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Payroll

Self-insured plans, HSAs, HRAs must pay research fees

01/09/2013

To determine what works in providing medical care, the Affordable Care Act health care reform law created the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). For seven plan years, PCORI will be funded with fees on plan sponsors of self-insured plans, including retiree-only and COBRA plans. Now comes news that sponsors of insured plans that offer employees health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) and certain health flexible spending accounts (FSAs) must also pay fees.

How to control expense account fraud

01/09/2013
When Dave or Julie comes back to the office from a weekend business trip, do you or other supervisors just sign off on their expense reports? What you may not know is that those mileage forms, taxi cab receipts and restaurant checks could be doctored or even phony. And are all those company credit card purchases business-related?

Self-insured plans, HSAs, HRAs must pay research fees

01/08/2013
To determine what works in providing medical care, the Affordable Care Act health care reform law created the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research In­­sti­­tute. For seven plan years, it will be funded with fees on plan sponsors of self-insured plans, including retiree-only and COBRA plans.

Punch in, punch out: State appeals court allows time clock rounding

01/03/2013
If you use a time clock, you probably also use a rounding method so employees who clock in a little early or clock out slightly late are only paid for their scheduled time. The presumption is that over time, employees will clock in both early and late. Fortunately, a recent California appeals court decision sanctions this common-sense practice.

Fiscal cliff averted: New law sets 2013 withholding rates; ‘payroll tax holiday’ expires

01/02/2013
In the waning hours of New Year’s Day, Congress passed legislation averting a plunge off the “fiscal cliff” and making permanent Bush-era tax rates for all but the highest earners. Now employers can finally make concrete plans for their 2013 payroll operations.

2012 FUTA credit reduction states announced

12/27/2012
The IRS has named the states that will be subject to FUTA credit reductions for 2012 FUTA taxes. FUTA credit reductions arise when states borrow from the federal government to pay regular unemployment benefits and fail to timely repay the loans.

Tax Year 2012 SSA Employer Service Liaison Officers

12/26/2012
Here’s a state-by-state breakdown of employer service liaison officers.

How should we handle 1099s for retirees we can’t track down?

12/26/2012
Question: Three retirees receive monthly pension checks. Two have stopped cashing them and the post office keeps returning the other retiree’s check as undeliverable. We’ve searched the obituaries and looked in our old HR files for their next of kin, but we’ve come up empty. We have to provide Forms 1099-R to them by the end of this month. What do we do?

Fiscal Cliff Watch: IRS OKs using 2012 withholding rate for now

12/21/2012
Employers should continue to use 2012 withholding tables and personal exemption amounts until further notice.

Jan. 31 end-game in sight

12/20/2012
Mark your calendar. By Jan. 31, employees must have their W-2s, and the IRS must have the fourth-quarter 941 form, and annual 940, 944 and 945 forms. Here’s what you must do now.