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Payroll

ACA credits: Status quo for now

08/29/2014

The IRS isn’t planning on changing how it administers the ACA’s premium tax credit, said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. Koskinen was reacting to dueling federal appellate court decisions on eligibility for the credit, both issued on July 22.

Coming soon: $10.10 hourly wage for fed contract workers

08/27/2014
Under proposed regulations, the minimum wage for employees who work on new or renewed federal contracts or subcontracts, including employees with disabilities who work under special certificates, will increase to $10.10 an hour, from $7.25 an hour, beginning Jan. 1, 2015. Final regs should be released shortly. Here are the contracts to be covered.

Common payroll pitfalls and how to avoid them

08/25/2014
The American Payroll Asso­­ci­­a­­tion’s 32nd Annual Congress revealed fixes and solutions in some potentially dangerous gray areas.

Employer slammed for failing to honor IRS tax levy

08/22/2014
When the IRS knocks on your company’s door with a wage levy against an employee, don’t pretend there’s no one home. A federal trial court has ruled that a company that ignored an IRS wage levy is on the hook for the levied amount—plus a 50% penalty.

What to do when schedules affect child-support obligations?

08/20/2014
Question: We have weekly-paid employees who regularly work four consecutive weeks and then take two weeks off. As a result, some have trouble maintaining their monthly child support obligations. How might we work with the state agencies to accommodate our pay frequency so employees don’t end up in arrears?

IRS addresses corrections to the additional Medicare tax

08/19/2014
Correcting withholding errors in the 0.9% additional Medicare tax added by the Affordable Care Act continues to cause some confusion, since these corrections don’t follow the regular FICA correction rules. An updated frequently-asked-questions document from the IRS provides details on how to correct withholding errors in the additional Medicare tax.

Advance health credits: The math may not be so simple

08/18/2014
No one likes surprises, least of all tax surprises. Employees who signed up for individual health insurance through a health insurance exchange, and who took the advance premium tax credit on a monthly basis, may be in for doozy of a tax bill, after they reconcile those advance credits with their eligibility for the actual credit on their 2014 Forms 1040.

IRS reg alert: ACA waiting periods, FICA/FUTA exemptions

08/14/2014
The IRS has been busy adding to its regulatory agenda. Here’s the latest news from the regulations front.

IRS issues final regs on the health care tax credit

08/14/2014
Under final ACA regulations, employers that have fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees who earn up to $50,000 (adjusted for inflation), and that make nonelective contributions equal to at least 50% of employees’ health premiums, are eligible for a 50% health care tax credit (35% for nonprofits).

Shhh! How to make certain your private data stays that way

08/12/2014
Payroll handles sensitive data all the time, so it’s vital that you develop and maintain a robust privacy policy. Carla Gracen, product manager at Ceridian HCM, Inc., gave some policy pointers during her workshop at the American Payroll Association’s 32nd Annual Congress.