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Employee Benefits

Discover employee benefit options to attract talent and reduce turnover in small businesses

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Virginia's New Paid Sick Leave Law: The Small Employer's Timeline, Payroll, and Bookkeeping Guide

Virginia's SB199/HB5 phases paid sick leave in by employer size — 50+ employees on July 1, 2027, 25+ on January 1, 2028, and every employer with at least one employee on January 1, 2029. Employees accrue one hour per 30 hours worked up to 40 hours a year, unused leave carries over, and violations expose employers to double damages plus attorney's fees. Here is how to configure payroll, audit an existing PTO policy, and book the compensated-absence liability.

mike

payrollcompliancesmall-business

The $120,000 Fertility Benefit: How to Account for America's Newest Standalone Employee Benefit

A proposed federal rule would let employers offer fertility coverage as a standalone excepted benefit — like dental or vision — capped at a combined $120,000 lifetime maximum per participant and covered beneficiaries, for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2027. Here is how the fully insured and self-funded options differ on the books, and the ledger accounts, payroll deduction codes and accumulator reports to set up before the first enrollment.

mike

employee-benefitshealth-insurancepayroll

Missouri's Paid Sick Leave Whiplash: What Employers Should Track After the Prop A Repeal (and Before the 2026 Ballot Rematch)

Missouri's paid sick leave mandate took effect May 1, 2025 and was repealed effective August 28, 2025, while the scheduled $15.00 minimum wage still arrives January 1, 2026. Here is how to close the 17-week accrual window in your books, keep the payroll codes dormant instead of deleting them, and stay ready for the 2026 ballot rematch.

mike

payrollcomplianceemployee-benefits

Trump Accounts and ERISA: How to Offer the $2,500 Employer Contribution Without Creating a Plan

DOL Technical Release 2026-02 says employer Trump Account contribution programs generally are not ERISA pension plans, provided participation is voluntary and the employer adds no conditions, investment influence, ERISA claims, or extra consideration. This guide covers the four conditions, how the $2,500 per-employee and $5,000 per-child caps interact, and the payroll coding that keeps both reconciled.

mike

employee-benefitspayrollcompliance

Stay Bonuses That Actually Keep People: How to Structure Retention Agreements Without Overpaying or Under-Withholding

A stay bonus agreement pays a key employee to remain through a fixed date, usually 10% to 30% of base salary as a lump sum or milestone installments. This guide covers when a retention bonus beats a raise, how to size it against replacement cost, the terms a written agreement needs (forfeiture carve-outs, clawback limits, who pays in a sale), and the payroll rules that apply, including the IRS flat 22% supplemental-wage withholding, FICA, and state supplemental rates.

mike

compensationpayrollwithholding

SECURE 2.0 Auto-Portability and the December 31, 2026 401(k) Plan Amendment Deadline: What Small Business Sponsors Must Do Now

SECURE 2.0 Section 120 lets a departing employee's $1,000–$7,000 401(k) balance follow them into their next employer's plan through the Portability Services Network, and IRS Notice 2024-2 requires most calendar-year plans to adopt a consolidated SECURE 2.0 amendment by December 31, 2026. This guide covers how auto-portability interacts with force-out rules, what the amendment must memorialize, whether small employers should opt in, and the payroll, census and expense records to reconcile before year-end.

mike

retirement-plansemployee-benefitssmall-business

Working Condition Fringe Benefits: How to Make Job Tools, Software, and Education Tax-Free in 2026

Under IRC Section 132(d), employers can exclude job tools, software, and job-related education from employee wages as working condition fringe benefits when the cost would have been deductible if the employee paid it. This guide covers the deduction test, the substantiation rules for cash reimbursements, how Section 127's $5,250 educational assistance limit differs, and a bookkeeping workflow that keeps qualifying benefits out of taxable payroll.

mike

employee-benefitstaxpayroll

Connecticut Paid Leave Is 0.5% in 2026: How Employers Can Catch Over-Withholding and Reconcile CTPL

The Connecticut Paid Leave contribution rate is 0.5% of subject wages for 2026, capped at the $184,500 Social Security wage base — a maximum of $922.50 per employee per employer. This employer guide covers the quarterly filing calendar, a six-step payroll reconciliation, and how to correct doubled 1% deductions, overpayments, and duplicate remittances.

mike

payrollconnecticutwithholding

Employer Differential Wage Payments Credit: How to Track Reservist Pay and Claim Form 8932

The Section 45P credit equals 20% of up to $20,000 in differential wage payments per qualified employee—a maximum of $4,000 each—when an employer keeps paying civilian wages during active-duty military service over 30 days. Learn the 91-day employee test, how Form 8932 flows to Form 3800, why the payments skip Social Security and FUTA but not income-tax withholding, and a bookkeeping system that keeps the calculation auditable.

mike

tax-creditspayrollwithholding
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