Advice
New IRS guidance affirms: Same-sex married employees are entitled to all federal spousal tax benefits, even if they live in a state that doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage.
The 2013-2014 Priority Guidance Plan is the IRS’ road map for regulatory and administrative guidance it hopes to publish by June 30, 2014. Commonly referred to as “the business plan,” the IRS has loaded itself up with 324 projects. As usual, Payroll figures very prominently on the IRS’ agenda. Here’s what to expect.
We can already hear the collective “@#$%&!” from Payroll managers across the nation. But the world turns, and now it turns once again to year-end. Take a few minutes now to run down this checklist, and you’ll almost certainly have a smooth start to year-end 2013.
Question: An employee lives in New York, but commutes to our offices in Maryland every week. He returns home on Friday. We are contractually obligated to reimburse him for his weekly hotel/housing expenses. Are his reimbursements taxable, or do they qualify as tax-free local lodging expenses?
Question: A nonexempt employee works for a company and its subsidiary. Each company has separate federal Employer Identification Numbers (EINs), workers’ compensation policies and state unemployment accounts. The two companies, however, share an HR department and some corporate officers. The employee completes two time sheets and has different managers. Is she entitled to overtime if she works longer than 40 hours between the two companies?
A federal appeals court has ruled that a former employee’s Title VII jury award was taxable back pay and front pay. The employer, therefore, didn’t need to seek the trial court’s approval to withhold taxes, even though the award didn’t explicitly allow the employer to withhold.
NOTE: Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays as observed in the District of Columbia are taken into account to determine due dates. Under the federal deposit rules, you’re allowed a deposit shortfall of the greater of $100 or 2% of your tax liability.
Question: How can the company fulfill the I-9 requirement to physically review new hires’ documents when employees work remotely? Can we have a notary review the documents, notarize a copy of them and send that copy to our main office?
As a Payroll professional, what’s your job? According to Lisa Poole, CPP, corporate payroll manager for Simmons Bedding Corp., your job is to protect the company’s assets, protect employees’ data and remain compliant. Internal payroll audits help you do all three.
What goes into a final paycheck, and when that check must be given to a terminating employee, is strictly a state issue. Here are the final-pay rules.
