Recently, the IRS and many states mailed out Deposit Requirement notices for those companies that have a change in deposit frequency for 2012. If you received one of these notices, it is imperative that you forward a copy to our office as soon as possible to avoid penalties in 2012. See below for some sample letters. As always, if you receive any notice from the IRS or your state, please forward to us at your earliest convenience.    

As many as 17 states are increasing their SUI Wage Base. Some states have yet to report their 2012 wage base. Below is a listing of reported 2012 SUI wage bases compared to 2011. State 2012 Wage Base 2011 Wage Base Alabama $8,000 $8,000 Alaska 34,600 Arizona 7,000 7,000 Arkansas 12,000 12,000 California 7,000 7,000 Colorado 11,000 10,000 Connecticut 15,000 15,000 Delaware 10,500 10,500 District of Columbia 9,000 9,000 Florida 8,500 7,000 Georgia 8,500 8,500 Hawaii 34,200 Idaho 33,300 Illinois 13,560 12,740 Indiana 9,500 9,500 Iowa 25,300 24,700 Kansas 8,000 8,000 Kentucky 9,000 8,000 Louisiana 7,700 Maine 12,000 12,000 Maryland [...]

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 [...]