#hiring
Hiring
Financial considerations when hiring employees or contractors
Hiring Farm Workers in 2026: Form 943, the $150 and $2,500 Tests, and Why Farm Payroll Files Once a Year
Farm payroll doesn't use Form 941. Learn how Form 943's annual filing, the $150 per-worker and $2,500 aggregate cash-wage tests for FICA and withholding, and the separate $20,000 FUTA threshold work in 2026, plus the bookkeeping split that keeps farm and nonfarm liabilities off the wrong return.
New Jersey's ABC Test Is Now Final: What Every Business Hiring Contractors Needs to Do Before October 1
New Jersey adopted final ABC test regulations on May 5, 2026, effective October 1 — applying the same three-prong test across unemployment, wage and hour, and wage payment laws. Learn how remote work and app-based control change the analysis, the per-worker penalties, and a six-step audit to complete before the deadline.
The 'Mutual Election' Fix: What a Proposed Third Worker Category Would Mean for Your Freelancer Bookkeeping
The 21st Century Worker Act (S. 2159) would set one federal classification test and add a third "mutual election" category letting a business and worker jointly choose contractor or employee status, defaulting to contractor if they disagree. Here is what it would change for freelancer bookkeeping and how to keep contractor records defensible now.
The CPA Search Now Takes 73 Days: A Small Business Guide to the Accountant Shortage
Filling a CPA-credentialed role now averages 73 days, 41% longer than non-credentialed roles, while the number of candidates sitting for the CPA exam fell from over 100,000 in 2016 to about 67,000 in 2022. This guide explains what is draining the pipeline, what the shortage costs in fees and delayed closes, and five ways small businesses keep books clean and filings on time without waiting in line for a firm.
Circular E in Plain English: What Publication 15 Tells Small Employers About Withholding, Deposits, and Forms 941 and W-2
IRS Publication 15 (Circular E) sets the rules small employers must follow on every paycheck — federal income tax withholding via the wage-bracket or percentage method, 6.2% Social Security to the annual wage base, 1.45% Medicare plus 0.9% above $200,000, EFTPS deposits on a monthly or semiweekly schedule set by the $50,000 lookback test, and Forms 941, 940, W-2 and W-3. This guide translates each rule into what to do, when it is due, and which ledger account to book it in — including the failure-to-deposit penalty ladder of 2%, 5%, 10% and 15%.
USCIS Form I-9 Deadline July 31, 2026: What Every Employer Must Update Before the New Edition Takes Over
Employers using electronic Form I-9 systems must update to the 05/31/2027 expiration date by July 31, 2026. This guide covers which editions stay valid, what changed in the 01/20/25 revision, the three-years-after-hire-or-one-year-after-termination retention rule, and which paperwork errors ICE now treats as substantive rather than technical.
Virginia's New 5-Employee Discrimination Threshold: An SB 637 Compliance Guide
Effective July 1, 2026, Virginia's SB 637 drops the Virginia Human Rights Act employer threshold from 15 employees to 5 and extends the filing window from 300 days to two years. Any business with five or more employees for each working day in 20 or more calendar weeks is now covered for every prohibited practice — not just discharge. Here is the 20-week counting rule, a seven-step compliance checklist, and the payroll and retention records an investigator asks for first.
New Jersey's New ABC Test Regulations Take Effect October 1, 2026: What Businesses Hiring Contractors Must Prove
New Jersey's ABC test regulations become operative October 1, 2026, clarifying that every worker is an employee unless you prove freedom from control, work outside your usual course or places of business, and an independently established trade — learn the three prongs, five common mistakes, and a pre-deadline audit checklist.
The DOL Wants to Simplify Independent Contractor Classification: What the Proposed Two-Factor Test Means for Small Businesses That Hire Freelancers
The DOL's February 2026 proposal would replace the six-factor totality test with a weighted two-factor standard focused on control and opportunity for profit or loss — here is how it works, what still depends on state law, and a checklist to audit your freelancer relationships now.
The Accountant Shortage in 2026: Why 120,000 Openings, a 77% Shortage Index, and Rising Pay Define Hiring
BLS projects 120K+ accounting openings yearly while CPA pipeline shrinks — 77% shortage index, 134% hiring index, and why firms are rethinking pay and pathways.
California Pay Data Reporting Due May 13, 2026: What SB 464 Changes for Employers With 100+ Workers
Pay data reports for 2025 due May 13 2026 — 100+ employee employers must file pay, demographic and new work-pattern data with CRD; SB 464 adds 23 job categories from 2027.
HRA Council 2026: ICHRA Adoption Up 34% at Large Employers and 52% at Small — Family Premiums Hit $26,993
HRA Council: ALE ICHRA adoption up 34%, small employer up 52%, ~1M covered lives, $26,993 family premium strain — what 2026 means for defined contribution.