New Payroll fraud bill in effect: Will it keep you safe?

Good news: Your company just got a little extra protection from Payroll fraud, thanks to some new legislation.

President Obama just signed legislation that’s aimed, in part, at protecting employers from fraud at the hands of third-party payroll providers.

Specifically, a provision in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014 is meant to protect employers if businesses attempt to avoid paying withheld federal taxes.

‘Offer-in-compromise’

Granted, this type of fraud is far from the most common variety employers experience. But it still happens — and it can cause a number of problems when it does.

Here’s how the provision in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014 will safeguard employers: IRS is required to send a notice of confirmation to employers after receiving a change of address request.

Then, the IRS will send a notice to both the employer’s old address and the new one to confirm that the address change is valid.

In addition, the Service must consider relief measures for companies victimized by third-party payroll providers.

So, if a payroll provider doesn’t pay an employer’s taxes correctly — and that employer isn’t aware of that situation — the IRS will take that info into consideration.

In these situations, the IRS may allow defrauded businesses to settle their tax debt with an “offer-in-compromise.”