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Payroll

10 low-cost communication tips to start open enrollment right

09/23/2024
With benefits election open-enrollment season looming at organizations across the country, make sure you avoid the mistake too many employers make: plopping a benefits booklet in front of employees and telling them to figure it out. That just doesn’t work anymore. Benefits have become too complex for employees to figure them out on their own. Here are 10 ways you can do a better job of communicating with your employees.

In the Payroll Mailbag: October ’24

09/19/2024
Rarely asked questions don’t have less value than frequently asked questions. And in Payroll, the rarity usually causes all the trouble. Two questions illustrate.

Guidance clarifies student loan 401(k) matches

09/19/2024
Beginning with the 2024 plan year, SECURE 2.0, the 2022 401(k) reform law, allows you to make matching contributions into the 401(k) accounts of employees who self-certify that they’re repaying their student loans. Interim guidance issued by the IRS describes the self-certification process and sets other rules.

Who can sue you if employees work remotely?

09/19/2024
The Fair Labor Standards Act sets nationwide standards for wage-and-hour compliance and also allows employees to bring collective lawsuits against their employers for FLSA violations. Can employees who work remotely in far-flung states join together in one lawsuit and sue their employer?

Fix it fast: What to do with ITINs in the payroll system

09/19/2024
You’ve heard this a million times: Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers are provided to foreign nationals with nonwork U.S. tax obligations; employees always have Social Security numbers. Third-party payroll providers’ systems, however, may accept ITINs, which can put you in line for a hefty penalty for filing incorrect W-2s. It’s a tough bind you don’t want to find yourself in.

2024 FUTA credit-reduction states

09/19/2024
The Department of Labor has identified the potential 2024 FUTA credit-reduction states.

Fright night for your year-end processes

09/19/2024
There will be no skeletons jumping out of closets or floating jack-o’-lanterns of death glaring at you if you take care of these early year-end tasks now.

FTC can’t enforce its ban on noncompete agreements

09/19/2024
Janitors, security guards and fast-food employees probably shouldn’t be required to sign noncompete agreements, but many are. Last spring, the Federal Trade Commission tried to remedy this by issuing final regulations banning most noncompete agreements. A federal trial court has now issued a nationwide injunction prohibiting the FTC from enforcing them.

Tax Court says no to a $28,000 condo deduction

09/19/2024
The first part of the accountable plan rules is often overlooked. It says employees’ expenses must have a business connection. An S corp owner who tried to write off monthly expenses on a condominium in New York City found this out the hard way when the IRS disallowed the expenses and the Tax Court showed him the doorman-staffed door.

Harness payroll metrics to gain valuable data points

09/04/2024
Payroll is awash in data—taxes withheld, hours worked and overtime due are just three measurable items. You can use these metrics to identify trends, find patterns and project the future. Or you can stumble around in the dark, hoping things line up and coming up short on explanations when they don’t.