The Congress passed legislation (H.R. 3326) extending the original federal COBRA subsidy created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) and President Obama signed into law on Saturday, December 19, 2009.  ..

Under IRC 61 gross income is defined as “…all income from whatever source derived, including (but not limited to) compensation for services, including fees, commissions, fringe benefits, and similar items…” IRS Regulations 1.61-1 further explains that “…gross income means all income from whatever source derived unless excluded by law. Gross income includes income realized in any form, whether in money, property or services. Income may be realized, therefore, in the form of services, meals, accommodations, stock, or other property, as well as cash.” These definitions mean that all employee compensation, provided in whatever form, is taxable unless the IRC has deemed the compensation to be not taxable. In general, the same guidelines apply to withholding income, social security, and Medicate taxes. IRS Publication 15-B has a complete discussion on taxation of fringe benefits: ..

Payroll Experts is thrilled to announce that we have been named a finalist for the prestigious 2009 Sterling Award in the category of Small Business.  In its 24th year, the Sterling Awards continue to honor our city’s best corporate neighbors and brightest rising stars.  The Sterling Award, Small Business category recognizes a company that demonstrates success through product or service innovation, quality and professionalism, and has made contributions to community-oriented projects.  We are extremely honored to be named as a finalist, as the process for being selected began with a rigorous application, which was reviewed along with all other Small Business category applications, by a panel of  four judges who narrowed our field down to the three finalists. The judging team then visited Payroll Experts and the two remaining finalists to conduct a personal interview and get a behind-the-scenes look at our operations. With that step complete, each judge will independently cast a set of points for the finalists based on our embodiment of the award criteria.  The winner will be announced at the Sterling Awards Banquet Thursday, November 12th.  We would like to extend a special thanks to our clients who graciously offered up their kind words to be used in our presentation.  Your testimonials definitely wowed the judges and brought a smile to all of our faces.  Thank you all for your support and for being a part of the Payroll Experts' family!  ..

AMERICAN PAYROLL ASSOCIATION
Compliance Update

Social Security Wage Base Remains at $106,800 in 2010 The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced on Thursday, October 15, 2009, that the 2010 social security wage base will be $106,800, unchanged from 2009. As in prior years, there is no limit to the wages subject to the Medicare tax; therefore all covered wages are still subject to the 1.45% tax.

The FICA tax rate, which is the combined social security tax rate of 6.2% and the Medicare tax rate of 1.45%, remains at 7.65% for 2010. The maximum social security tax employees and employers will each pay in 2010 is $6,621.60. This is unchanged from the 2009 maximum.

The social security wage base for self-employed individuals in 2010 will also be $106,800. There is no limit on covered self-employment income that will be subject to the Medicare tax. The self-employment tax rate remains 15.3% (combined social security tax rate of 12.4% and Medicare tax rate of 2.9%). In 2010, the maximum social security tax for a self-employed individual will be $13,243.20. This is unchanged from the 2009 maximum.

FICA coverage threshold unchanged for domestic, election workers The threshold for coverage under social security and Medicare for domestic employees will be $1,700 in 2010, unchanged from 2009; the coverage threshold for election workers will be $1,500 in 2010, also unchanged from 2009.  ..

No More Federal Contracts Without E-Verify ..

The Department of Homeland Security Ramps up I-9 Audits  ..

Did you know that you could be earning hundreds of dollars in processing credits or gift cards to Target, Starbucks or Chevron? It's easy and there's no limit to the amount of rewards you can receive! Just tell us, do you know someone who could benefit from having their own Payroll Expert? ..

At Payroll Experts, we've noticed that many companies seem to only reward new clients with increasingly better offers and specials as time goes on, leaving tenured clients wondering why they are paying more and getting less than the new kids on the block. Unfortunately, many incentive programs out there are designed to reward new converts rather than the loyal customer base, offending their current clients, their most valuable asset. At Payroll Experts, we do things differently. It's called Loyalty Rewards and we’ve added it to our Client Service Commitments. It reads: "Loyalty Rewards - Rather than only rewarding new clients with special offers and promotions, we feel that it is important to thank our current clients too! We will always extend the same promotions to you as we do to our new clients." ..

Our truly paperless options allow you to help the environment and keep your sensitive payroll information more secure than ever before. ..

Attention Employers: The IRS has issued updated withholding tables to help you implement the withholding adjustments required by the new economic stimulus law.  As a Payroll Experts client you do not need to make any modifications to your current payroll process. Our tables were updated accordingly immediately upon the release of the updated information. ..