Archive for the ‘Payroll’ Category

  • Utah Employers Can Use Pay Cards

    The Utah Labor Commission recently changed it rules to allow employers to pay employees’ wages through the use of pay cards. Employees can use cards at ATMs to withdraw wages, and may do so once without incurring a fee. Employees paid via pay cards must be given a written statement of deductions from their wages on each payday, as is the case with other forms of payment.

    2010.06.15 / no responses / Category: Payroll

  • Nebraska Requiring Itemized Wage Statements

    From hrtools.com:

    The Nebraska Wage Payment and Collection Act is amended to require that an employer furnish an employee with an itemized wage statement within 10 days after the employee makes a written request.

    The itemized statement, which can be in either print or electronic format, must list the wages earned and deductions made from the employee’s wages for each pay period earnings and deductions were made. An employer who fails to furnish an itemized statement as requested will be guilty of an infraction. This provision takes effect July 15, 2010. ( L.B. 884, Laws 2010, approved April 12, effective as noted above.)

    2010.05.12 / no responses / Category: In the News, Payroll

  • Paying Payroll Taxes, A Must-Do

    Companies, like their employees, face cash emergencies all the time… for the former, often the only solution to getting money quickly is to take out a payday loan (itself problematic, as many lending companies can engage in predatory practices); as to the latter, some companies choose to forego remitting their payroll taxes (FICA, FUTA, etc.), usually for a short duration, in the hopes that they’ll eventually achieve enough cashflow to be able to pay – in full – later. Best intentions aside, this situation is problematic to say the least, and it can lead to serious (and costly) downstream repercussions if a company continues to fall farther and farther behind on meeting its tax obligations.

    In fact, by failing to meet payroll tax obligations on behalf of an organization, individuals can be held personally liable for the full amount (as well as incurred interest) of the unpaid taxes under Section 6672 of the Internal Revenue Code, which reads:

    “Any person required to collect, truthfully account for, and pay over any tax imposed by this title who willfully fails to collect such tax, or truthfully account for and pay over such tax, or willfully attempts in any manner to evade or defeat any such tax or the payment thereof, shall, in addition to other penalties provided by law, be liable to a penalty equal to the total amount of the tax evaded, or not collected, or not accounted for and paid over.”

    Further, as detailed in an informative article by BizActions (“Don’t Let a Cash Flow Shortfall Make You Personally Liable”), the IRS can go after multiple people in one company. In determining whether an individual is responsible, courts typically consider:

    * The corporate bylaws.

    * The ability to sign checks on the company’s bank account.

    * The signature on the employer’s federal quarterly tax return.

    * Payment of other creditors in lieu of the federal government.

    * Identity of officers, directors, and principal stockholders in the firm.

    * The ability to hire and discharge employees.

    * The identity of individuals in charge of the firm’s financial affairs.

    As part of its larger service offering, PDR helps ensure proper tax reconciliation and payments are made on behalf of client companies. Reputable and reliable, we understood the importance of complying fully with tax codes and regulations.

    2010.04.22 / no responses / Category: Payroll

  • HIRE ACT (aka, “Jobs Bill”)

    HIRE ACT (aka, The “Jobs Bill”)

    Tax Breaks for Hiring Unemployed Workers

    Overview

    On March 18, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act (pdf of legislation). The Act includes more than $17 Billion in tax credits meant to stimulate employment, and supply funds for highway and transit programs. A key provision for businesses is a tax credit for hiring recently unemployed workers. Under the HIRE Act, an employer of a “qualified employee” is excused from paying the employer match for the 6.2% Social Security portion of that employee’s wages in 2010. A qualifying employee is defined as someone who is:

    • hired after Feb. 3, 2010 and before Jan. 1, 2011
    • not hired to replace another employee
    • not related to the employer
    • and certifies under penalty of perjury (signed affidavit) that he or she has not been employed for more than 40 hours during the 60-day (two-month) period ending on the date that employment begins with the new employer.

    This incentive can save employers up to $6,621.60 for each qualified employee hired (6.2% of the maximum Social Security withholding for 2010), with increased savings for hiring qualified veterans, whose maximum Social Security withholding amount is higher. Employers also can receive a tax credit on their 2011 return for each new employee hired and retained for 52 weeks under certain criteria; that credit is the lesser of $1,000 or 6.2% of the wages paid to the employee for those 52 weeks.

    These tax incentives are meant to spur job creation, especially for small businesses who may be undecided about whether to begin to ramp up their hiring efforts given recent economic conditions. In addition, the Act includes a one-year extension of expensing thresholds; small businesses may elect to write-off up to $250,000 of certain capital expenditures (subject to a phase-out once those expenditures exceed $800,000) in 2010 in lieu of depreciating those costs over time.

    You can also read more here.

    2010.03.29 / no responses / Category: Helpful Tips, In the News, Payroll

  • New Payroll Tax Breaks on the Horizon?

    An interesting, bipartisan op-ed penned last week by Sens Orrin Hatch (R, Utah) and Chuck Schumer (D, New York), arguing the need for new, targeted payroll-related tax breaks aimed at small businesses. The op-ed is excerpted in part below:

    “Here’s the idea: Starting immediately after enactment, any private-sector employer that hires a worker who had been unemployed for at least 60 days will not have to pay its 6.2 percent Social Security payroll tax on that employee for the duration of 2010. The Social Security trust fund will then be made whole with spending cuts elsewhere in the budget between now and 2015. That’s it. Simple to understand, and easy to explain.

    The beauty of this proposal goes beyond its simplicity. Unlike a jobs tax credit of a specific dollar amount, this credit is “front-loaded” in that it provides an incentive for businesses to hire workers earlier in the year — because the tax benefit will be greater. A $60,000 worker hired on Feb. 1 will save a business about $3,400 in taxes, while that same worker hired on May 1 will save it about $2,500.

    Unlike some versions of a payroll-tax holiday, which provide a much bigger benefit for higher-paid workers, this proposal is not biased toward either low-wage or high-wage workers. Yes, if you pay people more, you save more in taxes — but the savings as a percentage of pay remains constant. Under this plan, a business saves 6.2 percent on both a $40,000 worker and a $90,000 worker.”

    Read the full opinion piece here.

    2010.02.02 / no responses / Category: In the News, Payroll

  • State Unemployment Payroll Taxes on the Rise

    With the national unemployment rate continuing to top 10%, it’s not surprising that many states – 36 in fact – have rolled out mandatory increases to the unemployment contribution taxes assessed to businesses. At the extreme end, Hawaiian employers have seen their annual unemployment tax increase by 1089%, to an average tax burden per worker of $1,070. Other states, already borrowing federal dollars to shore up insolvent trust funds, have been forced to reduce benefits – an example: The jobless in Pennsylvania will receive 2.3% less in unemployment compensation starting in January 2010.

    Read more here and here.

    The latter link – the Unemployment Insurance Tracker created by ProPublica – provides useful, at-a-glance state-level data … Trust Fund balances, current borrowing (of federal funds), projections going forward, solvency status, etc.

    2.2.10 Update: Utah’s UI situation.

    2010.01.27 / no responses / Category: In the News, Payroll

  • Online Payroll Reporting

    Online Pay Review

    Cyberpay online is a web-based payroll submission and reporting product that many PDR clients use. With this automated (paperless) system, users have the ability to:

    • Enter hours
    • Add new employees
    • Submit payroll at the touch-of-a-button
    • Maintain basic employee information for current employees
    • Print the most important and frequently used reports
    • View payroll figures (in summary format or by pay period)
    • Print check stubs and direct deposit vouchers
    • Give employees the option to view their information online

    All that is required is access via a computer to the Internet. As well, PDR offers onsite introduction and training to the service.

    PDR Client Testimonial

    “Now that I submit my payroll online to PDR, my life has gotten so much easier. I love being able to send everything electronically. It’s fast and efficient. The online interface is straightforward and I can also do other things from the comfort of my office, or even home … review employee information, generate paystubs, run pay history reports. There’s no way I’m going back to the old way. I would highly recommend its use.”

    To learn more about Online Payroll Reporting, and demo the product, please contact Charity Taylor, PDR Payroll Manager, 801.404.5241, ext 202.

    2009.06.13 / no responses / Category: Payroll, Products