Feast or famine
No, not your Thanksgiving feast, but the feast of year-end responsibilities awaiting anyone who delays year-end prep much longer. Here’s help getting started.
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Holiday bonuses: Passing out bucks the worry-free way
Holiday bonuses are a tradition at many companies. Employees may count on them. Bonuses take planning, and Payroll usually begins planning for them now. You need look no further for what you need to know to make the bonus process run smoothly.
E-filing 1099s: Bye-bye, FIRE; hello, IRIS
If you pay independent contractors $600 or more, you must e-file Forms 1099-NEC with the IRS and provide your contractors with their copies by Feb. 2, 2026. Here’s what you need to know for the upcoming 1099 filing season.
IRS wrongly penalized employers for their deferred Social Security deposits
One cornerstone of pandemic relief was allowing employers to defer the deposit of their portion of Social Security taxes during 2020. Those deferrals had to be made up: half by Jan. 3, 2021, and the other half by Jan. 3, 2022. According to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the I
OBBBA: Figuring the paid family tax credit
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act makes three key changes to the IRC § 45S tax credit for providing paid FMLA leave to employees. While we briefly touched on this before, let’s get into the details now.
First-IRS-furlough Friday wrap: 2026 inflation adjustments
2026 inflation adjustments take the spotlight in our shutdown-abbreviated Friday wrap.
Notes from the October IRIS working group meeting
October IRIS working group meeting: Filing platforms, TCCs and more.
W-2 Wednesday: Where’s Waldo and what to do about misreported state wages
Waldo, in his red-and-white striped shirt, pops up everywhere, which is the point. Waldo is a cartoon character, so no worries about getting his state withholding and reporting right. In the real world, employees move and forget to tell their employers, which leads to a withholding and W-2 reporting
Here’s your Roth catch-up contribution explainer
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s provisions on tips and overtime are naturally top of mind for Payroll. But there’s another looming issue—the Roth catch-up contribution provisions of Secure 2.0—which present a tougher communication challenge for you. Here’s some help to get you started.
High anxiety over 2025 W-2s
Questions about how to report tips and overtime on 2025 W-2s were abundant on the IRS’ October payroll call. Unfortunately, the IRS was still unable to provide answers beyond “We’re writing them down and sending them to the appropriate office.” This didn’t sit well with many attendees, as the year i