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Accounting, Payroll & Pension Issues/Questions Answered by Expert Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR
| Subject | Date Asked |
| Payroll taxes | 2/9/2012 |
| 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 ... | |
| Canadian Res working for U.S. Company in Canada | 1/25/2012 |
| 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 ... | |
| Wages earned at End of Year | 1/5/2012 |
| 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 ... | |
| Reimburse employees Out of pocket cost - flu shot-Taxable? | 12/21/2011 |
| 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 ... | |
| Boss complaining about hours | 12/7/2011 |
| 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 ... | |
| Payroll-26 pays to 12 month conversion | 11/8/2011 |
| 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 ... | |
| Canadian Workers | 10/27/2011 |
| 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 |
| 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 ... | |
| SALES TAX ...STATE OF CT. | 10/23/2011 |
| 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 |
| 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 ... | |
| changing payroll to be 1 week behind. | 10/16/2011 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 ... | |
| UK Employee | 9/1/2011 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 ... | |
| Travel Time | 8/10/2011 |
| Q: Our company has two locations (bases). Our staff may be scheduled for either base location, which ... A: The trip from home to whatever worksite they arrive at first and the trip home from the last ... | |
| Common Paymaster | 8/10/2011 |
| Q: I googled your article on Common Paymaster and found it very helpful. I have some questions: 1- ... A: I apologize for how long it has taken to answer. I have been really swamped at work with some issue ... | |
| Tennis Pro-Am - paying the pros | 8/10/2011 |
| Q: I actually have 2 questions: 1. Our club will be hosting a pro-am where we will be paying area pros ... A: The pros you are paying will be paid only 150.00 or 200.00 for the entire event. They are not ... | |
| 401k | 8/9/2011 |
| Q: My husband has a 401k that we want to cash out. The retirement dept told us he cant until he leaves ... A: He can roll it over into an IRA account at a financial institution if he is 59 1/2 or older. It is ... | |
| HCE 401k Excess Contribution | 8/5/2011 |
| Q: ..I was just notified by my employer that we exceeded our 401k deferral for 2010. Since it is well ... A: If you keep in contact with the payroll department throughout the year they can look up on their ... | |
| HCE 401k Excess Contribution | 8/1/2011 |
| Q: ..I was just notified by my employer that we exceeded our 401k deferral for 2010. Since it is well ... A: Your employer is not obligated to pay the penalty, you can ask and see if the employer will do so. ... | |
| Changing Payroll Cycle - Check List | 7/15/2011 |
| Q: We have multiple business units processing payroll under many different cycles under many different ... A: I do not have a checklist or project sheet. I actually changed from semi-monthly to bi-weekly ... | |
| 401K shortage | 7/8/2011 |
| Q: When I was terminated from my position, I was told that my 401K was $17,295.06. After trying to get ... A: First you need to be aware that if the employer contributes to the plan there is a vesting period to ... | |
| U.S Employees in Canada | 6/30/2011 |
| Q: We currently have U.S employees working in Canada. We have offices in both the U.S and Canada. ... A: If the company has a permanent office in Canada the employee will have to file a Canadian tax return ... | |
| Labor | 6/26/2011 |
| Q: This is from a question I asked prior. The problem I have is that we were asked to work 7 days a ... A: That would be a type of unemployment or vacation pay. If you were working you are not eligible for ... | |
| Supplemental Insurance Cafeteria Plans | 6/24/2011 |
| Q: I live in TX. I have looked everywhere, but cannot find the answer. We have a small business, 6 ... A: I cannot help you with this question. We do not pretax Aflac. It is a supplemental insurance and it ... | |
| Payroll Deduction Figures | 6/23/2011 |
| Q: First of all, this is not a homework question, it is matter of eating and not eating; secondly, you ... A: How the withholding is calculated from your pay depends on how you have filled out your W-4 form. It ... | |
| Salaried Employee | 6/20/2011 |
| Q: I am a salaried employee in colorado I work in the restaurant industry. I am wondering is it ok for ... A: Salaried exempt employees are exempt from the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) and are not eligible ... | |
| RE: career develepment | 6/20/2011 |
| Q: I would like expand my knowledge and career in the field of Payroll. Are there any courses or ... A: I would suggest that you contact the Canadian Payroll Association. They have a certification in ... | |
| 26 pay periods | 6/16/2011 |
| Q: My question is. We've just changed to 26 pay periods. We've ask if on the month with 3 checks ... A: The payroll can be set up to do either 24 or 26 deductions a year. If part of the year has passed it ... | |
| Volunteer Payroll Deductions | 6/14/2011 |
| Q: I am having to write guidelines for volunteer employee payroll deductions. The payroll deductions ... A: Usually payroll imputs the pay roll deductions and reconciles the history reports. This is a payroll ... | |
| time clocks | 6/6/2011 |
| Q: I am a new HR manager and I have a question. If the company sets a start time at 7am and employees ... A: If you allow them to check in early than they must be paid according to what is on their timecard. ... | |
| Can a salaried employee working for one company be paid two rates? | 6/4/2011 |
| Q: We have a salaried employee (a manager) who would like to work on a part-time basis in another of ... A: What he would do is become a non exempt employee and his position would be subject to overtime. He ... | |
| what percent was taken from gross | 6/1/2011 |
| Q: On a 5 month back pension I received 7740.00 gross and was paid 7253.82 at what percent did they ... A: I need a bit more information. Was the pension for 1 month or for 5 months? They only took out about ... | |
| Back pay for new job | 6/1/2011 |
| Q: I have a new job title as of 6/1/11 but was doing the job in Oct 2010 at the time of my review. My ... A: It is not illegal to pay reto pay unless you are on a union, government or education contract that ... | |
| Time Clocks for Hourly | 5/26/2011 |
| Q: We have a few hourly employees and several salaried employees. I want to put a time clock in for all ... A: You could just have the hourly employees punch in and out that is permissible. It will probably ... | |
| Lump sum payments from terminated pension plan | 5/26/2011 |
| Q: Our pension plan will be terminated as of year-end and one of the available options will be a lump ... A: I would suggest to you that you do not take a lump sum payment. You need to roll the amount over to ... | |
| change from hourly to salary | 5/24/2011 |
| Q: I hope you can settle this for me. I work in a 3 person office and was working part-time. They are ... A: The laws in california or any other state do not have an accounting formula to use. The law simply ... | |
| change from hourly to salary | 5/23/2011 |
| Q: I hope you can settle this for me. I work in a 3 person office and was working part-time. They are ... A: We start with the annual wage and than break it down into hourly by using the formula you described. ... | |
| Deferred Comp and future SS taxes | 5/20/2011 |
| Q: If I am above the current social security wage base and contribute to my companies deferred comp ... A: If you contribute to a 401K plan that money is taxable when withdrawn later. If you wish it to be ... | |
| How to handle 401K forfeitures | 5/9/2011 |
| Q: I have a pension expense account, which i use to expense the employers match to the 401k ... A: The forfeiture account may be used for administrative purposes. I run a report from my 401K plan ... | |
| payday | 5/8/2011 |
| Q: i have tried to contact my employer repeatly to ask why they have changed the payday without notice. ... A: You should be paid on the same payday each pay period. If you are paid every two weeks than that ... | |
| St Witholding On Bonus Pmts | 5/2/2011 |
| Q: First, thanks for addressing my question. I work as a consultant for a professional services firm ... A: The amounts earned are taxable when paid. This is how it has always been. California does have ... | |
| pension benefits | 4/25/2011 |
| Q: Should pension funds which are deducted from your pay check, be recorded on your pay stub for your ... A: Yes , all deductions should be listed on the pay statement. ... | |
| State Pay Stub Delivery Requirements | 4/22/2011 |
| Q: We have had some difficulty in locating concrete definitive documentation of requirements by state ... A: The only real official source would be to go to the actual state website and find the information ... | |
| FICA Wages - Common Pay Agent | 4/22/2011 |
| Q: When a common pay agent is approved by the IRS and an employee transfers from one company to another ... A: I am most familiar with the common paymaster. Here are the rules forbthe paymaster and pay agent. ... | |
| FICA Wages - Common Pay Agent | 4/22/2011 |
| Q: When a common pay agent is approved by the IRS and an employee transfers from one company to another ... A: This is explained in publication 15-A ... | |
| Retention Bonus Payback | 4/21/2011 |
| Q: Shirley - I read your response to the retention bonus payback in regards to repayment of the full ... A: If there is a way to not file a W-2C and still take credit for the repayment than you need someone ... | |
| Fed/State payroll policy | 4/21/2011 |
| Q: In California a company has to disperse pay within 6 days of the pay period ending. With that said, ... A: If you are working in Washington State than the Washington State Department of Labor would have ... | |
| Tips for salaried employees in Illinois | 4/20/2011 |
| Q: I'm trying to find out if salaried employees in Illinois can receive tips in addition to their ... A: The reason you cannot find anything specific is because salary and hourly employment are not ... | |
| 1099 | 4/18/2011 |
| Q: I am paralegal and I work for a small firm. Its me a legal secretary and my boss. He claims that he ... A: First of all he cannot do this it is illegal. Second of all you benefit nothing as in that type of ... | |
| 401(K) - Working for Canadian Firm | 4/12/2011 |
| Q: I recently took a job with a firm based in Canada. I live on the east coast of the USA, doing ... A: When you reach the age of 69 and the time has come to either collapse or convert your RRSP, you are ... | |
| Canadian company hiring a US employee | 4/11/2011 |
| Q: We are a canadian company that would like to hire a US employee to sell our product in both the US ... A: The easiest and most correct way to pay this employee would be to outsource the payroll to either ... | |
| Pay Frequency change from bi-weekly to monthly | 4/10/2011 |
| Q: The owner our company wants to change our pay frequency from bi-weekly to monthly, payday on the 1st ... A: The first thing that comes to mind is that some states do not allow monthly pay periods and actually ... | |
| SS and Medicare withholding on 1099-MISC | 4/9/2011 |
| Q: As a contractor, I received a 1099-MISC. The company withheld social security and Medicare amounts ... A: The company should not have withheld social security and medicare on a 1099. If you are a contractor ... | |
| 401(K) - Working for Canadian Firm | 4/6/2011 |
| Q: I recently took a job with a firm based in Canada. I live on the east coast of the USA, doing ... A: Ask them if they can set up a Canadian RRSP at the Royal Bank of Canada for you. You will have to ... | |
| Retention Bonus Payback | 4/6/2011 |
| Q: Shirley - I read your response to the retention bonus payback in regards to repayment of the full ... A: If the employer only asks for the net amount back than no corrected W-2 would need to be filed. The ... | |
| How to file a 1099-Misc for my daughter's internship | 4/4/2011 |
| Q: I hope you can help me. My daughter received a 1099-Misc form with her earnings (approx ... A: Children under 18 who earn less than $9,000, according to IRS 2010 tax rates, may include income on ... | |
| zero net pay | 3/31/2011 |
| Q: An employee receives relocation dollars and signs an agreement that if they quit before 2 years of ... A: you cannot do this. Federally, You cannot take any deduction whether or not they signed for it that ... | |
| payroll period change | 3/25/2011 |
| Q: the company i work for wants to change payroll period to lag behind one week, so payroll can have ... A: No it doesn't work this way. The pay must be paid on a weekly, bi weekly, semi monthly schedules. ... | |
| computing 26 to 24 payroll | 3/23/2011 |
| Q: My company has been paying salaried employees bi-weekly with payday 1 week after the payperiod ends. ... A: If they are changing pay periods part way through the year they need to recalculate the salary ... | |
| repayment of retention bonus | 3/18/2011 |
| Q: I received a retention bonus in 2010. I am leaving my job and so have to repay the gross amount in ... A: You will get a revised W-2 for 2010 or it will be taken off your 2011 W-2. You will need to contact ... | |
| Health Care Value Reporting on W-2 | 3/17/2011 |
| Q: Below is an example of how I have interpreted the value of health care that is to appear on ... A: As I understand it if you are a self insured employer you can deduct the 2% cobra administration ... | |
| Scheduled Paydays - in California | 3/15/2011 |
| Q: My scheduled paydays are the 1st of the month (for the 16th-end of the month)and the 16th of the ... A: In California, wages, with some exceptions must be paid at least twice during each calendar month on ... | |
| Payroll Cycle Change | 3/7/2011 |
| Q: I am a salaried employee and my company is changing from semi-monthly to bi-weekly. There is a ... A: It is legal to change pay cycles and hold back 1 weeks pay in order to give payroll time to process. ... | |
| Going to work with a Canadian company | 2/28/2011 |
| Q: This is similar to a question you have answered but for me, more complex. I have a Canadian company ... A: The Canadian company will have to set up all the business registrations and accounts, however, ... | |
| PTO | 2/24/2011 |
| Q: Our company is supposed to post our PTO accruals on the 15th and the last day of the month. We ... A: PTO is a fringe benefit given to you by the company. It is not mandatory that they give it. Because ... | |
| Changing Payroll Cut-off Dates | 2/14/2011 |
| Q: We currently pay our salary employees biweekly. The Friday pay includes the preceding two weeks (ie. ... A: This can be accomplished, I have done it. It is not easy for the employees, so they must be told way ... | |
| new hires when paying 24 x per year | 2/10/2011 |
| Q: If a company has 24 pay periods per year and each pay period includes 86.67 hours - how do we ... A: You would pay for the days worked. If you know the annual amount the employee will be earning you ... | |
| Payroll Corrections | 2/9/2011 |
| Q: Greetings, We are located in New York State and pay bi-weekly. If an employee is underpaid for an ... A: You cannot use paid time off if the employee is missing punches. If the employee was there working ... | |
| Multi-owner LLCs and Salaries | 2/6/2011 |
| Q: When you have multiple owners in an LLC and one or more of the owners actually work in the ... A: I have two owners to the company I have been with for 28 years. They both receive Managment and ... | |
| 1099 | 2/6/2011 |
| Q: Q1: Shirley, If a student is a full time student at a University in USA and working part time ... A: Unemployment is paid on all W-2 wages. It is not paid on 1099 wages as those individuals are ... | |
| US hire by Canadian Company | 2/4/2011 |
| Q: I am a consulting working with a Canadian company that wants to hire a US person (either in Ohio or ... A: My suggestion would be to hire ADP or Ceridian to do this person's payroll package. ADP will be ... | |
| Pay day switchover | 1/27/2011 |
| Q: Currently, our weekly payroll period runs from Thursday thru Wednesday. We'd like to change it to ... A: Okay so what we are really trying to accomplish is to make payroll a week away without the waiting ... | |
| 1099 benefits | 1/27/2011 |
| Q: We currently have 7 full time employees who receive $100 a month towards their medical benefits if ... A: It is not necessary that the 1099 contractors be offered the same benefits as the employees or vice ... | |
| Pay day switchover | 1/26/2011 |
| Q: Currently, our weekly payroll period runs from Thursday thru Wednesday. We'd like to change it to ... A: Personally I would be thinking about changing to a bi weekly payroll and cutting the payroll off on ... | |
| PAYROLL QUESTION | 1/12/2011 |
| Q: McAllister We are a Foreign Coeporation based in USA and we have hired some employees in CANADA ... A: What I would suggest is to set up an account with Royal bank in Canada and transfer fund to that ... | |
| Payroll Taxes for Final Check | 1/6/2011 |
| Q: I do not think my final paycheck is correct. The check covers the last week of December for the ... A: The taxes are not incorrect. They must use a different method to calculate supplemental pay such as ... | |
| Payroll Taxes for Final Check | 1/6/2011 |
| Q: I do not think my final paycheck is correct. The check covers the last week of December for the ... A: Vacation payout is figured as a supplemental wage. One of the methods that can be used is if it is ... | |
| Year convert from arrears to on pay | 12/16/2010 |
| Q: What advice/approach is appropriate when arrears personnel will be converted to on-time ... A: First of all I like to give plenty of notice. Different states have different rules but my rule of ... | |
| Bi-Monthly pay period | 12/8/2010 |
| Q: A company in Illinois plans to change their payroll from bi-weekly to semi monthly. Hours worked ... A: Semi-monthly payroll is a time consumer for Payroll departments for hourly employees. For hourly ... | |
| Bi-Monthy Paycheck and Overtime. | 12/6/2010 |
| Q: We get pay twice a month the periods go from the 1st to the 15th...we get our paycheck paid on the ... A: Semi monthly (twice a month) payperiods are the worst to use for hourly employees. Your overtime is ... | |
| taxing gift cards | 12/2/2010 |
| Q: The company wants to give out $25 and $50 gift cards for the holiday to all employees. Our finance ... A: Technically the law says it is. Many companies assume the risk,if you are audited the worse case ... | |
| Payroll on the 15th and 30th | 12/1/2010 |
| Q: I was offered a job were the payroll is on the 15th and 30th. I have always been paid weekly or bi ... A: Semi monthly is what this type of pay is called. the employee is paid twice a month. It is a legal ... | |
| payroll error | 11/18/2010 |
| Q: I started a new part-time job in Iowa. The lady who does the payroll had my information, but made ... A: Sometimes it is not possible to void and reissue the check as the system does not allow the payroll ... | |
| payroll | 11/16/2010 |
| Q: In my job i do not have any benefits to I still have to get a deduction from my payroll for: FICA, ... A: The fica and medicare is 7.65% which would be 67.32 I would need to know what deduction you have on ... | |
| Changing bi-weekly payroll to date that follows 2 week payperiod | 11/8/2010 |
| Q: Do you have any suggestions on how best to change our bi-weekly paydate to occur after 2 week pay ... A: I am not sure I understand but if you are saying that the employee is going to go 3 weeks before ... | |
| 401k forfeiture fund | 11/4/2010 |
| Q: When a company uses the forfeited account for 401k to offset the company future contributions and ... A: You could be right for your plan. What it actually says is "In the event taht a participant leaves ... | |
| Common Paymaster | 10/25/2010 |
| Q: Shirley, I work for a communications company that owns several stations throughout the Pacific ... A: I believe that you qualify for a common paymaster relationship. You could do it either way. Common ... | |
| Possible overpayment of 401k payout | 10/23/2010 |
| Q: I received notice from my previous employer, due to an error; I was overpaid on a disbursement from ... A: They need to prove you owe it and that it was indeed an overpayment. Than if you refuse to pay it ... | |
| payroll timecard | 10/21/2010 |
| Q: I have a guy who worked from 6:30am to 4:00pm with an hour lunch and then from 6:00pm to 1:30am. ... A: From your question I thought that might be the case. One and one-half times the employee's regular ... | |
| Changing payroll cut-off date? | 10/21/2010 |
| Q: We do payroll bi-weekly and next month (November) cut-offs are the 3rd and 17th. However, from the ... A: You can move the cut-off to the 16th. Tell all employees and supervisors that all time will need to ... | |
| Hiring an employee in Canada | 10/13/2010 |
| Q: We are a US company head quartered in California. We used to have an entity in Canada couple of ... A: Set up a bank account at Royal Bank in canada. Transfer enough to cover the payroll each payday. ... | |
| overpayment of wages and overtime | 10/8/2010 |
| Q: I run a small company and made payroll errors on overtime and straight time wage payments due to a ... A: Yes you can legally collect the overpayments. You need to let the employees know what happened and ... | |
| Auto Allowance eligible for 401k contributions? | 10/4/2010 |
| Q: Several employees receive a biweekly auto allowance that is paid to them through payroll along with ... A: Whether or not this is eligible for 401K deductions depends on how your company has set up it's ... | |
| Changing Payroll Frequency | 9/30/2010 |
| Q: We want to change from a weekly payroll to a semi-monthly payroll. We're in Texas, what are the ... A: I could not find a time period in either the federal or Texas regulations. Texas simply says that ... | |
| 125 Plan - How Offset Liability Created? | 9/28/2010 |
| Q: I do bookkeeping for a small nonprofit. We've set up a 125 cafeterial plan for health insurance ... A: Is the Cafeteria 125 set up to provide medical insurance for the employees or simply to provide the ... | |
| Profit Sharing Plan | 9/24/2010 |
| Q: In moving recently, I found an old profit sharing plan certificate from an employer from 1999 saying ... A: That helps a tremendous amount. Do not bother to call them at all. It says your vested interest at ... | |
| Profit Sharing Plan | 9/24/2010 |
| Q: In moving recently, I found an old profit sharing plan certificate from an employer from 1999 saying ... A: It would depend on your plan's document and how it is written. Some plans charge a fee for leaving ... | |
| director fees paid to employee | 9/24/2010 |
| Q: If a physician (employee) of a hospital is also receiving director fees for his role as the director ... A: Director fees are reported in box 7 of the 1099-MISC. You can find the instructions on page 3 at ... | |
| USPS Pension | 9/17/2010 |
| Q: My father got a lump sum payout of his postal service pension in the late 1990's due to a need to ... A: The Office of Personnel and Management (OPM) administers both USPS retirement programs ... | |
| Remote worker | 9/15/2010 |
| Q: I am hoping you can help answer a question about remote workers. We are located in Washington State ... A: H.R.2600: Telecommuter Tax Fairness Act of 2009 - which would help this problem has been introduced ... | |
| Can a salary employee also work PT hourly? | 9/13/2010 |
| Q: We have multiple companies with separate EINs under one "holding company." We have a salary ... A: She would be working two jobs at two different rates. She would be paid under two different EIN ... | |
| contable | 9/6/2010 |
| Q: Pues quiero saber como puedo hacer para llevar una contabilidad simple y sencilla de una tiendita de ... A: Your question was: (loosly translated) accounting Therefore I want to know as I can do to carry a ... | |
| Australian Tax | 9/2/2010 |
| Q: I am moving to Australia but the company I work for is based in the U.S. and they will be paying my ... A: If you will be in the country less than 183 days than your wages are not taxable under Australian ... | |
| looking for experience. | 8/28/2010 |
| Q: i have finished my first year in accounting diploma and i have one more year to graduate.Would you ... A: One of the easiest and quickest ways to gain experience in the Accounting field is to serve a paid ... | |
| Remote worker | 8/26/2010 |
| Q: I am hoping you can help answer a question about remote workers. We are located in Washington State ... A: Washington State does not have a reciprocal agreement with New Mexico so you will need to set up ... | |
| back pay deductions from check | 8/24/2010 |
| Q: I was owed backpay for past 3 yrs, now they are giving me a check , but broken into smaller pieces ... A: It will not make a difference the Fica, medicare,federal and state taxes come from all wages so they ... | |
| my paycheck from work | 8/13/2010 |
| Q: I work at a resturant. Ive been working there for 6 months, and i get payed every 2 weeks. The first ... A: The paycheck net should not be zero. The company cannot deduct anything from your check that would ... | |
| my paycheck from work | 8/13/2010 |
| Q: I work at a resturant. Ive been working there for 6 months, and i get payed every 2 weeks. The first ... A: First check your stub that says void to see how much your gross wage and deductions are. Now call ... | |
| Employee Referral Programs | 8/11/2010 |
| Q: Are employee referral programs always considered compensation and subject to payroll tax ... A: What type of referral program are you talking about? We have an EAP (Employer Assistance Program) ... | |
| Common Paymaster | 8/9/2010 |
| Q: I have a potential new client that has been considering using a common paymaster (two corp's). I ... A: "Common Paymaster" is used when two or more related corporations concurrently employ one or more ... | |
| Paycheck issued in error | 8/6/2010 |
| Q: A terminated employee receives and cashes 4 checks before they were determined to be issued in ... A: It tells me that you need to work on the internal controls of the company if 4 checks get through to ... | |
| Canadian Payroll Frequencies | 8/6/2010 |
| Q: What are the best practices for Payroll frequencies in Canada. Any legislative requirements that ... A: Canadian Law on pay frequencies is very similar to U.S. They have all the same pay frequencies. ... | |
| 401b | 8/3/2010 |
| Q: My wife is a school teacher and couple years ago the school system stop contributing to 401b. She ... A: You will not be penalized for rolling it over into an IRA but if you draw it out you will be charged ... | |
| 401K and unemployment | 7/29/2010 |
| Q: My wife and I are both getting laid off and I would like to use my 401K money to pay off some bills ... A: The quarter is what counts. If you have too much earnings in a quarter you will not draw UI for the ... | |
| pay frequency change | 7/28/2010 |
| Q: Our company is changing from a semi monthly to a biweekly pay frequency in the middle of the year. ... A: Explain that this is a good change. This is the only year this will be happening and after this they ... | |
| Payroll cycle change. | 7/26/2010 |
| Q: Recently my company went through a cycle change from Tuesday-Monday to Sunday-Saturday. I am a ... A: You are only short a days pay if at the end of the year your paychecks do not add up to your annual ... | |
| Deceast husbands pension | 7/25/2010 |
| Q: I filed for my deceased husbands pension, and I am getting the run around and no answers He died ... A: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/Publications/women.html You can Read about retirement and death benefits ... | |
| Partner or not partner? | 7/9/2010 |
| Q: I have been in the restaurant business for 30 years. 3 years ago I purchased a business solely in my ... A: He is a partner as he has worked the business with you for the last 3 years. If you want him to be ... | |
| Payroll PreTax Deductions | 7/4/2010 |
| Q: Can you tell me if there is a specific order to pretax deductions? Example do i deduct 401k and the ... A: No there is nothing that says you must do it one way or the other, however, if the employee does not ... | |
| sick time | 7/3/2010 |
| Q: If an employer alots an employee 5 sick days, does it matter if these days were taken in a row? I ... A: The reason is if an exempt is off for one whole week they are not paid for that week. If the exempt ... | |
| Payroll PreTax Deductions | 7/1/2010 |
| Q: Can you tell me if there is a specific order to pretax deductions? Example do i deduct 401k and the ... A: Payroll deductions are taken in a priority order: FICA, Federal Taxes, State Taxes, conditions of ... | |
| Salaried Personnel | 6/7/2010 |
| Q: If I send a salaried person home for misbehavior can I deduct an amount from his salary? I ... A: No this is not correct. If a salaried person works part of a day he needs to be paid for the entire ... | |
| Payroll - Salary & Hourly | 5/16/2010 |
| Q: We own a small business. Our employees are currently hourly however our financial advisor suggested ... A: You can pay them salaried if they are hourly non exempt. You still must pay overtime for all hours ... | |
| Louisiana Payroll Deductions | 5/9/2010 |
| Q: I work for a small franchise in Northwest Louisiana, the owner has a payroll deduction policy (I ... A: He cannot deduct for these items as it is not a permissible deduction. 635. Assessment of fines ... | |
| Missouri State Taxes | 4/30/2010 |
| Q: If an employee lives in Iowa and works in Missouri, what State taxes are withheld from his paycheck? A: You would withhold Missouri taxes for the work done in Missouri. The employee will have to file ... | |
| Pay Cycle Change (Wed-Tues to Sun-Sat) | 4/19/2010 |
| Q: I am looking to sell a pay cycle change to my upper managment from Wed - Tues to Sun - Sat. The most ... A: Actually 40 hours is 40 hours. If the week is the same each time than it is still one week even if ... | |
| Changing Payroll paid Thru dates | 4/15/2010 |
| Q: I'm helping out a non-profit which is on a semi-monthly schedule with about 10 salaried and hourly ... A: I actually had to do this for 165 employees back in 1998. The answer is communication and notice. ... | |
| Deceased husbands Pension | 4/6/2010 |
| Q: Contacting you on behalf of my sister. Recently her husband passed away. At time of his death he ... A: Yes, there should be survivor benefits from the pension plan. The SPD is only for if he is living. ... | |
| Required PTO | 4/5/2010 |
| Q: I'm a Salaried employee and I had to take a Monday off due to a doctors appointment. We had a ... A: Hours do not count for Salaried Exempt employees. Salaried exempt employees are paid an annual ... | |
| Salary/UE/1099 | 4/1/2010 |
| Q: Working at a job as a W-2'd salary employee. The employer is changing my status to a 1099 employee. ... A: What your employer is doing is illegal to the max! Once you are an employee and classified as such ... | |
| Shorting exempt EE check | 3/30/2010 |
| Q: I found your one answer, but am having trouble I have an exempt EE who I need to dock, when I divide ... A: If the employee earns 50,000 a year and is docked 8 hours or 50,000 less 192.31 which is 49,807.69. ... | |
| Payroll for overseas worker | 3/30/2010 |
| Q: Our corporate office is located in NY and we have a facility in Jordan. Our employee who has dual ... A: If he is moving to Jordan permanently and he is a citizen of Jordan he should be on the Jordan ... | |
| Shorting exempt EE check | 3/29/2010 |
| Q: I found your one answer, but am having trouble I have an exempt EE who I need to dock, when I divide ... A: You can only dock an exempt employee for one full day of personal time, you cannot dock for sick ... | |
| overtime for payroll on the 15th & 30th | 3/29/2010 |
| Q: When paying overtime on the 15th,when a it falls in the middle of the week do I assume that the rest ... A: Overtime is figured on 40 hours a week. So you have to add hours worked in on Monday to the hours ... | |
| Salaried Employees Payroll | 3/28/2010 |
| Q: Although I did not complete my BBA, I have been worked as an accountant and accounting manager in ... A: Salaried payroll is not figured on hours worked or not worked or hours at all! Salaried exempt ... | |
| employer paying state UI to more than 1 state | 3/25/2010 |
| Q: If the employer business is out of New Hampshire which does not have a state tax but does have to ... A: It is correct that Mass state taxes must be paid because there are no taxes in New Hampshire. If ... | |
| LLC | 3/18/2010 |
| Q: good evening, thanks for your time..I have a concrete business in FL that is a LLC. I use to use a ... A: If he is an employee you cannot pay him as a 1099. You would have to pay him as an employee and pay ... | |
| Payroll-Clocking Out Pay | 3/16/2010 |
| Q: Our payroll has a 10 minute before and a 10 minute after clocking in and out policy. My question is, ... A: The company has a 10 minute policy. This means they can round up or down to the nearest 10 minutes. ... | |
| Bonuses | 3/14/2010 |
| Q: I am being told that if your bonus is under $200.00 then it can go on your regular check. Anything ... A: What the law says is that the company has the option to either add the bonus to the regular check or ... | |
| 401K contribution | 3/3/2010 |
| Q: A payroll service does my company's payroll. 401K contributions are deducted from employees pay and ... A: At some point the money has to be paid from a bank account to cover payroll. When this transaction ... | |
| 1099 | 2/26/2010 |
| Q: paid state and fed income taxes for 2008 just before oct 09 deadline ---but didn't submit 1099's for ... A: If you withheld income tax or paid more than 600.00 to the contractors for the year they should have ... | |
| Employee vs Self Employed Income | 2/24/2010 |
| Q: I am a self-employed resident of Massachusetts (single, no dependents). I would like to compare ... A: If self employment adjusted earnings are 85,000.00 Self employment deduction ... | |
| Short pay and very late pay | 2/20/2010 |
| Q: My husband works in the state of California and in more than one occassion has been paid late ... A: You have a complaint to file with the California Department of Labor in regards to the checks being ... | |
| reconciling a bi-wekly to semi-monthly payroll | 2/17/2010 |
| Q: We are bringing in employees due to a merger who were paid semi-monthly and will be going to ... A: If the company is a new company for the employee than Fica starts over, if it is not a new company ... | |
| Changing times on timeclock punches | 2/16/2010 |
| Q: Can a manager change the recorded time by the timeclock without your permission or authorization? A: The time can be rounded to the nearest 10 or 15 minutes this is permissible under law. If it is ... | |
| Payroll tax - SIT | 2/13/2010 |
| Q: I have two questions for state payroll - withholding tax rule. First, if our company is California ... A: If the work is being done in Kansas and Illinois than you need to get SIT and SUTA numbers for those ... | |
| Payroll tax - SIT | 2/12/2010 |
| Q: I have two questions for state payroll - withholding tax rule. First, if our company is California ... A: If the employee is working in the state than the SIT and SUTA must be paid to the state in which the ... | |
| 1099 Forms requirement | 2/12/2010 |
| Q: My wife and I are massage therapists and worked as part time on call subcontractors for a spa during ... A: I have never heard of this either. They are obligated to send 1099's to everyone that earns over ... | |
| w2 replacment | 2/9/2010 |
| Q: i move out of state i need to get a replacement for my w2 because i didn't. is there a web site or ... A: You will have to cantact your employer that you worked for to obtain a copy of the W-2 form. If ... | |
| FIT withholdings | 2/8/2010 |
| Q: My employer (with weveral hundred employees) has failed to deduct FIT withholdings for the year. I ... A: You need to see what you have claimed on your W-4 form with the company. They are obligated to ... | |
| Prior year payroll error | 2/5/2010 |
| Q: We discovered in February that an employee was paid at the wrong rate in the prior year, resulting ... A: If you date it in 2009 you will be charged penalty and interest for the taxes not paid on time. If ... | |
| 1099 vs w2 | 2/4/2010 |
| Q: I have a vending machine company and I am looking to hire someone. Am I able to pay them with a ... A: 1099 Misc would be used. Report his income on the Other income line. a copy is sent to the ... | |
| 1099 vs w2 | 2/3/2010 |
| Q: I have a vending machine company and I am looking to hire someone. Am I able to pay them with a ... A: If the worker can choose his hours, choose the products he uses and if he is allowed to work for ... | |
| Bi-Monthly Pay Period & Payroll Deduction | 2/2/2010 |
| Q: Please help.., this is driving me crazy... I accepted a new salary exempt position and started on ... A: Hours do not matter to a salaried employee. The salaried employee is paid on an annual salary ... | |
| Vacation Pay | 2/1/2010 |
| Q: Vacation Pay Balance and Vacation Pay Owed do not match. Some employee records that are inactive ... A: That would be a question for your software provider if you are wanting to do it on the computer for ... | |
| work in different states | 1/28/2010 |
| Q: If a workers does work in different state office for my compnay which states payroll should they ... A: If the states have a reciprocal agreement with each other you would follow the rules of the ... | |
| pto policy change | 1/27/2010 |
| Q: DOES A EMPLOYER HAVE THE RIGHT TO TAKE 1.5 PER HOURS AWAY FROM AN EMPLOYEE IF PTO HAS NOT BEEN ... A: California views accrued vacation and PTO time as wages. If you are taking only 8 hours and being ... | |
| pto policy change | 1/26/2010 |
| Q: DOES A EMPLOYER HAVE THE RIGHT TO TAKE 1.5 PER HOURS AWAY FROM AN EMPLOYEE IF PTO HAS NOT BEEN ... A: That is not usually how it works, however, most states do not control PTO time and leave it to the ... | |
| Change from W-2 to 1099 without notice | 1/25/2010 |
| Q: Here's a scenario: Since the beginning of employment, an individual had been paid as an "employee". ... A: I think you could probably consult an attorney but since it is only 3 months the taxes would be ... | |
| Payroll Dept w/regards to the Irs | 1/24/2010 |
| Q: I don't really know how to ask this question so I will do it to the best of my knowledge. I live in ... A: If 600.00 was paid out to the IRS than I an assuming that the payroll department recieved a tax levy ... | |
| Bonus Taxes | 1/20/2010 |
| Q: We are lucky enough to receive a bonus this January. It will be added to a regular paycheck & we are ... A: It could be different with different employees and different circumstances. If you have a family and ... | |
| Bi-monthly paychecks | 1/19/2010 |
| Q: Is there a limit to how long after a pay period we get our paychecks? We get paid twice a month; ... A: The legal time is that you must be paid on regular payperiods each month. So if you are always paid ... | |
| Missouri State Taxes | 1/18/2010 |
| Q: If an employee works for a Iowa company but lives in Missouri, can Iowa state taxes be taken out? A: Are you actually working in Iowa or in Missouri? The taxes are withheld where the work is being ... | |
| pension | 1/18/2010 |
| Q: I worked at a company for 20 years and resigned to start my own business. At that time i removed my ... A: If you removed your 401K than you have no money left with the company. You will not receive a ... | |
| Payroll Switch to 24 periods from 26 | 1/16/2010 |
| Q: Recently my company switched payroll from 26 periods to 24 periods, paying on the 15th and 30th of ... A: If the first check was for your annual salary divided by 24 and you only get one check in January ... | |
| Year End Bonus Payment | 1/13/2010 |
| Q: My Company was sold in 2007 and an I received a letter to be paid a bonus in connection with the ... A: Even if they send a 1099 instead of a W-2 for the bonus they will still have to put the correct ... | |
| 24 Vs 26 plus commission | 1/7/2010 |
| Q: Late 2008 we switched from 26 pay periods plus a separate monthly commission check to 24 pay periods ... A: The only benefit is that there are less payrolls to process. This is usually the reason companies go ... | |
| salary posted in wrong year | 1/5/2010 |
| Q: I am paid twice a month. By Dec 15, i had earned around $112K and crossed FICA upper limit. Problem ... A: If it is paid on January 1st it is 2010 income. It simply means that in 2010 you will not have to ... | |
| Unemployment from two states? | 1/2/2010 |
| Q: I'm an AllExpert volunteer in entomology. I became unemployed April 1 from the company I worked for ... A: You will not be allowed to draw unemployment from two states at the same time. You now need to open ... | |
| semimonthly payroll | 12/30/2009 |
| Q: Say you as an employer, has a semi monthly payroll, checks are typically dated the 1st and 16th. ... A: What would happen is it would cause more tax for the year with the 25 pay periods. This is not the ... | |
| Additional information on pay stubs | 12/26/2009 |
| Q: Are there rules or guidelines about what may or may not be included on a pay stub? I'm asking ... A: As long as it is not detrimental to the employee if someone else sees the checks stub. If you put ... | |
| Group Term Life | 12/9/2009 |
| Q: Some of our employees earnings for the year is lower than their "annual base salary". Do we ... A: I would use the Annual Base Salary because that is probably what you told the employee that it would ... | |
| 401k from bonus payments | 12/8/2009 |
| Q: I was wondering if you could tell me if taking 401k deductions from bonus payments from associates ... A: I don't know of any law that says you cannot take 401K payments from bonus checks in the state of ... | |
| Payroll | 12/8/2009 |
| Q: We are converting 16 full time employees from salaried to hourly non exempt. All of our 100 ... A: If you pay them ahead and the hours are a little different you can always adjust the next check to ... | |
| Payroll | 12/7/2009 |
| Q: We are converting 16 full time employees from salaried to hourly non exempt. All of our 100 ... A: I would suggest you change them from salaried exempt to hourly on January 1st you can still pay them ... | |
| Payroll | 12/7/2009 |
| Q: We are converting 16 full time employees from salaried to hourly non exempt. All of our 100 ... A: We actually did this several years ago. It is a much cleaner easier way to do payroll. We cut all ... | |
| bimonthly pay for hourly workers | 11/25/2009 |
| Q: Is it lawful to pay hourly workers twice a month. We were salary getting paid on the 15th and 30th ... A: There is no more salary if you are hourly. There is no more annual pay. You should be paid ... | |
| fathers pension | 11/25/2009 |
| Q: I was notified that my father listed me as the beneficiary to receive 50 percent of his pension ... A: It means if there is any money remaining in his retirement pension that you would receive 50% of ... | |
| Year end wages | 11/24/2009 |
| Q: Can you give some supporting documentation that details year end payroll. I am specifically looking ... A: year end would not make a difference in how you pay. For accounting purposes you simply accrue the ... | |
| pension funds | 10/30/2009 |
| Q: i AM 21 YEARS OLD THANKS A: You can't get your pension without penalties until you are 591/2. If you have company pension you ... | |
| Zero Tolerance Late Clock-ins | 10/29/2009 |
| Q: We are currently using the 7 minute rule in our time keeping process, it has become common for the ... A: I have the same problem, only I have employees that "forget" to clock in and managers have to ajust ... | |
| non exempt pay | 10/27/2009 |
| Q: I work for a public school in Ohio as a custodian and am paid 26 equal pays from July 1 to July 1 of ... A: What they are telling you is that your contract says you will be paid a specific amount of money ... | |
| Hiring South African resident from offshore | 10/24/2009 |
| Q: I want to hire a specific SA national/resident to do research and writing. I do not conduct ... A: Ceridian will do your payroll and pay the correct withholding and social insurance. If that is what ... | |
| employee's tax home | 10/21/2009 |
| Q: what is the length of time an employee has to be away from home to determine if withholding in ... A: Withholding is not determined by the amount of time the employee is away from home. State ... | |
| commission | 10/20/2009 |
| Q: I work for a large department store in the cosmetics department. For years now we have been paid ... A: If you have an old employee handbook or some type of proof that you were told you would be paid 3% ... | |
| US Employee paid from Canada | 10/15/2009 |
| Q: We are a Canadian company but one of our employees moved to North Carolina about a year ago. We ... A: The two that I know of are "Ceridian" and "ADP". I don't know how it would work with ADP as there ... | |
| Payroll liabilities and a new company | 10/13/2009 |
| Q: My husband's old company recently declared bankrupty. He has an IRS lien (payroll taxes) that cannot ... A: If the old company or partner is paying it back than it would be set up as a loan to the other ... | |
| Group Term Life Insurance | 10/9/2009 |
| Q: I have a quick question for you. I have emailed you before, but I'll recap. I've taken over our US ... A: First you have the IRS Table 1-Uniform Premiums (Fair market value of GTL Insurance per 1,000 of ... | |
| Hours on time clock punch does not match paycheck | 10/9/2009 |
| Q: I live in Illinois and work as an assistant manager of a restaurant that is privately owned with ... A: They are paying you as a salaried exempt employee. Salaried exempt employees are not eligible for ... | |
| Bonus wages | 10/9/2009 |
| Q: Are bonus wages processed as a separate payment subject to voluntary deductions such as 401k ... A: Bonus wages processed as a separte payment may or may not be subject to 401K contributions. It ... | |
| common paymaster rules | 10/1/2009 |
| Q: I understand that each state has different rules on whether they allow a common paymaster. I need ... A: Common paymaster rules are under the IRS federal statutes Treasury Regulations, Subchapter AC, Sec. ... | |
| Expense Reimbursement | 9/23/2009 |
| Q: If an employer decides to reimburse employees the out of pocket cost to get the swine flu shot (not ... A: If the receipt you collect from the employe says flu shot or vaccine on it you do not have to tax ... | |
| Canada FTax Exemption | 9/22/2009 |
| Q: I am an employer working out of our corporate office in the US however we have set up a permanent ... A: I forgot to say the newsletter is free. Also I will try and remember , but I get between 20 and 60 ... | |
| IFRS Accounting | 9/22/2009 |
| Q: I live in Canada and I'm thinking about becoming an accountant. On Jan. 2010 IFRS will come into ... A: Core accounting will still apply. The new IFRS are the new International Accounting Rules. Yes, you ... | |
| Employer failing to submit proper tax witholdings to irs, workers comp, and state | 9/16/2009 |
| Q: I am pretty sure my employer has been with holding the proper amount from my check, (fica, state, ... A: You can check with your local Department of Labor, or with the IRS. The employer would have had to ... | |
| Health insurance deductions | 9/15/2009 |
| Q: Is it legal to deduct health insurance fees from employee's paycheck the pay period before the ... A: If you are paying a month ahead for insurance and you terminate than you should be prepaid a month ... | |
| Canada FTax Exemption | 9/11/2009 |
| Q: I am an employer working out of our corporate office in the US however we have set up a permanent ... A: Canadian residents A person who is a resident of Canada is subject to Canadian income tax on their ... | |
| PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS | 9/10/2009 |
| Q: I WORK FOR A UNION WHERE OUR MEMBERS ARE HIRED AND PAID BY CONTRACTORS. CAN A WORKER RECEIVE A ... A: In Pennsylvania the only reference there is on thier statutes is to Railroads which must have a ... | |
| PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS | 9/10/2009 |
| Q: I WORK FOR A UNION WHERE OUR MEMBERS ARE HIRED AND PAID BY CONTRACTORS. CAN A WORKER RECEIVE A ... A: In some states pay stubs are required and in some they are not. Let me know in which state you are ... | |
| 401K Distribution | 8/25/2009 |
| Q: I worked for a small privately owned company that closed on 4/2009. I requested a distribution form ... A: Employee Benefits Security Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor (EBSA) ... | |
| Payroll question | 8/13/2009 |
| Q: I have a small business with two employees. I plan to expand and hire more employees. Currently I ... A: You can hire someone already trained. If you wish to train an existing employee than I suggest the ... | |
| Switching from W-2 to 1099-Misc | 8/12/2009 |
| Q: My employer made a big error by putting me on a 1099-Misc rather than a W-2. This information was ... A: You only need to pay the employee taxes, not the employer taxes. The Fica and medicare amount is ... | |
| payroll | 8/8/2009 |
| Q: I drive a truck for this individual and he owes me over 4000.00 in pay, what little he has paid me ... A: If I were you I would contact the Arkanasas department of labor because you should have been an ... | |
| Payroll Deductions | 8/5/2009 |
| Q: I hope you can help me with this matter. I started a new job in January. This July, we had three ... A: Ask what the monthly premium is for insurance. Than take that times 12 months. Now divide it by 26 ... | |
| Bonuses | 8/4/2009 |
| Q: I am working a job where I get a salary and get paid $3400 every two weeks (Bi-weekly). I started ... A: Bonus checks are not calculated on your W-4 form or your deductions. They are calculated on the ... | |
| Bi-monthly payroll | 7/31/2009 |
| Q: One more question regarding the previous questions about my company paying us as salary instead of ... A: There is a whistleblower's law which is supposed to protect against retaliation. That is not to say ... | |
| Bi-monthly payroll | 7/31/2009 |
| Q: I work for a company that uses a bi-monthly payroll system. How many days are supposed to be in a ... A: They are paying you as a salaried employee. You need to talk to Human Resources about the ... | |
| Bi-monthly payroll | 7/31/2009 |
| Q: I work for a company that uses a bi-monthly payroll system. How many days are supposed to be in a ... A: Again hours do not matter to a salaried exempt employee. You are paid on a salaried basis not an ... | |
| 401 K missing funds | 7/30/2009 |
| Q: the Co. has withheld 7,900 from my payroll and only deposited 6,900 with the wellsfargo fund the ... A: I would find out from the company why there is a difference. I would suspect it is a fee for the ... | |
| Bi-monthly payroll | 7/30/2009 |
| Q: I work for a company that uses a bi-monthly payroll system. How many days are supposed to be in a ... A: If you are salaried than your annual salary is divided by the number of payperiods in a year. So if ... | |
| Common paymaster vs pay agent | 7/29/2009 |
| Q: Shirley, even as follow APA member I am not finding any nice 10 step comparison of master vs agent. ... A: I do not find an easy 10 step comparison anywhere Common paymaster is a member of a group of ... | |
| Payroll Deduction | 7/29/2009 |
| Q: I live in the state of Texas. Where I work, we get paid biweekly...26 times a year. Our health ... A: We also deduct our insurance payments 26 times a year. I take the total amount of the annual ... | |
| NSF Payroll Checks | 7/28/2009 |
| Q: I have a client that issued a payroll check in December 2007. It came back NSF. They reissued the ... A: It would count as wages when the money was actually received by the recipient. however, if all the ... | |
| Payroll for an intern | 7/26/2009 |
| Q: I am a small business and use quickbooks payroll software. I am looking to hire a college student ... A: Different states have different programs for internships. It hinges a lot on whether or not the ... | |
| Time Clock In-and-Out Rounding; P2 | 7/18/2009 |
| Q: I work part-time for a company in California. They use an automatic time clock and they round up and ... A: The employer cannot stop someone from clocking in and out unless they are standing right there at ... | |
| 401K Forfeiture Accounting | 7/17/2009 |
| Q: My company makes matching contributions each month to the 401K Plan. We record these contributions ... A: When I put an expense such as an admin fee into the 401K account it goes in as a credit. When I pay ... | |
| Credit Card | 7/12/2009 |
| Q: I know this is not your specific area of expertise, but you're the closest I could find. I am in ... A: I use no credit cards for my small side business I do at home. I set up a separate bank account ... | |
| back pay | 7/8/2009 |
| Q: I was recently told by our human resources department that I have not been getting paid as a ... A: I do not believe that your wages were affected. A 10 month or a 12 month employee usually refers ... | |
| Unemployment Benefits | 7/1/2009 |
| Q: I was recently let go from my job (very unjustly but that's another matter) I filed for unemployment ... A: The Department of Labor is investigating if it is pending. Please do keep reporting. They may go to ... | |
| Unemployment Benefits | 7/1/2009 |
| Q: I was recently let go from my job (very unjustly but that's another matter) I filed for unemployment ... A: I also do not wish it on anyone. Some landlords do understand and will work with you. It is very ... | |
| Unemployment Benefits | 7/1/2009 |
| Q: I was recently let go from my job (very unjustly but that's another matter) I filed for unemployment ... A: It is not legal and the company should pay a huge fine and penalty for not paying their unemployment ... | |
| Retirement contribution "matching" | 6/26/2009 |
| Q: Ms. McAllister, I am looking for a basic explanation of what "matching" is. If I contribute 2% of ... A: Your company must have a government approved retirement plan in order to do this. The money you ... | |
| Pension refound/ cash out | 6/22/2009 |
| Q: maybe You can help me with pension question. i have worked in california for 3 years in 1958-61. i ... A: What type of pension do you refer to? Did you pay private pension or 401K? If so than you would ... | |
| Employer refuses to pay valid FlexSpend expenses | 6/20/2009 |
| Q: My husband left this company before the end of 2008. AFLAC manages they FSA and Dependant care ... A: FSA plans are regulated by the IRS and the Department of Treasury and are considered a group health ... | |
| Docking practice by employer | 6/18/2009 |
| Q: this time is unpaid as it allows me to get to my work station, is this legal? Also, if I am late ... A: You must be paid from the time you clock in on the clock to work until the time you clock out. It ... | |
| reimbursement for mileage | 6/8/2009 |
| Q: In California, what is the typical per-mile reimbursement paid to an employee? A: Beginning on Jan. 1, 2009, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or ... | |
| reimbursement for mileage | 6/8/2009 |
| Q: In California, what is the typical per-mile reimbursement paid to an employee? A: Beginning on Jan. 1, 2009, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or ... | |
| w2 witholding | 6/6/2009 |
| Q: Although I am retired from IBM, earlier this year I settled a law suit. The settlement was taxable. ... A: No w-2 0r w-4 was used to calculate this payment. This payment was calculated on supplementary pay ... | |
| biweekly paydays | 5/29/2009 |
| Q: We get paid on the 15th and 30th of each month. Our employer states that if the last day of the ... A: If the payday falls on Sunday and the company is closed than you may be paid on the next business ... | |
| Canadian payroll | 5/22/2009 |
| Q: I do payroll for an Illinois corporation. They have eight employees. They are now considering ... A: My suggestion to you is to contact ADP Canada and set up the Canadian Payroll. They will charge you ... | |
| 401k withdrawl | 5/21/2009 |
| Q: My wife was terminated from a job 12/31/08 she had a 401k balance partially 100% vested. The ... A: If your wife is terminated she should be allowed to take a lump sum payout of her 401K with ... | |
| Changing payroll frequency mid year | 5/11/2009 |
| Q: This question is related to one you answered in early May. We are also switching from semi-monthly ... A: The proper way to do this is to figure out how much they have earned so far this year. Subtract it ... | |
| All work and no pay | 5/9/2009 |
| Q: Recently I got a job for my cousin as a process server and file clerk for her business. I've worked ... A: You could send her a certified letter that she has to sign for and say that unless you are paid your ... | |
| Payment for hours worked | 5/8/2009 |
| Q: I am the accountant for a company in Louisville, Kentucky. Kentucky has a statute requiring ... A: This is committing fraud and stealing from the company. Put out a policy and have every employee ... | |
| Canadian Payroll | 5/7/2009 |
| Q: If implementing and running a Canadian payroll from the US, what would be the first few questions to ... A: I would suggest that you contact ADP canada and set payroll up with them. They take care of all the ... | |
| Payment for hours worked | 5/6/2009 |
| Q: I am the accountant for a company in Louisville, Kentucky. Kentucky has a statute requiring ... A: You could be in violation of the FLSA for doing this. The employee only needs to file a claim with ... | |
| Payment for hours worked | 5/5/2009 |
| Q: I am the accountant for a company in Louisville, Kentucky. Kentucky has a statute requiring ... A: The government says that you must pay the employee even if you have no time card. They have put the ... | |
| Changing Pay Frequency | 5/1/2009 |
| Q: We currently pay current and semi-monthly. We have tossed around changing to bi-weekly in arrears. ... A: There really is no easy time to do this. Bi weekly is a much easier way to pay hourly employees and ... | |
| 401K and LLC | 4/29/2009 |
| Q: I am forming an LLC. I would like to know if I can open a 401K plan. I am the sole member of this ... A: You would be better off just putting money in an IRA. A 401K is for companies with many employees. ... | |
| employer taxes | 4/23/2009 |
| Q: If a payroll check was issued in error and could not be voided because it was automatically ... A: If you already paid in the taxes than you have to file a 941X to recoup the employer taxes paid in ... | |
| Payroll Taxes | 4/20/2009 |
| Q: Our church has a missionary that is our employee. He is paid from donations that are designated to ... A: If he is not paid a set salary and only by donation. You would figure the fica on the amounts he is ... | |
| pension | 4/10/2009 |
| Q: I left the carpenters union for Missouri and wanted to know if I can cash out my pension. A: This would depend on multiple factors. (a) How your pension plan is written. Some plans are ... | |
| business hours vs after hours | 4/7/2009 |
| Q: after you work a shift from 9 to 5 monday though friday an u are asked by the employer to tavel ... A: No money paid to an employee is tax free it does not happen. It can be done either way and it is at ... | |
| changing payroll frequecies | 3/31/2009 |
| Q: We have 44 employees. Half are paid bi-weekly (hourly) and the other half are paid semi-monthly ... A: This can be done. This is what you need to do. Give them notice that this will be changing so they ... | |
| Requiring Exempt Level Employees to fill in with vacation time | 3/31/2009 |
| Q: Am I required to pay an exempt level employee working in PA vacation and personal time in 8 or 4 ... A: Exempt employees must be paid for the whole day if they work part of the day. Since they are not ... | |
| Accounting for a 401K Plan | 3/28/2009 |
| Q: I handle the bookkeeping for a small business and we just started a 401K plan within the past year. ... A: The funds are recorded right away when the employee contribution is made. They also should be paid ... | |
| 401k loan and corporate buyout | 3/27/2009 |
| Q: I currently have a 401k loan with a stipulation you must pay it off in full if you leave your ... A: I do not know the exact specifics of your 401K plan and they all are written differently. There is ... | |
| Sick Time for Exempt Employees | 3/26/2009 |
| Q: I'm salaried exempt. We recently changed our sick time policy. It's been reduced to 80 hours per ... A: Sick pay, PTO, and Vacation time are fringe benefits provided by the employer. The are not mandated ... | |
| Changing pay frequencies | 3/25/2009 |
| Q: The company I work for used to pay bi-weekly (26 pay periods). They decided that starting in the new ... A: The first thing that needs to be understood is that salaried workers do not work by the hour nor by ... | |
| bounced payroll checks and late payroll | 3/25/2009 |
| Q: I need some advice, right now I have 2 ISF payroll checks and 2 more that I have been holding at ... A: My advice is to quit and go sign up for unemployment. You cannot afford to work for free and you ... | |
| payroll deductions on final paycheck | 3/18/2009 |
| Q: If an employer buys out an employee from an agency and this employee signed an acknowledgement that ... A: Does the signed agreement have a clause that says she agrees to pay back the money if she quits? If ... | |
| Repayment of a Payroll Error | 3/16/2009 |
| Q: The company I work for mistakenly paid me double my normal quarterly bonus. I brought the mistake ... A: If you pay back the gross amount they must somehow adjust your taxes so you are not paying in too ... | |
| salary reduced although have contract | 3/12/2009 |
| Q: I am a pharmacist who is salaried at 80 hours every two weeks. The company I am working for is ... A: If you are salaried exempt and you work part a of a day you must be paid for the entire day. If you ... | |
| Employee Retirement Accounts / Tax Savings | 3/10/2009 |
| Q: As a small business owner, with fewer than ten employees, I'm curious if an inexpensive and simple ... A: The 401K plan is the most widely used plan. It is under ERISA and there are many regulations, it is ... | |
| 1099 Bonus | 3/6/2009 |
| Q: I work for a race team and we get paid by our sponsor which is our employer. But we get bonus from ... A: If they are both written from the same company than it cannot be done that way. An employee cannot ... | |
| payroll in california | 3/5/2009 |
| Q: My offer letter states that I will make $42,000.00 a year in California, but I will be paid as a non ... A: The overtime is usually extra, however, with your schedule if you work all year and work 44 hours a ... | |
| 1099 Bonus | 3/5/2009 |
| Q: I work for a race team and we get paid by our sponsor which is our employer. But we get bonus from ... A: In this instance you are recieving the bonus from a different entity. They would have to put you on ... | |
| Canadian company absorbing our US Companies payroll | 3/4/2009 |
| Q: I was hoping that you could help me out. We are a Canadian company based in Ottawa, Ontario and ... A: A big job you have been handed. This is actually familiar to me. I am in the U.S. and I do the ... | |
| PTO pay out | 3/4/2009 |
| Q: Is it ok to not pay out unused PTO to terminated employees but pay it out for current employees. ... A: There is no rule for vacation. It does not have to be given, but if it is given than it must be ... | |
| PTO pay out | 3/4/2009 |
| Q: Is it ok to not pay out unused PTO to terminated employees but pay it out for current employees. A: If you are paying out PTO than it must be paid to all employees terminated or not. If you have a ... | |
| Wage Income Reported via 1099-MISC | 3/2/2009 |
| Q: Interesting situation here, although it seems that it's not all that uncommon (Google is sort of ... A: Most independent contractors do have a contract. The contract in itself would not exactly place you ... | |
| Canadian Payroll | 3/2/2009 |
| Q: If an employee is on a monthly salary but gets a mid-month advance should they be on a 12 pay-period ... A: If the employee is paid a monthly salary then they are on a 12 month pay period. An advance is ... | |
| Wage Income Reported via 1099-MISC | 3/2/2009 |
| Q: Interesting situation here, although it seems that it's not all that uncommon (Google is sort of ... A: I agree that you should be classified as an employee, taxes withheld and income reported on a W-2 ... | |
| extra wages | 2/28/2009 |
| Q: My previous employer used a 3rd party company for HR/Payroll services. Four months after leaving the ... A: Sounds like perhaps you should have taken your W-2 and left with it without starting another ... | |
| Mileage reimbursement | 2/27/2009 |
| Q: The company I work for reimburses me 48.5 cents for mileage. Unfortunately 3 weeks ago my car was ... A: The company is not responsible for your car being broken into, even if you are working, that is why ... | |
| Getting paid | 2/23/2009 |
| Q: I was terminated recently and tried to receive my last pay check. They did not have it ready on the ... A: Yes, a lawyer can write you a letter. I cannot write one I am not a lawyer. Lawyer's charge about ... | |
| Getting paid | 2/23/2009 |
| Q: I was terminated recently and tried to receive my last pay check. They did not have it ready on the ... A: Small claims court is probably the fastest way. The other option is to file an unpaid wages claim ... | |
| Definition of "bi-monthly" payroll | 2/23/2009 |
| Q: Does being paid on the 15th and 30th of each month constitute bimonthly? If so, what would be the ... A: bimonthly which is also called semi monthly is being paid twice a month or 24 times a year. The ... | |
| changing payroll frequency | 2/22/2009 |
| Q: We have paid employees on a bi-weekly basis. Due to cash flow we will be changing the method to ... A: You need to give at least 30 days notice before changing a pay period. I know many companies have ... | |
| LLC Owner's Draw (Medical Office) & 401(k) | 2/20/2009 |
| Q: I am unfamiliar with the term 'Owner's Draw'. Small LLC - the owner took zero salary and Owner's ... A: The 401K has not been exceeded. The limit for 2008 was 16,500 plus a 5,500 catchup amount allowed ... | |
| Quickbooks / Proper Tax Line Assignment for Payroll Items | 2/19/2009 |
| Q: I use QB2006 WITHOUT the payroll module; I do my payroll manually. I need to know what the correct ... A: I do not use Quick Books, I have a different payroll system called Sage Software. I would set mine ... | |
| Back Payroll Taxes | 2/12/2009 |
| Q: I just recently started working for a company that had a prior secretary who did not keep payroll ... A: You can pay the taxes throught the EFTPS system for prior years. You would also have to file all the ... | |
| Check Stubs... | 2/11/2009 |
| Q: My boss doesn't give me a check stub, I have asked through out the year and still don't get on. Does ... A: The Texas Minimum Wage Act (Sec. 62.003) requires employers to provide an earnings statement to ... | |
| overtime tax | 2/7/2009 |
| Q: I make 12.9 hour how much ot a week can I work without being hurt by the ot tax? A: I am not understanding your question. When you work overtime tax is taken out in the appropriate ... | |
| 26 to 24 wk pay period conversion | 2/7/2009 |
| Q: My father's business is considering changing from 26 to 24 pay periods. He has both salaried and ... A: The 24 pay periods is a nightmare for payroll for the hourly employees. The hourly employees must be ... | |
| tax withholdings | 2/5/2009 |
| Q: I was wondering if my former employer has created an illegal act. I had specified on my W-2 what ... A: It would not be fraud unless it was done intentionally. It would be a mistake on the part of the ... | |
| healthcare spending accounts | 2/4/2009 |
| Q: I am having pretax money held from my paycheck for my healthcare spending account. I found out today ... A: Yes, your money needs to go into your account and it is supposed to go there 5 days after you pay it ... | |
| w-2 from post office job | 1/29/2009 |
| Q: My wife(lois)worked for the U.S.P.S until March 3rd of 2008.The federal government pay periods are ... A: The earnings are taxable when they are actually paid and not when they are earned. They are 2008 ... | |
| early retirement before age 59 1/2 | 1/27/2009 |
| Q: My husbands' company is offering an early retirement in which he would receive a year in salary. He ... A: You are correct, early withdrawal penalty, state and federal tax on the funds withdrawn from the ... | |
| PENSION AMOUNT | 1/26/2009 |
| Q: IS THERE A PENSION GUIDE/CHART THAT SHOWS HOW MUCH PENSION ONE WOULD HAVE IN AN ACCOUNT IF A MONTHLY ... A: There are calculators for pension. Most of them are on the sites of the specific pension plans. ... | |
| pension lump sum | 1/21/2009 |
| Q: My husband was recently laid off. He has a pention fund through PBGC. We received a letter ... A: It would depend on the company, I am guessing that he would not be eligible for the payout if he ... | |
| Payroll Cycle changes | 1/19/2009 |
| Q: At my office we are currently paid from Thursday to Wednesday (biweekly). Problem is Wednesday is ... A: What you need to do is let all the employees know 30 days in advance that payroll is changing. ... | |
| 2009 cost of living raise | 1/19/2009 |
| Q: Has the Social Security Department listed the cost of living raise for 2009. I was informed that ... A: Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA): Based on the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) from ... | |
| payroll accounting | 1/16/2009 |
| Q: Three part question. As an employer: 1. Can I pay the entire cost of health insurance for my ... A: You can pay the whole cost of insurance for your employees. It is called a Fringe Benefit to them. ... | |
| 26 vs. 24 Pay Periods | 1/16/2009 |
| Q: This is an offshoot of ... A: What I said was that if you earn 50,000 a year than you should be paid that 50,000 a year. It should ... | |
| 401K Loans | 1/15/2009 |
| Q: I currently have a loan from my Fidelity 401K plan.I used it to buy my first home.The term giving to ... A: You could contact your 401K representative or HR whomever you talked to getting the loan approved ... | |
| Payroll | 1/13/2009 |
| Q: One of my clients is a non-profit agency. The director receives a salary. The payroll is completed ... A: You can set up an account for Deferred Earnings as long as the employee is at a Director level. The ... | |
| pay dates changed | 1/13/2009 |
| Q: I am hoping that your response can settle what seems to be a hopeless disagreement regarding what I ... A: Anytime a change is made to the salary it can throw things off. It depends on the amounts of the ... | |
| Overpayment/Employee reimbursement | 1/12/2009 |
| Q: I have an employee that received a paycheck in error. She promptly cashed it before the error was ... A: If you entered it as income in 2008 and it is repaid in 2009 than you would have to correct the 2008 ... | |
| Payroll | 1/8/2009 |
| Q: If I am working for 3 different companies that are owned by the same family, is there a minimum that ... A: That is okay if you receive a salary spit between two companies. One should pay you the salary and ... | |
| Pay for 'Extra Days' | 1/7/2009 |
| Q: In a salaried position, say at a yearly rate of $52,000, is an employee entitled to 'extra work ... A: Salaried employees are calculated on an annual salary doesn't matter if there are extra days in the ... | |
| Payroll W-2 | 1/6/2009 |
| Q: Our company paid for an airline ticket for personal use for an employee. I need to have this amount ... A: If you do not collect the taxes from his payroll check than they are not reflected on the W-2. The ... | |
| 401k non-payment | 1/6/2009 |
| Q: Our company has hit some tough times like many small business. I did check today and found that our ... A: 401K is Federal it is governed by the Department of Labor ERISA department. You would contact the ... | |
| Payroll - W-2 | 1/6/2009 |
| Q: Mike Wellman, Our company paid for an airline ticket for personal use for an employee. I need to ... A: Robin I will try to help. The Airline Ticket is a taxable benefit. You would code it as payment ... | |
| Pay period conversion | 1/5/2009 |
| Q: I've seen lots of questions about how to switch from bi-monthly to bi-weekly pay periods, but no ... A: Bi-weekly or 26 pay periods a year is the easiest way to do an hourly payroll. Cut off one friday ... | |
| payroll deductions | 1/2/2009 |
| Q: I am switching payroll service from Paychex to doing it myself in QB. Our company offers dental ... A: Section 125 is the law that covers Cafeteria Plans. The company needs to set up a cafeteria plan ... | |
| 401K deduction from my payroll | 1/2/2009 |
| Q: I recently went to work for a firm in Ohio and received a lot of literature concerning their 401K ... A: If the program is voluntary it means you have a choice whether or not you wish to sign up for the ... | |
| 401B | 12/31/2008 |
| Q: My husband works for a non-profit in Ohio. They used to have a Management Retirement PLan (401B) ... A: They are simply wanting to know if you terminate employment do you want the amount paid out in a ... | |
| PTO and holiday hours | 12/29/2008 |
| Q: Our office was closed for a half day on Christmas Eve and ab employee called in sick. do I pay her ... A: Did you pay the other employees for the 1/2 day? If so than pay her 4 hours holiday and 4 hours PTO. ... | |
| deferred compensation | 12/28/2008 |
| Q: We have a client who is going to be paid a deferred comp plan of $100,000 per year for the next 10 ... A: If he is paid over 10 years than it should be taxed over 10 years. You cannot take out all the taxes ... | |
| Benefit Payment for Leave of Absence Employee | 12/20/2008 |
| Q: Shirley, What's the payroll tax treatment for benefit payment made by employee on leave of absence? ... A: If they leave the company and do not pay it back than you can take them to small claims court to ... | |
| changing from 26 to 24 pay periods (salaried employees) | 12/18/2008 |
| Q: Our company just notified us that they are changing from 26 to 24 pay periods per year starting ... A: The paycheck paid for 12-20th the 26th paycheck of the year completed your annual salary. That means ... | |
| Benefit Payment for Leave of Absence Employee | 12/16/2008 |
| Q: Shirley, What's the payroll tax treatment for benefit payment made by employee on leave of absence? ... A: When the employee returns set up a payment plan for the owed benefits. You need to set up a ... | |
| Alcohol treatment for employee | 12/13/2008 |
| Q: I have a small law firm. One of our attorney employees entered an substance abuse treatment program ... A: It would make a difference. You could pay the treatment as an accommodation of the ADA (American ... | |
| one question | 12/13/2008 |
| Q: when they talk about accounting system and financial system, what they refer to? thanks A: Accounting and financial systems could be referring to the way the company accounts for it's cash. ... | |
| Withholding State Taxes | 12/12/2008 |
| Q: Construction Company, Located in Minnesota. Does Work in North Dakota, Minnesota and surrounding ... A: The withholding is for the state where the work is performed. There are some Reciprocal agreements ... | |
| CPA Certification required | 12/10/2008 |
| Q: I am currently in school and have tooken a couple of accounting classes, but still have a long way ... A: No a CPA certification is not required to prepare taxes. You would need to be certified to prepare ... | |
| life insurance | 12/9/2008 |
| Q: What portion of life insurance is taxable to the employee? ANSWER: In the US it is anything over ... A: It is different for different types of life insurance. For Group-Term life insurance which is the ... | |
| Tipping Tip-outs | 12/2/2008 |
| Q: I am from Michigan. I work for a restaurant and they force the servers to tip-out the bartenders, ... A: You only need to tip out those that are actually involved in serving the customers. Here are the ... | |
| Is it legal for your job to not give check stubs | 12/2/2008 |
| Q: My company was brought by another company station in Ohio. They are told us we had to do direct ... A: It is legal to send the stubs over the computer but each employee must have access to a computer. ... | |
| Payroll taxes in 2 States | 11/18/2008 |
| Q: I am starting to do the payroll for a Florida based LLC. There are currently 6 employees, 2 ... A: You will have to pay both Florida and Alabama income taxes. The hours worked in Florida will be ... | |
| 401K, withdrawing | 11/14/2008 |
| Q: I have a 401K through work, I am fully vested and I have been told you can start drawing from it ... A: It depends on how your plan is written, contact your 401K administrator. The government rules are ... | |
| Switch to 24 pay periods from 26 | 11/12/2008 |
| Q: I work for a non profit. In an effort to ease our cash flow, we are contemplating switching from 26 ... A: Since you are already holding a few days back this will not be complicated for you. You say your ... | |
| 401k deductions | 11/11/2008 |
| Q: My employer has failed on numerous occasions to deposit my 401k deduction into my account. They ... A: Sometimes mistakes happen. This is natural. It should not happen all the time. With Calculated ... | |
| Common Paymaster agreement | 11/10/2008 |
| Q: I understand the rules and forms necessary to apply with the state in order to become a common ... A: Common paymaster is something which would be covered under state law and also the taxation under the ... | |
| 401k loan non-payment by org/emp | 11/7/2008 |
| Q: I had 2 separate laons to my 401k in 2005. Last month, my controller mentioned that no payments ... A: The company should work with you on this, however, it is the responsibility of the employee to make ... | |
| Salaried Exempt Emp | 11/6/2008 |
| Q: Can a salaried exempt emp call in on a day (Mon), work 35 hrs for the remainder of that week, chose ... A: Exempt employees need to be paid for all time worked in a week. If they are gone for a whole day for ... | |
| Payroll | 10/31/2008 |
| Q: Our payroll cut off dates are 10th & 25th of each month and get paid on the 15th and 31st, my boss ... A: When figuring overtime you do not go by the pay periods. You must go a week at a time. Overtime is ... | |
| Payroll taxes and pensions | 10/29/2008 |
| Q: my question is we are a company of 3 people and I we never had benefits calculated from our payroll. ... A: It depends on what type of pension plan you have. If your pension plan is under the 401(K) or the ... | |
| 1099/W2 | 10/29/2008 |
| Q: Is it legal for an past employer to W2 you for a specific year then turn around and 1099 you for the ... A: If the W-2 was for wages earned and the 1099 was for the civil suit than it is correct. Even if ... | |
| Elgibility for Widow's pension | 10/28/2008 |
| Q: My husbank of 22 years is deceased in 2003. His name was Frank Hopkins, his plan # is ... A: I do not know why Social Security would send you to me, I would normally send you to them to answer ... | |
| Annual Salary | 10/23/2008 |
| Q: My company (in South Carolina) pays us bi-weekly, 26 times a year. They have changed the amount they ... A: This is not right unless there are 27 paydays in the year. This is not a year when there are 27 ... | |
| Pay owner as employee or as a draw | 10/20/2008 |
| Q: I joined an existing owner in a cafe startup. The business is registered under an existing company ... A: Until you form a partnership you are not listed as a co owner and not eligible for a draw against ... | |
| work over 40 with PTO, no overtime paid? | 10/16/2008 |
| Q: Unlike some men I know. We work for a company based in CT/Germany, but contract to and work for a ... A: This is how it works. Non Exempt employees are paid overtime under the FLSA Act for all hours worked ... | |
| Accurred sick time | 10/3/2008 |
| Q: I was recently terminated from my job of 7 years for allegations made by my neice's husband. The ... A: They only have to pay you for the time if the following is true: They have promised to pay it upon ... | |
| Payroll- Bi-monthly | 10/2/2008 |
| Q: My husband was just switched to a Bi-Monthly payroll, being piad on the 1st and the 15th. the ... A: They should not miss out on any time during the year. They would just be paid more each pay period. ... | |
| Profit/Income draw by Partners | 10/2/2008 |
| Q: Shirley, Hi. First thank you for making you time and talents available to me a perfect stranger. ... A: You should have an owner's draw account. This account SHOULD be negative as a result of writing a ... | |
| CA, Paydays | 9/28/2008 |
| Q: My employer has paydays on the 1st and the 15th of each month. I works in the field as a technician ... A: First of all the employer does not have to pay you to go pick up your check. You do have some other ... | |
| FSA - Discriminatory Testing | 9/26/2008 |
| Q: Do you know where can I find a worksheet or instructions to perform the 2 kinds of discriminatory ... A: I have the instructions for the discrimination testing. I am not sure how much you need and how to ... | |
| Accounting for signing on bonuses | 9/17/2008 |
| Q: Our company pay sign on bonuses with conditions that if you leave before say lapse of xyears, you ... A: At the time the bonus is paid it is considered wages. It is expensed at that time, the whole bonus. ... | |
| payroll | 9/11/2008 |
| Q: my name is brian, and i got a question for you. my company pays us on the 1st and the 15th of each ... A: The company needs to give a notice to the employees before any work is done under the new changes. ... | |
| payroll cut off days | 9/11/2008 |
| Q: my name is Brian and i got a question for you. i work for an air forwarding company and we get payed ... A: Brian, The company should have regular paydays and regular cut off periods. It is only allowed to ... | |
| Help with $ | 9/8/2008 |
| Q: Hey Shirley, greetings from a fellow AllExperts expert! Had a quick question I was hoping you might ... A: Just to start out with you could hire a Full Charge Bookkeeper to do those things. If you have ... | |
| payroll change from nonexempt to exempt | 9/4/2008 |
| Q: I recently changed from an hourly non exempt position to a new dept, new job desc that is a salaried ... A: Welcome to the salaried exempt world. Sometimes we work 50 hours a week and we are not paid ... | |
| salaries | 9/4/2008 |
| Q: sorry if its homework question. I'm new in HR and doing payroll my husband just opened a store so ... A: The 195 comes from this formula: 52 weeks in a year X 45 hours in a week is equal to 2340 in a year ... | |
| Exempt employee time tracking | 9/3/2008 |
| Q: Our school (which operates under a court)with exempt employees (teachers) has just gone to a 4 tens ... A: We had much debate over this in management in the early years of our company. We had a CPA firm come ... | |
| Exempt employee time tracking | 9/3/2008 |
| Q: Our school (which operates under a court)with exempt employees (teachers) has just gone to a 4 tens ... A: This is how it is at our company also. The reason is that everyone is guaranteed 6 holidays a year. ... | |
| e-mail as timecard? | 9/3/2008 |
| Q: Can employers use e-mail as a timecard? I work at a new company that doesn't have a timecardsystem ... A: The computer is set to round time. If you checked in on our computer system at 7:12 it would round ... | |
| payroll | 8/29/2008 |
| Q: my father owns a network service company and until just last week he started doing payroll and added ... A: You will have to file taxes on New York for your total income and taxes in New Jersey for the work ... | |
| payroll | 8/26/2008 |
| Q: If an employee's gross pay was $391.00 for a 44 hour work week and 4 of these hours were overtime, ... A: If it is all regular time than you can divide the 391 by 44. Since there are 4 hours overtime you ... | |
| Calculating an Exempt Employee's Hourly Rate | 8/22/2008 |
| Q: My employer insists on using a 2088 hour year. Additionally, when we terminate an exempt person ... A: It is a 2.33 per day variance not per hour! If it is significant than the battle is one you wish to ... | |
| Calculating an Exempt Employee's Hourly Rate | 8/22/2008 |
| Q: My employer insists on using a 2088 hour year. Additionally, when we terminate an exempt person ... A: The payperiod wages have to come from somewhere. So the pay period amount is probably based on the ... | |
| Calculating an Exempt Employee's Hourly Rate | 8/22/2008 |
| Q: My employer insists on using a 2088 hour year. Additionally, when we terminate an exempt person ... A: The 2080 comes from 40 hours a week x 52 weeks in a year is equal to 2080 and not 2088. So 40,000 a ... | |
| Medical Insurance Deductions | 8/18/2008 |
| Q: I have an LLC with 2 other gentlemen. I am also employed part time but am not eligible for medical ... A: It does not have to be a specific kind of insurance policy as long as it is for insurance and money ... | |
| banked vacation weeks | 8/10/2008 |
| Q: in the 1980's i banked 1 vacation week each year at ohio bell telephone company and was supposed to ... A: Do you have any emails or letters saying that you have banked the vacation time? I know I send my ... | |
| Payroll between companies | 8/7/2008 |
| Q: I am going to be serving as the controller for two small companies that are financed through husband ... A: Those would be correct Journel entries. The invoice would be audit support. It is not income if it ... | |
| Payroll between companies | 8/7/2008 |
| Q: I am going to be serving as the controller for two small companies that are financed through husband ... A: What you would be doing is legal. You would be working as a concurrent employee for the two ... | |
| profit sharing 401k | 8/6/2008 |
| Q: My employer for 2007 had a safe harbor for our profit sharing 401k plan. it is now Aug. 6 and they ... A: The safe harbor for small business plans is only for 7 days unless they are under the Katrina ... | |
| automatic deposit | 8/2/2008 |
| Q: How do I sign up for automatic deposit? A: Robert, If your company offer's direct deposit you can obtain a form to sign up for direct deposit ... | |
| Witholding medical insurance payments | 7/25/2008 |
| Q: My employees recently started receiving medical and dental benefits, and have to pay for their ... A: I am not that familiar with Quick Books as I use Oracle. I have in my system the insurance withheld ... | |
| Payroll for company officer | 7/25/2008 |
| Q: I work for a small S-Corp. The company has three partners, but two of these partners are paid by ... A: I have seen this both ways. Sometimes the corporate officers are paid by draws from the company ... | |
| Salary and Hourly at the same time | 7/24/2008 |
| Q: I am a part-time paralegal for a midsize law firm. I am a w-2 employee, 100% billable,only work when ... A: Leslie, You will be working two different positions for the same company. They would need to ... | |
| Payroll | 7/23/2008 |
| Q: My boss told the staff today, 9 days before payday, that he is changing payroll weeks and we would ... A: Trish, As a courtesy I give my employees 30 days notice of any changes in payroll procedures. ... | |
| sign on bonus out of payroll or accounts payable? | 7/17/2008 |
| Q: Our company pays a sign on bonus to new employees. They typically receive the bonus about 6 months ... A: Moving expenses are fine to come out of Accounts Payable with receipts. If the company actually pays ... | |
| sign on bonus out of payroll or accounts payable? | 7/17/2008 |
| Q: Our company pays a sign on bonus to new employees. They typically receive the bonus about 6 months ... A: Patrick, They are not paid as employees until six months after they are hired by your company. ... | |
| 1099 status | 7/16/2008 |
| Q: I have been working from home for a company for a few years now. I have been filig as a 1099; ... A: What type of settlement you get if you are found to be an employee instead of an independent ... | |
| 1099 status | 7/15/2008 |
| Q: I have been working from home for a company for a few years now. I have been filig as a 1099; ... A: The IRS has established a 20-point checklist the can be used as a guideline in determining whether ... | |
| Summer Internship for High School Student | 7/8/2008 |
| Q: I read with interest your response to the question titled "1099-Misc for internship." I own a small ... A: From what I have read on the subject it appears that unless you are a University or Hospital or non ... | |
| Summer Internship for High School Student | 7/8/2008 |
| Q: I read with interest your response to the question titled "1099-Misc for internship." I own a small ... A: http://www.cawee.org/Legal/DOL_FLSA.pdf This website has the rules. If your student meets the ... | |
| gift | 7/7/2008 |
| Q: can an employer gift to an employee? A: An employer can gift for a safety award or longevity award under an approved program and certain ... | |
| payroll and termination | 7/3/2008 |
| Q: I have an employee that was terminated for showing up to work drunk. This happened on a Thursday and ... A: It is six days in Texas not 3 days. Here is a copy of the law: § 61.014. PAYMENT AFTER ... | |
| Cost of living raises | 6/27/2008 |
| Q: My company is telling us that our 3% raises this year is only a merit raise. They are not giving a ... A: There is no law that says the company must ever give you a raise at all unless minimum wages go up. ... | |
| changing payroll frequency | 6/23/2008 |
| Q: We are a small IT consulting shop, historically we have paid employees on a bi-weekly basis. This ... A: It doesn't matter which schedule it is paid on as long as it is paid to the employee. What you do ... | |
| Legal hourly pay calculation | 6/15/2008 |
| Q: Shirley, I live an work in IL and accepted a non-exempt salaried position based on the monthly ... A: There are 52 weeks in a year...and 40 hours in a week. So you have to take 52 x 40= 2080 working ... | |
| bi-monthly payroll | 6/9/2008 |
| Q: how do you figure overtime when payroll is done bi-monthly A: To be honest with you I have never heard of a bi-monthly payroll. I don't know which state you are ... | |
| Institution payroll change from once a month to bi monthly paychecks | 5/21/2008 |
| Q: I work for and Institution that is switching once a month paychecks to bi monthly paychecks. We ... A: There are a couple of ways that this can be done. Employees can be allowed to use vacation or PTO ... | |
| payroll check funds avalability | 5/20/2008 |
| Q: If a payroll check, not direct deposit, is deposited into your personnel account, by you, when are ... A: Direct deposit is immediately available. If you deposit a payroll check it may not be available for ... | |
| Closing a 401K | 5/19/2008 |
| Q: I quit my job (in Louisiana) in May 2008 after 7 years of employment and opted to cash out my 401K. ... A: We pay out our 401K to terminating employees within 30 days of termination if the proper paperwork ... | |
| cost of living raise | 5/19/2008 |
| Q: could you please tell me what the cost of living raise for 07/08 is ? (approx.} A: The last cost of living increase was listed in January by the Social Security Department at 3.5%. ... | |
| 401K loan in default | 5/6/2008 |
| Q: My ex wife obtained a loan through her retirement plan at work; I seem to think it was a 403B plan. ... A: If the loan is in default she will receive a 1099 at the end of the year for the amount of the ... | |
| Expenses | 4/30/2008 |
| Q: I am a manager at a resturaunt and catering company. I get paid back for gas expenses that I have to ... A: Gas Expense reimbursement should not be counted as wages. The gas expenses should be paid through ... | |
| Profit Sharing | 4/28/2008 |
| Q: My company has a profit sharing plan for its employees. I am planning on leaving the company in the ... A: If you take money from a retirement profit sharing plan before you are 59 1/2 you will pay taxes ... | |
| accounting | 4/28/2008 |
| Q: I'm trying to figure out how to show the transfer of funds in my receits and disbursement reports. ... A: It is a credit to the account it is transferring from and a debit to the account it is tranferring ... | |
| Salary; hourly | 4/24/2008 |
| Q: Here I am again. Can you pay a salary to an hourly employee as long as they are coded non exempt? We ... A: You can pay a salary to a not exempt hourly employee. The only thing you have to watch for is if ... | |
| Reducing working hours | 4/24/2008 |
| Q: For some reason I am completely confused as to work out how to do the following... We have a member ... A: I am assuming that you are in the UK. When a worker in UK works irregular hours the annual leave is ... | |
| Payroll | 4/24/2008 |
| Q: What is the absolute latest you can pay employee's past pay date? If the pay date is the 15th, how ... A: Is this for a termination or a currently employed employee? I need more information before I can ... | |
| 401K | 4/20/2008 |
| Q: Im 50 years old collecting SSI. I started a 401K plan in 1982-1989 at Bud Schmidt Buick Inc. company ... A: First you need to start with the business where you started the 401K. They should have sent out ... | |
| Employee Referral | 4/7/2008 |
| Q: Iam paying an employee a referral bonus of $600. Is this considered taxable as a bonus or can it be ... A: Bonus checks are generally taxed at the supplementary tax rate. Basically what it says if you ... | |
| no federal taxes were taken out!!!! | 3/31/2008 |
| Q: My employer never too out federal taxes from my wages. I graduated high school in 2007 and then ... A: First of all 1700.00 seems a lot to pay if you were working fast food. How much did you make in ... | |
| Time Card Changes | 3/27/2008 |
| Q: I work in an office (we are a City/County Municipality) in which 6 of us *hit the clock* and the ... A: The company has a right to set your hours. They can tell you which hours you are to work. If you ... | |
| hsa accounts | 3/25/2008 |
| Q: I work for a small company. 3 of us (out of 6) have opted for the HSA insurance option with BCBS. My ... A: An HSA is a tax-exempt trust or custodial account used exclusively to pay qualified medical expenses ... | |
| 401(k) loan | 3/25/2008 |
| Q: I borrowed $30,000 from my 401(k) in 2004 to purchase a home. Received 1099 for $31,003.01 in 2005 ... A: Penalties are never recoverable. If you defaulted and paid taxes on the amount that would mean ... | |
| Hourly pay reduced | 3/25/2008 |
| Q: Two and a half years ago I was on medical leave for 3 weeks due to rotator cuff surgery. When I ... A: I guess I have to ask why are you just now asking if it happened 2 1/2 years ago. Did they reduce ... | |
| Owner Pay | 3/20/2008 |
| Q: I recently started a partnership in a existing small business. I use MicrosSoft Accounting as my ... A: Okay, I am not familiar with your software and I am not an expert on the type of corporation that ... | |
| Payback of retention bonuses earned in previous year | 3/19/2008 |
| Q: I have to pay back the gross amt of a retention bonus since I am leaving my company. I received ... A: It will be on the W-2c. If your employer decides to request the refund of Fica and Medicare for ... | |
| Payback of retention bonuses earned in previous year | 3/19/2008 |
| Q: I have to pay back the gross amt of a retention bonus since I am leaving my company. I received ... A: If you are to pay back the Gross amount than you will definately have to receive a W-2C from the ... | |
| 1099-Misc for internship | 3/18/2008 |
| Q: I have worked as a law clerk at a law firm for nearly a year. I began my internship as a law clerk ... A: You will pay the same amount of federal and state taxes because that is based on your income so it ... | |
| FICA & Federal W/H | 3/14/2008 |
| Q: I have started doing the books for a one-man company that has done nothing regarding payroll; except ... A: The difficulty is that while you know that Fica is 6.2% of the gross and Medicare is 1.45% of the ... | |
| Unemployment reporting | 3/12/2008 |
| Q: Shirley, I live in TX where we don't have state taxes. I didn't have any regular wages with my ... A: The employer will not send you a W-2 for your unemployment amount as that is handled by the Texas ... | |
| Payroll | 3/12/2008 |
| Q: Business has been pretty slow and we haven't been able to draw pay, how do I do payroll so taxes are ... A: Again the Futa and Suta tax have to match the wages for the quarter. The state Suta directly must ... | |
| Pay Scales | 3/12/2008 |
| Q: In business do payscales ever overlap? Or should they? Should a person potentially make more an hour ... A: That would be a team leader position. Some companies have them, ours does. The Team Leader is a step ... | |
| Payroll | 3/12/2008 |
| Q: Business has been pretty slow and we haven't been able to draw pay, how do I do payroll so taxes are ... A: Are you a sole proprietor or the member of a partnership? This is difficult to answer without ... | |
| FICA & Federal W/H | 3/12/2008 |
| Q: I have started doing the books for a one-man company that has done nothing regarding payroll; except ... A: You cannot figure the Fica and Medicare on the net amount. You have federal and state income taxes ... | |
| Pay Scales | 3/12/2008 |
| Q: In business do payscales ever overlap? Or should they? Should a person potentially make more an hour ... A: I think that may happen in a dream world. In the real world that is not going to happen. If you pay ... | |
| Pay Scales | 3/11/2008 |
| Q: In business do payscales ever overlap? Or should they? Should a person potentially make more an hour ... A: Generally supervisory and Managerial positions pay higher wages. They pay higher because they have ... | |
| payroll separation of base pay & commissions | 3/10/2008 |
| Q: just this month, my company rolled out a new payroll procedure, sending out 2 checks - 1 for base ... A: If it is a "Sales Incentive" than it is a bonus check and if it is paid separately taxed at the ... | |
| under the table taxes | 3/7/2008 |
| Q: I was paid 1850 in "under the table" wages last year by my employer (who also paid me over 16000 in ... A: If you wish to claim this amount on your income taxes you can put it on the 1040 form on the spot ... | |
| Budget lines | 3/7/2008 |
| Q: I am helping my sister with her budget in Quickbooks. We used last years info to create this years ... A: If you want it added to the Cost of Goods than you put it in COGS, if you want it in Expenses than ... | |
| Manager bonus | 3/6/2008 |
| Q: I am a store manager in Tennessee. The corporation I work for has 5 additional stores. Each quarter, ... A: This is done correctly as it is based on the profits for your individual store. I am sure that the ... | |
| bonus checks | 3/4/2008 |
| Q: Our employees earn monthly incentive bonus. They wanted to save them up to get a yearly bonus ... A: They cannot save up a bonus, when the bonus is earned the taxes must be paid and the amount must be ... | |
| Paying employees when business must be closed | 3/3/2008 |
| Q: If we need to close the doctors office for a few days due to construction (an addition to the ... A: No you do not. They will be on a 3 day layoff. They can use vacation time if they wish, but you are ... | |
| ref. Accounting help desprate | 2/28/2008 |
| Q: I am student in uk and i need with cash flow balance. I have got exam on monday morning but can seem ... A: I will need the details of the questions on the exam paper. I am a Human Resources Director, but I ... | |
| record retention | 2/25/2008 |
| Q: How long does my company need to retain 401k contribution records? (Is it 10 years like payroll ... A: Erisa says 6 years, however, some records need to be kept for 8 years. The 10 year period is what ... | |
| paying back bonus, taxes? | 2/20/2008 |
| Q: Shirley. I have to pay back my signing bonus because I left the company I was working for after ... A: They took the 5,000 signing bonus = 5,000.00 Gross Bonus Subtracted the 2065.56 from final ... | |
| deduction information | 2/19/2008 |
| Q: I was wondering if there is a site for payroll deductions, e.g. SS, FICA, Medicare which are ... A: Anna, There are several calculators on the internet. The one I use the most is at the following ... | |
| paycheck | 2/14/2008 |
| Q: I work for a small company and the payroll is done inhouse. We get a weekly paycheck,actual check. ... A: Happy Valentines Day to you also..I hope it is a good one. New York does not require the company ... | |
| 1099 vs. w-2 | 2/14/2008 |
| Q: My boss is now considering giving me and my employees a 1099 for the first time ever! We have ... A: Here is the information for the Department of Labor in the state of Georgia. ... | |
| paying back bonus, taxes? | 2/13/2008 |
| Q: Shirley. I have to pay back my signing bonus because I left the company I was working for after ... A: First of all they should not have withheld the total amount of your final paycheck as it is not ... | |
| 401k for sole prop or LLC | 2/13/2008 |
| Q: I work for an employee leasing company (PEO) and we offer 401k. Often the owner of a small business ... A: Sole Proprietors of an LLC cannot be an employee unless the company has opted to be taxed as a ... | |
| 1099 vs. w-2 | 2/13/2008 |
| Q: My boss is now considering giving me and my employees a 1099 for the first time ever! We have ... A: According to what you are telling me you should have still been classified as an employee and taxes ... | |
| 1099 vs. w-2 | 2/12/2008 |
| Q: My boss is now considering giving me and my employees a 1099 for the first time ever! We have ... A: #1 it is illegal to not receive a checkstub for your work listing your wages and deductions. It is ... | |
| Payroll Laws | 2/9/2008 |
| Q: Where I work we get paid bimonthly. We get 80 hr paychecks, and our overtime is paid Cash, regular ... A: Irving. The FLSA says that if you are a non exempt(Hourly) employee that any time worked over 40 is ... | |
| tax return | 2/8/2008 |
| Q: I have a brother he is 50 years old and lives out of country i support him financially. can i claim ... A: To claim a dependency exemption for a qualifying child or a qualifying relative, the citizen, ... | |
| payroll issue | 2/1/2008 |
| Q: Can an employer insist or demand that an employee use direct deposit only? Can they basically refuse ... A: Mandatory direct deposit is allowed in some states and in some states it must be agreed to by the ... | |
| Working as a contractor | 1/25/2008 |
| Q: I am receiving SS and am over 65. I know I can make up to a certain amount of money without being ... A: You can start your own Sole Proprietorship bookkeeping business and contract out to employers as 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.
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