Over the next few weeks, as your employees start to receive their 2020 W-2 form, they will most likely have many questions as to what all those numbers mean. For example, it is not uncommon for a salaried employee who earns $50,000 per year question why their Box 1 Wages only reflects $45,000. Did they get underpaid? Probably not. If the employee contributes to a pension plan (aka 401(k)) or has pre-tax insurance deductions, then those amounts reduces the “taxable” wage, which is what appears in Box 1. To assist you with questions like that, here is a handy guide…
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Almost three years ago, I wrote an article about the steady decline in the amount of federal income tax withheld from an employee’s check over the past three decades. This was prior to the new 2020 Form W-4 redesign, so I thought it would be interesting to revisit this chart and see its effect. As we saw three years ago, the amount of income tax withheld from an employee claiming Single with One allowance or Married with One allowance has steadily decreased, with the exception of 2009 where there was a sharp decrease that eventually returned to its pre-depression state…
There has been no change to the 2021 W-4 Form from the recently re-designed 2020 version, other than the tax table, but there has been a bit of confusion. First off, the IRS encourages the use of the new form, but it is not required for 2021. Employees will find a more accurate withholding and, most likely, enjoy a higher net pay on every check if they do complete a new form. Payroll systems that utilize the new tax withholding table have recently been provided the ability to ‘bridge’ the 2019 and earlier form as if they were the the…
While the Federal minimum wage remains at $7.25 per hour, many states and cities/locals have set increases effective January 1st, 2021 with a few announcing a change during 2021. With the addition of Florida, there are now 8 states on their way, or at $15.00 per hour. A list of each state/local, along with the new hourly rate is listed below; All rates are effective January 1st, 2021 unless otherwise noted. Alaska: $10.34 Arizona: $12.15 ($9.15 for tipped employees-$3 less than minimum wage) Arkansas: $11.00 (tipped minimum wage will remain at $2.63) California: $14.00 for businesses with 26 or more…
On the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan application, many certifications were made by the borrower. An important one to highlight is “current economic uncertainty makes this loan request necessary to support the ongoing operations of the Applicant.” It is a somewhat simple statement that the SBA further indicated that borrowers are acting in good faith, taking into account their current business activity and their ability to access other sources of liquidity sufficient to support their ongoing operations in a manner that is not significantly detrimental to the business. For example, it is unlikely that a public company with substantial market…
Do you know the laws on providing time off for your employees to vote? As we approach a major national election, you should review your policy to make sure you are in compliance with the law, as there can be civil and criminal penalties for violations. There is not a federal law on the books, so any time-off policy falls in the hands of the state in which the employee votes. Some states designate an amount of time while others will require paid time off, and just about all prevent you from firing or disciplining an employee for taking time…
On October 2, 2020, the Small Business Administration issued a five page Procedural Notice 5000-20057 regarding “change of ownership”. This is a very concerning topic at this point in the game as many companies have changed ownership in one form or another due to the slow-down, since receiving their PPP funding. Here is what is considered a change of ownership; 1. 20% or more of the common stock or ownership interest is sold or transferred, including to an affiliate or an existing owner of the entity, 2. 50% or more of the assets (measured by FMV) is sold or transferred, whether in…
Unless you live and work in one of the following nine states that do not tax wages, you are required to withhold state income tax on wages paid to your employees: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. While this may sound simple enough, there are a number of considerations that need to be made, and we will go over them here, including the COVID-19 wrench in the machine. The Form First up is the form itself. There are a few states that did not adopt their own state withholding tax form, so here is…
On August 8, 2020, the President issued an Executive Order (EO) to allow an employee to elect to defer their Social Security tax payment, on wages earned from September 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020, to a later date. Rightfully so, the EO lacked details on implementation, which would be up to the U.S. Treasury to determine. Late Friday afternoon on August 28, 2020, the IRS published Notice 2020-65, and while the notice does provide details, it is still lacking rules and guidance on many points. Most employers, since March 27, 2020, have had the ability to defer the deposit…
Both the SBA and the U.S. Treasury have been busy throughout the month of August. We have seen the loan approval process close on August 8, the loan forgiveness application process open on August 10 (sort of), forgiveness rules clarification with the August 11th update of their FAQs, and a new interim final rules published on August 24th. The closing of the PPP loan program is probably long overdue. After several extensions of the program, it appeared that the demand for the loan funds had come to a halt and there was not much of a demand for it in…