With a multitude of questions surrounding implementation and administration, late on a summer Friday afternoon, the IRS issued Notice 2023-62 (Notice), providing Plan Sponsors with a transition period until 2026 to implement...more
On June 9, 2023, the IRS released OCC Memo 202323006, which advises that wellness indemnity payments under a fixed indemnity insurance policy are wages for purposes of Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes, Federal...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Just like a bad penny, schemes promising employers ways to reduce their FICA tax burden, and maybe their employees’ income tax burden at the same time, keep popping up with a slightly different burnish on...more
Worker Classification and Section 530 Relief - Employers are required to pay employment taxes to the IRS. Generally, these payments consist of two portions: the employee’s portion of FICA and income taxes and the employer’s...more
Movement Toward Tax Increases- You may have read last week that Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee announced they had reached a deal on a budget resolution that will enable them to bypass Senate Republicans on the...more
With all of the payroll complexities that employers face, it is no surprise that a special set of rules that applies to only a small category of employees is frequently overlooked....more
On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the "Act") was signed into law. The Act added a new Section 83(i) to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), pursuant to which certain employees of eligible...more
Hiring and employing family members is common in the realm of family businesses. An important thing to remember is that most family employees are treated in the same manner as any other employee for federal tax purposes,...more
The significance and meaning of the midterm election results is obviously the subject of pervasive interest and intense debate, and the uncertainty of what comes next may be thrilling or terrifying, depending on one’s...more
La última Notificación emitida por el IRS sobre Criptomoneda fue el Aviso 2014-21 publicado el 25 de Marzo del 2014 que brinda orientación en forma de respuestas a preguntas frecuentes (“Frequently Asked Questions”). ...more
Department of Justice and the IRS have announced a renewed emphasis on both civil and criminal payroll tax enforcement lawsuits. This article provides a short overview of what an employment tax case is and identifies...more
Generally, an employer is required to deduct and withhold Federal Insurance Contribution Act taxes (“FICA”), Federal Unemployment Tax Act taxes (“FUTA”), and income tax withholding from its employee’s wages and is separately...more
Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Congress is now offering a new 20% deduction for “pass-through” businesses – i.e. businesses that are not corporations. With the corporate tax rate being reduced under the new law to a flat...more
Employers that pay wages and other forms of compensation to their employees must comply with federal tax return filing and payment/deposit requirement. Employers that receive services from non-employee contractors and make...more
Businesses that have employees and pay wages and salaries must withhold federal employee income taxes and the employee’s share of federal employment taxes (FICA) from these wages and salaries. The employer must “match” the...more
Limited liability companies (LLCs) have become the fastest-growing entity choice for businesses in recent years. LLCs provide flexibility in operations and distributions. However, to the surprise of many businesspeople, if an...more
In Chief Counsel Advice 201634023, released Aug. 19, 2016, the IRS Office of Chief Counsel expressed its informal view (in the form of an email to an IRS employee) that “short-week” supplemental unemployment benefits (SUB)...more
Starting a business is not always simple. Being an employer carries with it a number of obligations and it is important to know the ropes prior to even hiring your first employee. Below is a condensed HR checklist that...more
Last summer the Internal Revenue Service updated its Audit Techniques Guide (“ATG”) for nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements. While the ATG provides little instruction on how the IRS will review nonqualified...more
Businesses should carefully assess any independent contractor arrangements in light of an “Administrator’s Interpretation” issued on July 15, 2015 by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (DOL). While the...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently updated its “Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Audit Techniques Guide.” The Guide provides a framework for the IRS to audit nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plans. Since...more
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. v. Windsor changed the tax treatment of benefits provided to legally married same-sex spouses and their dependents. Prior to the Windsor decision, employers were required to treat any...more
In part one of this two-part series, “The Advantages of Offering Supplemental Unemployment Benefits Instead of Severance, Part I: FICA Taxes and More,” I reviewed the advantages of offering supplemental unemployment benefits...more