Interest rates remain the same in the fourth quarter of 2018
The IRS has announced that interest rates will remain the same for the calendar quarter beginning October 1, 2018. The interest rates will be 5% for overpayments (4% in the case of a corporation) and...
View ArticleIRS adjusts Pub. 1494 levy amounts for head of households
The IRS has adjusted the amounts exempt from levy for head of households contained in IRS Pub 1494. The amount for daily with three exemptions is now $171.11. The amounts for weekly with 2, 3, 4, and 5...
View ArticleTaxpayers urged to avoid penalty for tax underpayment
The IRS advised taxpayers to plan ahead and understand their options in order to avoid a penalty for underpayment of tax when they file early in 2019. The guidance is part of the Service’s broader...
View ArticleRetirees urged to use withholding calculator to avoid penalty
The IRS has urged retirees to perform a “paycheck checkup” using the Withholding Calculator to verify that they were having the right amount of tax withheld from their pensions and annuity checks. This...
View ArticleSmall businesses and self-employed urged to meet tax obligations
The IRS reminded small business and self-employed taxpayers of meeting their tax obligations, including making quarterly estimated tax payments. Sole proprietors, partners and S corporation...
View ArticleIRS updates 402(f) notice safe harbor language
The IRS has updated its safe harbor Code Sec. 402(f) notice explanations for recipients of eligible rollover distributions. The updates reflect legislative changes and guidance since the IRS last...
View ArticleWK projects annual inflation amounts for 2019
Annual inflation-adjusted amounts for tax year 2019 are projected y Wolters Kluwer. The projected amounts include 2019 tax brackets, the standard deduction, alternative minimum tax amounts, among...
View ArticleIRS extends deadlines, provides tax relief for hurricane victims
Hurricane Florence victims in parts of North Carolina and elsewhere have until Jan. 31, 2019, to file certain individual and business tax returns and make certain tax payments, the Internal Revenue...
View ArticleState Department employee could not exclude foreign income
A U.S. citizen working in Germany for the U.S. Department of State under a personal services agreement (PSA) was a U.S. government employee for federal income tax purposes. Therefore, he was not...
View ArticleUtah updates guidance on pass-through entity withholding
For corporate income tax purposes, the Utah Tax Commission has updated its guidance on pass-through entity withholding. Effective for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2009, pass-through...
View Article2019 per diem rates issued for travel expense reimbursements
The IRS has provided the 2018-2019 special per diem rates for taxpayers to use to substantiate ordinary and necessary business expenses incurred while traveling away from home. The guidance provides...
View ArticleLarge employers can now e-file employment tax returns
Employers who meet the definition of “large employers” now have the option to e-file their employment tax returns (e.g., Forms 940, 941) without the need for a third party. These large employers are...
View ArticleIRS reminds employers on family and medical leave credit
The IRS has issued a notice with information on the family and medical leave credit that was enacted in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (P.L. 115–97). Eligible employers who provide paid family and medical...
View ArticleDHS issues proposed rules on green cards and self-sufficiency
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a proposed rule that will clearly define long-standing law to ensure that those seeking to enter and remain in the U.S. either temporarily or...
View ArticleSouth Dakota’s minimum wage to increase January 1
The minimum wage in South Dakota will increase from $8.85 per hour to $9.10 per hour on January 1, 2019. The state minimum wage is annually adjusted based on any increase in the cost of living, as...
View ArticleMissouri updates withholding tables
The Missouri department of Revenue has released new withholding tables. Additional information regarding the update can be found at https://dor.mo.gov/news/archive/year/2018. The information will be...
View ArticleHouse approves several tax bills
The House has approved a tax bills that would make permanent the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) (P.L. 115-97) individual and small business tax cuts enacted last December. The bill is part of...
View ArticleIRS needs to improve withholding compliance program
The IRS needs to make improvements to the withholding compliance program, according to a report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). According to TIGTA, a review of a...
View ArticleColorado’s minimum wage increases to $11.10 on Jan. 1
The Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, Office of Policy, Research and Regulatory Reform, has issued a Notice of Public Hearing to provide interested persons an opportunity to be heard prior to...
View ArticleMontana’s minimum wage will increase to $8.50 on Jan. 1
The Montana minimum wage will see the rate increase to $8.50 per hour beginning January 1, 2019. In the 2006 General Election Montana voters approved Ballot Initiative I-151 to raise the minimum wage...
View ArticleIndiana announces changes to local income tax rates
The Indiana Department of Revenue has issued a new release listing changes in some county income tax rates. The supplemental wage rate remains 3.23%. The notice will be reproduced in the Payroll...
View Article2019 OASDI tax and earnings base increases to $132,900; COLA is 2.8%
Social Security beneficiaries will see an increase in their monthly checks in 2019—2.8%. This cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, will produce an estimated average monthly benefit of $1,461 for all...
View ArticleNew Jersey’s minimum wage increases to $8.85 per hour on Jan. 1
The minimum wage rate in New Jersey will increase from $8.60 per hour to $8.85 per hour on January 1, 2019. The Department of Labor and Workforce Development has requested, and the Office of...
View ArticleDelaware makes no changes in 2018 W-2 and 1099 filing requirement
The Delaware Division of Revenue has issued its answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) on W-2 and 1099 personal income tax withholding requirements. The division clarified that no changes have...
View ArticleSouth Carolina updates Code conformity
South Carolina has updated its Internal Revenue Code conformity date from December 31, 2016, to February 9, 2018. This incorporates federal changes from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and the...
View ArticleIRS pulls back 2019 Form W-4 changes
The IRS will not be making major changes to the 2019 version of Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate, after all, according to the newly released draft version. The 2019 version of...
View ArticleIRS issues proposed rules on De Minimis error safe harbors
The Treasury Department and the IRS have proposed regulations on the penalties for failure to file correct information returns under Code Sec. 6721 and failure to furnish correct payee statements under...
View ArticleCMS announces 2019 Medicare Parts A & B amounts
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the 2019 premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance amounts for Medicare Parts A and B. Medicare Part B Premiums/Deductibles The standard...
View ArticleFlorida’s minimum wage increases to $8.46 on Jan. 1
The minimum wage in Florida will increase to $8.46 per hour, effective January 1, 2019, according to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity in an October 15 Notice. Florida law requires the...
View ArticleIRS grants more relief to Hurricane Michael and Florence victims
More Hurricane Michael and Florence victims get tax relief from the IRS. The IRS is offering this relief to any area designated by FEMA as qualifying for individual assistance. Currently, the Michael...
View ArticleDaylight Saving time to end Sunday, November 4
This year, Sunday, November 4 marks the return to standard time, when clocks will be moved back one hour at 2:00 a.m. Shift workers on duty at that time who normally work an eight-hour shift will...
View ArticleReminder: Employers must give time off to vote in some states
The coming midterm elections on November 6 again focuses attention on state laws allowing employees to take time off to vote, with or without pay. Laws governing time off to vote can be found in...
View ArticleProposed regulations issued on HRAs
The U.S. Treasury (IRS), together with the Department of Labor (EBSA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (CMS) have proposed rules to expand opportunities to access affordable, quality...
View ArticleJoint employer, overtime rules top fall agency list
On October 17, the Agency Rule List for Fall 2018 was released, with notable developments at the Department of Labor, the EEOC, and the National Labor Relations Board. Although the NLRB’s proposed...
View ArticleVermont’s minimum wage will increase to $10.78 on Jan. 1
The minimum wage in Vermont will increase from $10.50 per hour to $10.78 per hour effective January 1, 2019. The basic wage for service and tipped employees will increase from $5.25 per hour to $5.39...
View ArticleIowa issues withholding tables for 2019
Iowa has issued new wage-bracket and computer formula withholding tables for wages paid on and after January 1, 2019. The tables are reproduced in this Report at 6248 and 6249. The computer formula is...
View ArticleIRS issues 2019 COLAs on dollar limitations on pension plans
The Internal Revenue Service has announced cost-of-living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2019. Many of the pension plan...
View Article1.5% trigger surcharge in RUIA tax rate for 2019
The Railroad Retirement Board has determined that there will be a 1.5% surcharge added to the basic Railroad UI Act tax rate for established employers beginning January 1, 2019. There was also a 1.5%...
View ArticleAlaska’s minimum wage will increase to $9.89 Jan. 1
The minimum wage in Alaska will increase from $9.84 per hour to $9.89 per hour on January 1, 2019, according to the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Division of Labor Standards and...
View ArticleNJ DOL issues FAQs on new earned sick leave law
The New Jersey Earned Sick Leave Law takes effect on October 29, 2018. Public Law 2018, Ch. 10, requires every employer to provide earned sick leave to each employee working in New Jersey. The...
View ArticleDOL issues 2018 annual UC certifications of states under FUTA
The Secretary of Labor has signed the annual 12-month certifications under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act that enable employers that make contributions to state unemployment funds to obtain certain...
View ArticleSSA’s official COLA notice appears in Federal Register
The Social Security Administration’s official announcement that there will be a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment for social security beneficiaries in 2019 was published in the Wednesday, October 24,...
View ArticleNorth Carolina voters approve new rate limit
North Carolina voters approved a ballot measure that reduces the corporate and personal income tax rate limit set in the state constitution. The constitutional amendment reduces the income tax rate...
View ArticleIRS updates process for liability determination, FUTA control
The IRS has updated its procedures that provide information on business master file (BMF) accounts with discrepancy issues related to the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA). This guidance describes...
View ArticleNorth Carolina adds counties eligible for hurricane tax relief
The North Carolina Department of Revenue advises taxpayers that three additional counties have been designated as Disaster Counties eligible for state tax relief as a result of Hurricane Florence. The...
View ArticleGeorgia issues 2019 withholding tables
Georgia has issued new wage-bracket and percentage method withholding tables for wages paid on and after January 1, 2019. All of the tables are reproduced in in this Report at ¶5818 and ¶5819....
View ArticleNorth Carolina issues 2019 withholding tables
North Carolina has issued withholding tables for wages paid on and after January 1, 2019. The tables have been revised to reflect legislative changes. North Carolina law requires North Carolina income...
View ArticleIRS issues annual inflation amounts for 2019
The IRS has released the annual inflation figures for 2019. The amounts include 2019 tax brackets, the standard deduction, alternative minimum tax amounts, among others. The amounts are based upon...
View ArticleNew FLSA opinion letters do about-face on 80/20 tip rule
The Department of Labor on November 8 released four new opinion letters on FLSA compliance. One of those letters put an end to the controversial so-called 80/20 tip rule governing the employer tip...
View ArticleArkansas and Missouri voters approve minimum wage increases
The mid-term elections have ushered in a wage boost for workers in Arkansas and Missouri. Voters approved ballot initiatives that will raise the minimum wage in Arkansas from its current $8.50 an hour...
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