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Payroll

Bitcoins’ teething pains are your toothache, too

06/03/2014
The IRS has concluded that for tax purposes, Bitcoins and other virtual currencies are property, not currency or legal tender. Upshot: You may choose to pay employees in Bitcoins, but you must peg your Bitcoins to U.S. dollars. And all the usual withholding, depositing (in U.S. dollars) and reporting rules apply, as well.

SUV cost rises for standard mileage valuation method

06/03/2014
Employers that use the standard mileage rate (56 cents a mile in 2014) to value employees’ personal use of company vehicles are restricted to supplying vehicles of modest value. For company cars first made available to employees in 2014 and that qualify for the standard mileage rate valuation method, the fair-market value remains $16,000.

IRS juggling many payroll projects

06/03/2014
The IRS has been busy since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this year in United States v. Quality Stores that severance pay is FICA taxable. In May, IRS Acting Chief of Employment Tax Dan Lauer addressed the American Payroll Association’s 32nd Annual Congress in Minneapolis, bringing participants up to speed with the goings on at the IRS.

June 2014: Employer’s business tax calendar

05/30/2014
This is your monthly guide to critical payroll due dates.

Special analysis: Worker status issues expand beyond payroll

05/29/2014
The incentive to misclassify employees as independent contractors to get under the ACA’s 50-employee cap may seem tempting. The real incentive is to ensure that your workforce is properly classified in the first place.

New relief offered to victims of payroll service bureau fraud

05/27/2014
Buried deep in the Consolidated Appropriations Act is a provision that requires the IRS to send a notice confirming any change of address to your old and new address. And for victims of service bureau fraud, the law also directs the IRS to give special consideration to offers-in-compromise, which may allow you to settle a tax debt for less than the full amount owed.

Are we allowed to require employees to receive their wages through paycards?

05/23/2014
Q. Our company wants to start using paycards instead of issuing paychecks to employees who do not use direct deposit. Is it legal to use payroll cards in California?

Young workers: DOL stresses homework, not real work

05/23/2014
The DOL’s website, youthrules.dol.gov, is designed to educate employers about the rules for employing teens (sorry, there’s no help with how to actually manage them).

Can we mandate direct deposit?

05/22/2014
Q. We require all employees to provide us with bank account information so we can direct-deposit their pay. One of our employees has refused and has told us that she is not required accept electronic deposits of her pay. Is the employee correct?

Final ACA info reporting regs: Godzilla meets Frankenstein

05/20/2014
Under final ACA regulations, insured employers with at least 50 full-time employees, including full-time equivalent employees, must file information returns with the IRS to report offers of health insurance made to full-time employees and provide statements to those employees. Key: Small self-insured employers must also report, even though they’re excluded from the play-or-pay provisions.