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Payroll

To prenote or not to prenote? That is the question

12/19/2019
In the past, employers used to prenote, which entailed sending a blank file to employees’ banks before the first live direct deposit transaction. Snag: Prenoting has fallen out of favor.

Trends to watch for in 2020 at the IRS

12/19/2019
Payroll has moved to center stage at the IRS. Here are changes to watch for this year.

Key to 2020 withholding: Standard deduction amounts

12/19/2019
The standard deduction amounts are now one of the main drivers for determining whether employees will have enough income taxes withheld from their pay. On the other hand, low-income employees may be able to claim the earned income credit. Here’s the basic information they’ll need to make this determination.

Payments in cryptocurrency are subject to payroll taxes

12/05/2019
Cryptocurrencies don’t change the basic rule that how someone is paid is immaterial to determining whether the remuneration is taxable. The issue is how cryptocurrencies are valued.

California clarifies rest-period pay and rounding rules

12/02/2019
On Oct. 9, 2019, the California Court of Appeal weighed in on two long-debated wage-and-hour issues in Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC.

January 2020: Employer’s business tax calendar

11/30/2019
Here’s your monthly guide to critical payroll due dates.

The ACA individual mandate isn’t dead, it’s moved to the states

11/14/2019
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act repealed the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate—a requirement that all individuals have health insurance providing minimum value—beginning this year. Some states have jumped into the breach by enacting their own individual mandate laws. And just like the ACA, part of the enforcement mechanism is employer reporting.

In the Payroll Mailbag: December ’19

11/14/2019
Reporting health benefits on Form W-2 … Scavenger hunt prizes: Taxable or not?

Federal contract workers get a 20¢ raise in 2020

11/14/2019
Beginning Jan. 1, 2020, the minimum hourly wage for nonexempts who work on or in connection with new federal contracts or replacements for expiring contracts increases 20¢, to $10.80 an hour.

Fix it fast: Handling 27 biweekly payrolls in 2020

11/14/2019
Employees paid biweekly are paid 26 times a year. Except when they’re not. And they’re not every 11 or 12 years, when there are 27 biweekly pay periods. Employees paid weekly experience an extra pay period every five or six years. The 27th/53rd pay period phenomenon is real and can cause havoc if you’re not prepared.