Wage bases for 2026 are rolling out. You can ensure you’re accurately withholding for state unemployment insurance (UI) tax. Here's the latest info. While most states with changes have increased their wage bases for UI tax purposes, four states —…
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Think it’s acceptable to agree with other employers not to recruit their employees if they don’t go after yours? If you’ve ever nodded along while two executives agreed, as a professional courtesy, to stop pulling talent from each other’s teams…
Client companies thought they were outsourcing payroll and HR compliance to a vendor. But the tax exposure never really left their books. Federal prosecutors say a Southern California staffing group is at the center of an alleged payroll tax fraud…
Misclassification risk becomes a financial problem as soon as regulators decide contractor oversight looks like employee management. Case in point: Minnesota’s attorney general just turned tightly controlled delivery work into an $800K settlement for one company. Every time business units…
Thinking about adding tips and overtime compensation to box 14 of Form W-2 for TY 2025? Two recent IRS notices have provided insight. The IRS issued its latest notice covering the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) on November 21,…
A recent payroll tax fraud sentencing in Pennsylvania shows how off-the-books wage practices can expose a business to criminal charges and liability that grows until it threatens solvency. In this case, a Lancaster County restaurant owner and his two sons…
California’s latest misclassification penalty provides a costly reminder: Once contractor oversight starts resembling employee management, financial risk lands squarely on the books. When regulators conclude a company has operational control over contractors, liabilities escalate rapidly – moving penalties and back…
The IRS recently announced changes to retirement plan numbers for next year, putting your year-end prep in high gear. The 401(k) plan salary deferral limit will bump up to $24,500 (currently $23,500). How about the salary deferral limit for 403(b)…
Target will pay $4.6 million to settle a wage claim that accused the company of failing to pay warehouse employees for time spent walking to and from their workstations before and after shifts to complete required security screenings. The class-action…
Regulators are intensifying audits of worker misclassification, elevating it from an administrative detail to a recurring financial risk. Case in point: A recent $10 million California judgment shows how classification errors translate directly into penalties and unplanned costs. State Enforcement…
Federal shutdown headlines dominate business coverage, but finance teams are focused on the practical fallout – revising project schedules, reworking budgets, and tightening spending plans as uncertainty drags on. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has released new analysis putting hard…
Time to update your systems: SSA has announced the 2026 Social Security taxable wage base. Next year’s number will increase to $184,500 – that’s $8,400 more than the current amount of $176,100. So, the official projection released earlier this year…
