On September 2, 2011, the Department of Labor published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register (see 76 FR 54836) that includes proposals to amend its existing regulations addressing child labor in agricultural employment and child labor in nonagricultural employment under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and to incorporate into the regulations the enforcement policies that the Department’s Wage and Hour Division follows when determining whether to assess a civil money penalty for child labor violations and the amount of that penalty.  The public was requested to submit comments on the proposal by November 1, 2011. Although [...]

IRS Announces Pension Plan Limitations for 2012 WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today announced cost of living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for Tax Year 2012. In general, many of the pension plan limitations will change for 2012 because the increase in the cost-of-living index met the statutory thresholds that trigger their adjustment. However, other limitations will remain unchanged.  Highlights include: The elective deferral (contribution) limit for employees who participate in 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans, and the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan is increased from $16,500 to $17,000. The catch-up contribution limit [...]

Press Release Wednesday, October 19, 2011 Press Office For Immediate Release 410-965-8904 press.office@ssa.gov Social Security Announces 3.6 Percent Benefit Increase for 2012 Cost-of-Living Adjustment is First Since 2009 (Printer friendly version) Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for more than 60 million Americans will increase 3.6 percent in 2012, the Social Security Administration announced today. The 3.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits that nearly 55 million Social Security beneficiaries receive in January 2012.  Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 30, 2011. Some other changes that take effect [...]

Effective tax years beginning after December 31, 2009 the IRS has published  regulations in regards to employee use of business cell phones.  The IRS has specified that an employer provided cell phone issued to an employee "primarily for noncompensatory business reasons" will be considered by the IRS as business use of the employer issued cell phone and will be considered a working condition fringe benefit, while the personal use will be treated as a de minimis fringe. Please see IRS Notice 2011-72 For the full IRS publication issued September 14, 2011 please visit the IRS' website: IRS Issues Guidance on [...]

On Tuesday, Senate rejected Obama's $447 billion jobs plan. The American Jobs Act would have impacted payroll in several ways such as cutting payroll taxes in half for 98 percent of businesses, A “Returning Heroes” tax credit, and a $4000 tax credit to employers for hiring long-term unemployed workers. For the full fact sheet please visit  Fact Sheet: The American Jobs Act With the plans legislative life behind it, smaller components of the American Jobs Act are likely to be presented independently.

The North Carolina Department of Revenue recently mailed out all 2012 notices of change in filing frequency. If you receive or have already received a notice from the NC DOR, please forward a copy to your account manager as soon as possible so that we can update our system for 2012. If you have any questions, please feel free to call us at (704) 921-2730 or send an email to payroll@directpaypayroll.com. Thank you!

 The American Jobs Act has five key components: Tax Cuts to Help America’s Small Businesses Hire and Grow Putting Workers Back on the Job While Rebuilding and Modernizing America Pathways Back to Work for Americans Looking for Jobs More Money in the Pockets of Every American Worker and Family Fully Paid for as Part of the President’s Long-Term Deficit Reduction Plan The American Jobs Act will impact payroll and hiring significantly if passed.  Some payroll related items include a social security rate decrease to 3.1% for both employers and employees, tax credits for businesses that hire long term unemployed workers, and [...]

  Protect your personal information! The IRS does not initiate taxpayer communications through email What is phishing? Phishing is a scam typically carried out by unsolicited email and/or websites that pose as legitimate sites and lure unsuspecting victims to provide personal and financial information. All unsolicited email claiming to be from either the IRS or any other IRS-related components such as EFTPS, should be reported to phishing@irs.gov. However, if you have experienced monetary losses due to an IRS-related incident please file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission through their Complaint Assistant to make that information available to investigators. What [...]

DirectPay Payroll Services offers Employee Self Service. This utility offers your employees the ability to view their pay data securely online. Employees are able to view and print pay stubs as well as W-2s. The amount of requests employers receive for W-2 and pay stub reprints can become  time consuming and counterproductive. Additionally, your employees usually expect their W-2/pay stub requests immediately. With Employee Self Service, the employee will have access to their information 24 hours a day, even prior years. The Employee-Self Service module is a valuable tool designed to help you manage your workforce effectively and efficiently. If [...]