IR-2012-23, Feb. 16, 2012 WASHINGTON –– The Internal Revenue Service today issued its annual “Dirty Dozen” ranking of tax scams, reminding taxpayers to use caution during tax season to protect themselves against a wide range of schemes ranging from identity theft to return preparer fraud. The Dirty Dozen listing, compiled by the IRS each year, lists a variety of common scams taxpayers can encounter at any point during the year. But many of these schemes peak during filing season as people prepare their tax returns. “Taxpayers should be careful and avoid falling into a trap with the Dirty Dozen,” said [...]

Congress Passes Full Year Extension of 2% Payroll Tax Cut On February 17, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives passed H.R. 3630, the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (Tax Relief Act of 2012). The bill now goes to President Obama for his signature, and he has indicated he is in favor of the legislation. The Tax Relief Act of 2012 extends until the end of 2012 the reduction in the social security tax rate paid by employees from 6.2% to 4.2% that was first implemented for 2011 by the Tax Relief Act of 2010 [...]

Expanded Work Opportunity Tax Credit Available for Hiring Qualified Veterans The VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 made changes to the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC). The Act added two new categories to the existing qualified veteran targeted group and made the WOTC available to certain tax-exempt employers as a credit against the employer’s share of social security tax. The Act allows employers to claim the WOTC for veterans certified as qualified veterans and who begin work before January 1, 2013. The credit can be as high as $9,600 per qualified veteran for for-profit employers or up to $6,240 [...]

Winter 2012 Edition - February 13, 2012 Print Version of Newsletter (PDF) Plan Issues 401(k) Questionnaire Interim Report – comments and highlights Use an employee’s entire calendar-year compensation for determining employer contributions to SIMPLE IRA plans April 30 deadline for employers to adopt and submit determination letter applications for pre-approved defined benefit plans Plan Loans What’s a reasonable interest rate for participant loans? Before you take a loan from your retirement plan, there are a few rules you need to know Forms Tips for Form 5558 requests for extension to file Form 5500-series returns Using old forms may cause errors [...]

Times are tough. As a business owner, would eliminating a large down payment for your workers' compensation insurance interest you? You know how important it is to manage cash flow on a day-to-day basis and that's not always easy when you have to come up with a down payment that may be as much as 25% of the premium for your workers compensation policy. Good News, DirectPay Payroll Services AND The Hartford have a solution! XactPAY® allows you to pay your Hartford Workers' Compensation premium based on actual payrolls and one payroll period at a time. Your cash flow won't [...]

WASHINGTON — IRS Free File, which has been making taxes a little less taxing for a decade, opens today, Jan. 17. More than 33 million returns have been filed through Free File since its debut. Everyone can use Free File, either the brand-name software offered by IRS’ commercial partners or the online fillable forms. Individuals or families with 2011 adjusted gross incomes of $57,000 or less can use Free File software. Free File Fillable Forms, the electronic version of IRS paper forms, has no income restrictions. “Free File can save you time and money. You can prepare and e-file your [...]

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Monday, 1/16/2012 If you normally date your checks for Monday, you will need to submit payroll by 3pm on Wednesday the 11th. If you normally date your checks for Tuesday, you will need to submit payroll by 3pm on Thursday. If you normally date your checks for Wednesday, you will need to submit payroll by 3pm on Friday. Payrolls dated for Thursday or Friday of next week will not be affected. If you have any questions, please feel free to call (704) 921-2730 or send an email to payroll@directpaypayroll.com  

Issue Number: 01-2012 Inside This Issue 1. New Voluntary Classification Settlement Program 2. Repeal of Section 3402(t) 3. Guidance on Employer Provided Cell Phones 4. Changes to Form W-2 for 2011 5. Common FSLG Examination Issues 6. Ruling on Employer-Provided Clothing Revoked 7. Reissuance of Debt Obligations: Basic Concepts 8. Directory of FSLG Specialists To read the January 2011 Edition, please visit the Current Edition of the FSLG Newsletter page in the Government Entities section of the IRS.gov Web site. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/p4090_0112.pdf  

We are currently processing 4th Quarter Reports and W-2s. You should have your packages within the next few weeks. At this time, 2011 has been closed. Any year end adjustments will be processed at an additional charge. If you need to add wages, fringe benefits, or anything else to 2011, please contact your Account Manager as soon as possible. If you do not receive your 4th Quarter Reports, W-2s/1099s by the end of January, please promptly alert your Account Manager. Thank you! DirectPay Payroll Services Contact Info: Phone: (704) 921-2730 Fax: (704) 921-2718 Email: payroll@directpaypayroll.com

Year-end Cutoff Date The year-end cutoff date for you to report changes for 2011 is December 30, 2011 at 1:00 p.m., or the day a payroll with a January 2012 check date is processed, whichever is earlier. We recommend that you run any adjustments with a payroll to ensure that the taxes are withheld correctly. Please remind your accountant to report payroll adjustments no later than your cut-off date. If payroll adjustments are necessary after the year-end cutoff date, we can rerun your tax returns. However, there will be an additional charge and a processing delay. Depending on when you [...]