Payroll

Worker damaged truck then quit: Any recourse?

10/22/2014

Q. An employee driving a backhoe backed into a wall and tore the door off. We had to install a new door ($275), but the employee quit that same week. So we deducted $275 from his last check. Now he says he’s talking to a lawyer. Were we right?

FICA wage base increases to $118,500 for 2015

10/22/2014

The 2015 taxable wage base for the Social Security portion of FICA is $118,500, a 1.28% hike over the 2014 wage base. The 6.2% Social Security tax is payable by both employers and employees; in 2015, the maximum tax is $7,347.

5 ways employers should respond to wage garnishments

10/20/2014

While the economy is finally waking up from the Great Recession, millions of Americans are still feeling the hangover in the form of wage garnishments. What if a lender wants a piece of your employee’s paycheck? Here are five tips.

All large employers on the 2015 health care reporting hot seat

10/20/2014

Now is the time to make decisions regarding information reporting, since the first returns are due in 2016.

Take a bite out of corporate travel expenses with per diems

10/17/2014

How can you keep employees out on the road without busting the company’s travel budget? You can get more bang for your travel buck if you use the federal government’s per diem rates.

Don’t be spooked by year-end Payroll tasks

10/15/2014

Trick or treat—it’s a very simple menu. To avoid a huge year-end trick, and have a sweet year-end, cross off these tasks from your to-do list.

Health benefit reporting on 2014 Forms W-2

10/15/2014

Here’s a downloadable breakdown of health benefits and whether you must report them. The IRS has clarified that even if a benefit isn’t reportable, you may voluntarily do so.

Enhanced pay report proposed for fed contractors

10/14/2014

The U.S. Department of Labor has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would require the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to collect pay data from federal contractors.

Regs allow more options for 401(k) distributions

10/13/2014

Retirees can’t keep their 401(k) pretax contributions dammed up forever; eventually they must take taxable distributions. Two new sets of final regulations allow 401(k) plans to provide retirees with more options than just pulling out the cash.

Delinquent child support drives the most wage garnishments