Phil Ash

This year’s W-2 reporting will be more challenging, due to new reporting requirements for tips and overtime. Right now, we’re waiting for the IRS to provide transition relief for these items. In the interim, let’s consider whether you must report stipends on employees’ W-2s.

Proposed regs follow up on an IRS fact sheet, which included a table listing the tipped occupations. The proposed regs incorporate the table and provide more guidance on qualified tips and tipped employees.

We’re revisiting the Roth catch-up contribution regs for a little less regulatory analysis and a little more practical insight.

Payroll costs, IRS self-help tools, FTC revisits noncompetes and more in our Friday wrap.

Final regulations keep intact much of the proposed regulations, but make some key tweaks impacting Payroll’s role in this endeavor. Here’s a high-level overview.

According to Mercer, group health insurance costs will experience their sharpest rise since 2010, with the per-employee cost rocketing to 6.5% of total benefit costs. Your plan’s new choices may be focused on cost control. How you deal with new plan choices requiring employees to pay more out-of-poc

The IRS has released a draft of new Schedule 1A, which is where employees will take their One Big Beautiful Bill Act deductions for tips, overtime and the $6,000 senior personal exemption. Instructions have not yet been released. The schedule also gives some hints about 2025 W-2 reporting.

Hey, FIRE users. Billie Crawford, the IRS’ IRIS spokesperson extraordinaire, has a message for you: FIRE’s retirement date will be here before you know it, so please get to know its replacement—IRIS, or Information Returns Intake System.

OBBBA tip regs. HIPAA Security Rule help, IRS tax assistance kiosks and more in our Friday wrap.

Hurricane season begins in June and peaks in September, when ocean water is at its warmest. Savvy Payroll pros should use this time to assess whether their disaster-planning response is up to date.