Week 1 – Affordable Care Act
IN 2010, PRESIDENT OBAMA SIGNED INTO LAW THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT, ALSO KNOWN AS OBAMACARE. THIS NEW LAW PROVIDED HEALTH INSURANCE TO MILLIONS OF AMERICANS WHO WERE PREVIOUSLY UNINSURED. ONE OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE AFORDABLE CARE ACT STATED THAT IF YOU OWN A BUSINESS THAT EMPLOYS 50 OR MORE PEOPLE, YOU MIGHT BE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL BENEFITS TO THOSE EMPLOYEES.
Week 2 – W2 Forms
THIS YEAR, BUSINESSES MUST SEND 2016 W-2 FORMS TO THEIR EMPLOYEES AND TO THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION BY JANUARY 31ST 2017. THIS IS A FULL MONTH EARLIER THAN WAS REQUIRED FOR SSA FILING IN PRIOR YEARS. YOU WILL NOW HAVE LESS TIME TO MAKE LAST MINUTE CORRECTIONS. MAKE SURE THAT YOUR PAYROLL AND HR MANAGERS ARE UP TO DATE WITH THE LATEST IRS RULES IN THIS AREA.
Week 3 – 1099 Distribution
BUSINESSES MUST COMPILE THEIR 1099 FORMS PROMPTLY SO THEY CAN DISTRIBUTE TO BOTH INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS AND TO THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE BY JANUARY 31ST 2017. THE IRS DUE DATE IS A FULL MONTH EARLIER THAN IN PREVIOUS YEARS … SO DON’T MISS OUT, OR YOU’LL BE SUBJECT TO A FINE FROM THE IRS. PLEASE ADVISE YOUR HUMAN RESOURCE AND PAYROLL DEPARTMENTS ACCORDINGLY.
Week 4 – Minimum Wage
STARTING DECEMBER 31ST 2016 … AND EACH YEAR THRU 2019 … THE MINIMUM WAGE WILL RISE ANNUALLY. AS OF JANUARY 1ST, NEW YORK CITY BUSINESSES THAT EMPLOY TEN OR LESS PEOPLE WILL PAY A MINIMUM WAGE OF TEN-FIFTY PER HOUR. IF THE BUSINESS EMPLOYS MORE THAN TEN, THESE WORKERS WILL RECEIVE 11 DOLLARS PER HOUR. PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT RATES VARY FOR DIFFERENT COUNTIES OUTSIDE OF NEW YORK CITY.
Week 5 – Unemployment Insurance
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PROVIDES TEMPORARY FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO UNEMPLOYED WORKERS WHO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF STATE LAW. THE PROGRAM IS JOINTLY FINANCED THROUGH FEDERAL AND STATE PAYROLL TAXES.
EACH YEAR, EMPLOYERS PAY THIS TAX UNTIL THEIR WORKERS PASS A CERTAIN THRESHOLD IN EARNINGS, WHICH VARIES FROM STATE-TO-STATE. THIS THRESHOLD WILL RESET ON JANUARY 1ST, 2017, AND EMPLOYERS WILL AGAIN PAY UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE TAXES. PLEASE PLAN ACCORDINGLY.
Week 6 – FICA Wage Limits
SOCIAL SECURITY WAGE LIMITS – ALSO KNOWN AS FICA – WILL RISE AS WE HIT THE NEW YEAR. THESE LIMITS ARE WHEN EMPLOYEES STOP HAVING 6.2% OF THEIR WAGES DEDUCTED FROM EACH PAYCHECK. EMPLOYERS ALSO HAVE TO MATCH THESE DEDUCTIONS, DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR. PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT THE 2016 LIMIT OF 118,500 DOLLARS WILL MOVE TO 127,200 DOLLARS IN 2017.
ACCU DATA TIPS OF THE WEEK
During the Fall of 2016, Accu Data produced a series of commercials that ran on the radio throughout the New York tri-state region. Each week, we introduced a new “tip of the week” to educate our audience about key topics in payroll, HR, benefits administration, ACA compliance … and more … that are useful to them.
This page has been designed to put all of these tips – plus handy links to further information – in one convenient location.
FEATURED TIPS
Week 1 – Affordable Care Act
Week 2 – W2 Forms
Week 3 – 1099 Distribution