Section 1: Who is an employee? How to classify—and pay—employees, independent contractors, leased employees, temporary help, agency referrals.

Section 2: Federal v. state laws. How to know if your employer or employees are covered by key federal laws. Minimum wage rules. The enterprise test.

Section 3: Paying employees. Who is paid overtime; computations. Paying for nonproductive time (showering, changing, etc.). When you can dock employee pay.

Section 4: Required payroll data. Information, data and forms for each employee. How long to keep each kind of information.

Section 5: Form W-4 and state withholding forms. How it must be completed. When you must reject a W-4. Rules on withholding a flat dollar percentage or dollar amount of tax.

Section 6: Withholding and depositing taxes. How to withhold FICA and federal income tax. The monthly, semiweekly and Wednesday-Friday rules. The “lookback period.” Form 941-X.

Section 7: Filing federal reporting forms. Computing Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA). Who must file a 940, W-2, W-3, 941 and Schedule B, and 945. Backup-tax rules.

Section 8: When wages are taxable. When wages are earned v. when they are paid. Handling wages paid in January for December work.

Section 9: Other federal and state requirements. Handling the 1099, 1099-MISC, 1099-DIV, 1099-INT, 1099-R, 1096. State unemployment insurance (SUI). Each state’s due dates for filing the state W-2 and distributing copies to employees.

Section 10: Journal entries. How to record salary, deductions and employer/employee payroll expense, payment of taxes, premiums, pension contributions and more.

Glossary of key terms.

Appendix of sample payroll forms with instructions: W-4, 940, 940-Sched. A, 941, 941-Sched. B, 941-X, 944, 945, 945-A, W-2, W-3, W-2c and W-3c, I-9, 1099-MISC, SS-8.

Publisher: AIPB

The post Mastering Payroll appeared first on American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers.

Section 1: FIT withholding: The wage bracket and percentage methods. How to use IRS tables and special withholding rates.

Section 2: Fringe benefits. How to tax working condition fringe benefits . . . health insurance . . . qualified employee discounts . . . transit passes and parking . . . gift certificates, and more.

Section 3: Fringe benefits. How to tax—or not tax—various fringe benefits and report each one on the W-2, 941 and 940.

Section 4: Expense reimbursements, advances and allowances. What’s taxable v. nontaxable. Required substantiation. The cents-per-mile, standard mileage and federal per diem reimbursement methods. W-2 reporting.

Section 5: Personal use of company cars. 3 safe-harbor methods for valuing personal use and 4 requirements for using them. Reporting the value on the employee’s W-2.

Section 6: Deferred compensation and “cafeteria” plans. How to withhold pretax and report contributions to 401(k) plans and SEPs on the 941 and W-2. Contribution limits.

Section 7: Disability v. third-party sick pay. Handling sick pay from the employer v. self-insured plan v. insurer. FUTA and FIT taxability. Reporting sick payments on the W-2, 941 and 940.

Section 8: Taxing and reporting life insurance benefits. Reporting group-term life on the 940, 941 and W-2.

Section 9: Imputed income and gross-up for cash payments. How to compute a bonus that includes the employee’s share of taxes or withhold taxes after a cash bonus has been given.

Section 10: Imputed income and gross-up for fringe benefits. How to compute the employee’s share of taxes on noncash fringe benefits.

Section 11: Voluntary v. involuntary deductions. Child support orders, federal/state levies, other notices. Deductions permitted from employee pay before levy. Limits on the levy.

Section 12: Basics of workers’ comp insurance. Variations by state. Classification codes, computing premiums, taxation of workers’ comp benefits.

Glossary of key terms.

Appendix of sample payroll forms with instructions: W-4, 940, 940-Sched. A, 941, 941-Sched. B, 944, 945, 945-A, W-2, W-3, W-2c, W-3c, 941-X, I-9, 1099-MISC.

Publisher: AIPB

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