You are here:
- Home
- People/Relationships
- Retirement Planning
- Accounting, Payroll & Pension Issues
Accounting, Payroll & Pension Issues/Questions
| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| Payroll taxes | 2/9/2012 | Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR |
| Q: I was making $15/hr temping for an office in Austin, TX. At 40 hrs a week and after taxes my $600 ... A: One thing that is going on right now which does make a difference is the fact that the president ... | ||
| 403b employer contribution | 2/7/2012 | Paul Sid, CPA CFA |
| Q: The accountant for our church has employer contribution to my 403b plan on the balance sheet as ... A: You are correct. 403(b) contributions made to your account represent your assets and not the ... | ||
| Early withdrawal of 401k funds | 2/4/2012 | Paul Sid, CPA CFA |
| Q: I'm 35 and currently unemployed after a 12 year run at a fantastic company. I left for what ... A: One of the objective in financial planning is to establish an emergency fund. That was not done - ... | ||
| Tax exemption on Lump Sum Dist. | 2/4/2012 | Allen |
| Q: I'm going to retire this June (2012).I will be 57 years old. I will be receiving a pension through ... A: If the money is paid to you - it will be subject to federal income tax, state income tax (if you ... | ||
| Partners as employees | 1/31/2012 | Paul Sid, CPA CFA |
| Q: I do in-house accounting for a partnership LLC. The company has been in business for about 8 years ... A: You are very smart in thinking ahead and anticipating potential problems before they arise. Based ... | ||
| Partners as employees | 1/26/2012 | Paul Sid, CPA CFA |
| Q: I do in-house accounting for a partnership LLC. The company has been in business for about 8 years ... A: On the surface the partnership appears simple- income is earned and all partners get an equal salary ... | ||
| Canadian Res working for U.S. Company in Canada | 1/25/2012 | Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR |
| Q: My wife is a U.S. Citizen living in Ontario as a Canadian Resident. She has an offer to work for a ... A: It is more trouble for the company. They have to set up a Canadian bank account, they would have to ... | ||
| Solo 401(K) Eligibility | 1/18/2012 | Paul Sid, CPA CFA |
| Q: I am a US Citizen working in the US out of my home. I am employed by a Canadian company ... A: If your employer does not offer you a retirement plan, then your retirement plan options as an ... | ||
| Bonus repayment issue | 1/16/2012 | Paul Sid, CPA CFA |
| Q: I was hired in the fall of 2011 and a month after signing my agreement, the day before starting, the ... A: I believe that you have a question as to a potential incorrect withholding in payroll taxes issue ... | ||
| Difference between partner loans & partner equity | 1/15/2012 | Paul Sid, CPA CFA |
| Q: I have been asked by a small LLC company (in the US) to help clean up their books. In the Chart of ... A: Using the current procedure of "partnership loan accounts" is the correct approach. Your situation. ... | ||
| 940 issue | 1/12/2012 | Paul Sid, CPA CFA |
| Q: I am fairly new to Quickbooks and am now running a 940 for year end. It is showing exemptions on ... A: The payroll exemption was a field that was in used under certain circumstances during CY2010. The ... | ||
| Wages earned at End of Year | 1/5/2012 | Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR |
| Q: The last pay period ended 12/31/11, and included hours worked from 12/18 thru 12/31. When we ... A: The wages go into the year in which they are paid. Many companies including ours pays the first ... | ||
| which career? | 12/22/2011 | Arthur Naman |
| Q: I am a student a Acca. (Association of chartered certified Accountants) What are the career options ... A: I encourage you to seek advice from a career counselor. This is not a good forum for this question. ... | ||
| Reimburse employees Out of pocket cost - flu shot-Taxable? | 12/21/2011 | Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR |
| Q: This question was ask back in 2009 however has anything changed with the recent updates. "If an ... A: This may be a moot point as under Obamacare the flu shot must be covered by insurance. It is a small ... | ||
| Closing 401k | 12/19/2011 | Allen |
| Q: I had a solo computer consulting business (no other employees) from 1996-2008, and had a Fidelity ... A: I believe you definitely can move the money from the old plan to an IRA if the two businesses have ... | ||
| Boss complaining about hours | 12/7/2011 | Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR |
| Q: N. It's only me, the doctor, and another office girl. He complains about our pay checks alot. I ... A: What he is complaining about is the other girl gets paid more money per hour which means more Social ... | ||
| Building Improvements | 11/16/2011 | Arthur Naman |
| Q: I work for an S-Corp where the owner is buying a building (he is setting up an LLC for that) and he ... A: The answer is not clear because normally there would be an agreement as to what improvements are to ... | ||
| How to Classify | 11/14/2011 | Arthur Naman |
| Q: The company owner gives his elderly mother a weekly gift of $125 and I want to be sure that I am ... A: This is an owner's expense and should be recorded as such. This is not an expense of the company. ... | ||
| Payroll-26 pays to 12 month conversion | 11/8/2011 | Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR |
| Q: Is there a standard accounting formula for converting 26 pay periods to 12 months expense spread by ... A: I have an accrual spreadsheet in Abra that I use to accrue the amounts into the month end for the ... | ||
| uniform SEP contributions | 10/30/2011 | Allen |
| Q: We sponsor both a 401(k) and SEP-IRA. Our pay package includes a percentage of salary for retirement ... A: The contribution by the company to the SEP for each eligible employee must be the same percentage of ... | ||
| Canadian Workers | 10/27/2011 | Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR |
| Q: McAllister: We are a Michigan company thinking of hiring two Canadian residents. They will only be ... A: If they are canadian's working in Canada you need to hold out CPP, EI and Canadian Federal ... | ||
| Switching Salaried Employees From Semi-Monthly to Bi-Weekly | 10/26/2011 | Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR |
| Q: This is in reference to another thread you posted about moving from semi-monthly to bi-weekly ... A: There are no rules for doing this other than the one I just gave you which is basically an ... | ||
| Per diem | 10/26/2011 | Paul Sid, CPA CFA |
| Q: Is a company required by law to provide per diem to an employee when they travel and work away from ... A: No. A company is not required by law to provide per diem to an employee when traveling. During my ... | ||
| SALES TAX ...STATE OF CT. | 10/23/2011 | Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR |
| Q: My spouse has done a few small businesses from our home. In the past she has charged tax for a home ... A: Whomever sells the end product to the consumer charges sales tax. If the company that provides the ... | ||
| accounting | 10/22/2011 | Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR |
| Q: I have a question on journal enteries. I work with invoice processing and we are told to tell our ... A: Journal entries are postings into an accounting system that defines where the funds or the invoice ... | ||
| accounting Q. | 10/22/2011 | Arthur Naman |
| Q: I have a question on journal enteries. I work with invoice processing and we are told to tell our ... A: Accounting transactions are categorized and summarized by use of a general ledger code. A journal ... | ||
| profit sharing rollover | 10/20/2011 | Allen |
| Q: My former employer will not distribute (rollover) a check for a profit sharing account which I was ... A: It is possible that the plan document states that benefits are not distributed within a short period ... | ||
| Employee vs. Independent Contractor | 10/19/2011 | Paul Sid, CPA CFA |
| Q: and thank you in advance for your time. I am aware of the categorical difference between independent ... A: I applaud you for taking the right step by reclassifying your independent contractors to employee ... | ||
| changing payroll to be 1 week behind. | 10/16/2011 | Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR |
| Q: Currently our payroll is sun-sat a two week period, and we pay that 2 week period on the following ... A: There is no painless way to do this. Vacation time, or loans (which I discourage), are two ways to ... | ||
| Repaying Taxable bonus. | 10/5/2011 | Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR |
| Q: Just wandering if you could help me. First I should point out this is a question with regards to the ... A: If you only paid back net amount of the bonus and taxes were taken out on the gross amount you have ... | ||
| Records Retention | 9/30/2011 | Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR |
| Q: I have years of Pre-tax election forms (Flexible Benefits Plan) that employees complete and sign so ... A: I keep these files for 10 years. When the 10 years is up I document the files I am destroying in my ... | ||
| Time keeping system over rides punches | 9/20/2011 | Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR |
| Q: There are several timekeeping systems utilized where I work. One of the systems actually changes ... A: There possibly may be a setting in the timeclock that is a box you check to override punches in ... | ||
| Time keeping system over rides punches | 9/19/2011 | Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR |
| Q: There are several timekeeping systems utilized where I work. One of the systems actually changes ... A: Time can be rounded to the nearest 15 minutes. Thus 4:06 can be rounded to 4:00. If the check out ... | ||
| Fiscal Year End | 9/18/2011 | Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR |
| Q: I know that you are in the US and that Canada differs but I am now at the end of my businesses first ... A: I cannot help with your accounting system as I have never used that type of accounting system. ... | ||
| Switch pay from 26 to 24 | 9/13/2011 | Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR |
| Q: Same question, but wanting more clarity. My husband's employer switched. According to a handout we ... A: The salaried employee is paid the same every month. So if he is paid 50,000 26 times a year he is ... | ||
| mandatory direct deposit for independent contractors working for a company in MN | 9/4/2011 | Arthur Naman |
| Q: I work as an independent contractor for a medical transcription company located in MN. I live in a ... A: I am not aware of any rules pertaining to your situation. Since you not an employee you may not be ... | ||
| UK Employee | 9/1/2011 | Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR |
| Q: This question is basically the same as the Canadian employee question except for the U.K. We may ... A: UK is a little different than Canada. We had to have an agent in UK to do business there. I had ... | ||
| changing from a semi monthly payroll to a bi weekly payroll | 9/1/2011 | Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR |
| Q: Our company pays non exempt employees on a bi weekly payroll and our exempt employees on a semi ... A: Salaried exempt employees are paid by salary and not by the hour. This is not how I would handle ... | ||
| forfeiture account | 8/29/2011 | Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR |
| Q: !! I still have an issue with the forfeiture account. My boss always write a check for the ... A: The forfeiture amount is a debit in the 401K credit account. When you take it out of that account ... | ||
| 401k PLAN | 8/24/2011 | Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR |
| Q: ..!!! can you explain me the process that i should follow to allocate this expenses properly !! A: I have my forfeiture amounts posted directly into my payable account. The payable account is a ... | ||
Accounting, Payroll & Pension Issues
Answers by Expert:
Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I can answer payroll questions, payroll tax questions, 401K questions. No stock option questions please and I have some knowledge of other pensions but am most familiar with the 401K pension. I can answer U.S.and Canada payroll questions proficiently and have a good general knowledge of UK and South Africa and some knowledge of Australia and New Zealand Payroll procedures. Please do not ask me homework questions I do not have time to answer them.
Experience
25 years with an international company in the Human Resources, Payroll and Payroll Tax areas.
Organizations
SHRM, APA, I.O.M.A.
Publications
I.O.M.A. and BNA
Education/Credentials
P.H.R., C.P.P., Canadian Payroll Administrator, Successfully passed APA class on UK Payroll Administration.
Boise State University Human Resource Certification
Awards and Honors
APA Hotline Citation of Merit for last 8 years.
©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.