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Payroll

Please explain: What does it mean to gross up?

11/21/2023
If you pay an employee’s taxes on, say, a $500 bonus or the value of a gift card, those taxes become income to the employee. That means more withholding. And if the employer keeps picking up the taxes, what results is a never-ending upward spiral of taxation. The only way to escape is to gross up the payment. But what does this really mean?

All tax Friday wrap: The last of the 2024 inflation adjustments and a little bit more

11/10/2023
2024 inflation adjustments and volunteer opportunities ahead of the holiday weekend.

Happy holidays! 8 essential rules for seasonal pay and hiring

11/03/2023
Questions regarding overtime, holiday pay and seasonal hiring often arise this time of year. Here are the eight simple rules you need to know to make this holiday season run smoothly.

December 2023: Employer’s business tax calendar

10/31/2023
Here’s your monthly guide to critical payroll due dates.

IRS spills the beans on its ERC tribulations, IRIS and more

10/26/2023
As of Sept 30, so-called ERC mills filed 3.6 million Forms 941-X claiming the employee retention credit. As of Sept. 14, the day the IRS imposed its moratorium, the IRS had 600,000 ERC claims in open inventory. Those eye-popping stats were provided by Crystal Stinson, employment tax policy analyst at the IRS, the keynote speaker on day 1 of our Payroll Compliance Workshop.

401(k) plans will open to more long-term part-timers

10/25/2023
Both SECURE 1.0 and SECURE 2.0 revise the conditions under which long-term part-time employees must be allowed to participate in your 401(k) plan. SECURE 1.0’s amendments are effective with the 2024 plan year, which means these employees will soon be eligible to participate in your plan. You need to count these employees’ service hours and reach out to them now.

In the Payroll Mailbag: November ’23

10/25/2023
Same employee, new SSN: Is this OK? … Are gift baskets taxable?

Negligent employer liable for 2 years of back pay, not 3

10/25/2023
The Fair Labor Standards Act has two measures of liability: Pay two years of back pay if your failure to pay minimum wages or overtime wasn’t willful, or three years if it was. A mistaken failure to pay overtime due to negligence isn’t the same thing as willfully failing to pay employees, so an employer’s liability for back pay was limited to two years, a federal appeals court explained.

2023 Forms 1099-NEC: So many changes, so little time

10/25/2023
Only the smallest employers will be able to file their 1099s on paper. Final regulations require you to e-file all your information returns if you’re filing an aggregate of 10 information returns.

Prelude to a drumstick

10/25/2023
Stuffed? Instead of cramming year-end duties into December, you’ll find the going considerably smoother if you pace yourself. Here are some key tasks you can complete now.