete a W-4 form seems inappropriate, since she’s not an employee. Can we honor her request?

Records trump ‘knowledge’ of co-workers’ hours

04/03/2013
Here’s some good news: If you have complete and accurate time records, an employee’s claims that he just “knows” what hours others work isn’t going to be enough to keep a lawsuit moving.

IRS stresses enforcement at APA’s Washington summit

04/01/2013
Enforcement. That was the word from John ­­Tuzynski, the IRS’ chief of employment tax policy, when he spoke at the American Payroll Asso­­cia­­tion’s mid-year Capital summit, held in Wash­­ing­­ton, D.C., March 10-14.

The price of having too few time clocks: $1 million

03/29/2013
Long lines of employees punching in and out has cost a California employer more than $1 million in fines. The problem: Quetico Manufacturing had only three time clocks to handle 865 workers. The delays cheated employees out of overtime pay.

Responsible persons’ lifeline: Express installment agreements

03/28/2013

Undeposited payroll taxes can pile up so quickly that the IRS has a name for them—pyramiding. It also has a very effective solution: personally charging a company’s responsible persons with 100% of the undeposited taxes. Relief: an express installment agreement.