One of the most laborious tasks for small businesses is managing payroll. But it’s critical that you not only withhold the right amount of taxes from employees’ paychecks but also that you pay them over to the federal government on time.
Recent Posts
New Rule will affect millions - After the 2016 regulation (which had a much higher threshold) was invalidated by a U.S. District Court, a new regulation was finalized on September 24, 2019, by the U.S. Department of Labor. However, changes in the regulations do not formally take effect until January 1, 2020. Because of that, employers still have time to make the adjustments necessary to be in full compliance.
Posted in Business Advisory
As an employer, you must pay federal unemployment (FUTA) tax on amounts up to $7,000 paid to each employee as wages during the calendar year. The rate of tax imposed is 6% but can be reduced by a credit (described below). Most employers end up paying an effective FUTA tax rate of 0.6%. An employer taxed at a 6% rate would pay FUTA tax of $420 for each employee who earned at least $7,000 per year, while an employer taxed at 0.6% pays $42.
Posted in Business Tax
In the past few months, many businesses and employers nationwide have received “no-match” letters from the Social Security Administration (SSA). The purpose of these letters is to alert employers if there’s a discrepancy between the agency’s files and data reported on W-2 forms, which are given to employees and filed with the IRS. Specifically, they point out that an employee’s name and Social Security number (SSN) don’t match the government’s records.
Posted in Accounting & Outsourcing
Failure to collect accounts receivable (AR) in a timely manner can lead to myriad financial problems for your company, including poor cash flow and the inability to pay its own bills. Here are five effective ideas to facilitate more timely collections:
Posted in Accounting & Outsourcing
The Department of Labor (DOL) announced in very late January the 2019 annual adjustments to the civil monetary penalties for a wide range of benefits-related violations. Legislation enacted in 2015 requires annual adjustments to certain penalty amounts by January 15 of each year. Because of the government shutdown, however, the 2019 penalties weren’t published by this deadline and, thus, have a later-than-usual effective date.
Posted in Payroll, HR & Benefits
Every employer knows that failing to comply with federal laws is costly, but it’s getting even more so. The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 directs federal agencies to adjust civil penalties for inflation each year. As a result, the Department of Labor recently issued a final rule that revises civil penalties for many violations of federal labor laws for 2019. Here are some of the major areas to be aware of:
Posted in Accounting & Outsourcing
-The phrase “payroll record-keeping” may conjure images of pay-stubs and W-4s. But there are other aspects that often fly under the radar and lead to administrative slip-ups. Here are three examples.
Posted in Business Tax
When a supervisory position opens up, your immediate reaction as an employer may be to post a job opening to the general public. But don’t underestimate the value, efficiency and cost savings of an internal hire from your nonmanager ranks.
Posted in Payroll, HR & Benefits
The Department of Labor (DOL) has been known to investigate the reasonableness of retirement plan expenses and the proper use of plan fees. In some cases, the agency has found plans to be in violation for fee-related infringements, which has led to costly assessments to the plan sponsors in question. If your organization sponsors a retirement plan for its employees, you need to pay close attention to its expenses and fees.
Posted in Payroll, HR & Benefits
