#payroll
Payroll management, processing, and compliance for businesses of all sizes
The Fair Labor Standards Act has no employee-count trigger — enterprise coverage begins at $500,000 in annual gross sales, and individual coverage can apply well below it. Here is what changes at the threshold, the five obligations it imposes, and a seven-step checklist to run before an investigator calls.
Under 29 CFR 778.114, a fixed salary can compensate all hours worked, so overtime costs only a half-time premium — $80 instead of $300 on a 50-hour week at an $800 salary. This guide covers the math, the five conditions, the 2020 rule on bonuses, and the state-law bans in Alaska, California, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania.
OBBBA Section 70113 permanently repealed the moving expense deduction and the tax-free employer reimbursement for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025 — every relocation dollar, including payments made directly to vendors, is now supplemental wages, with exceptions only for active-duty military PCS moves and intelligence community personnel.
Three federal posters — FLSA, OSHA 3165, and EPPA — apply to nearly every private employer, while the EEO "Know Your Rights" notice kicks in at 15 employees and FMLA at 50. Every one is free from the government, and DOL guidance lets fully remote teams satisfy the continuous-posting rule electronically.
Bringing staff back on-site changes payroll tax, benefits, and deductions at once. For 2026 the Section 132(f) exclusions are $340/month each for transit/vanpool and qualified parking, saving employers about 7.65% of every pre-tax dollar; W-2 employees can no longer deduct home-office costs, so route equipment through an accountable plan instead.
For 2026 the Section 129 dependent care exclusion rises from $5,000 to $7,500 and Section 127 student loan repayment becomes permanent, so an employer can move up to $12,750 per employee outside wages. This guide covers the written-plan and nondiscrimination rules, which W-2 boxes each benefit lands in — all dependent care in Box 10, excludable educational assistance nowhere — and the seven errors that turn a tax-free benefit into taxable wages.
An SSA no-match (EDCOR) letter means a W-2's name and SSN don't match SSA's records — and more than 70% of flagged records belong to native-born U.S. citizens. Here's the four-step employer response, the five actions that trigger INA discrimination liability, and the 2026 IRS penalty tiers of $60, $130, and $340 per incorrect return.
A January 1 payroll cutover is the cleanest one because a single provider owns all four Forms 941, the Form 940, and every W-2 — but it takes roughly twelve weeks of prep. This checklist covers the October-to-January timeline, the year-to-date and fringe-benefit data that must migrate, Form 8655 authorization and revocation, and the five handoff mistakes that generate IRS notices.
Employers can contribute up to $2,500 per employee per year to a child's Trump Account tax-free and report it in W-2 Box 12 under the new Code TA, debuting on 2026 forms. This guide covers the written Section 128 plan, the per-employee (not per-child) cap, the $5,000 aggregate per-child limit, cafeteria-plan salary reductions for dependents only, Section 129-style nondiscrimination testing, and the payroll and account-verification controls that keep the benefit out of taxable wages.
There is no federal pay-frequency law — states set the floor, and Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont and New York are the strictest. Biweekly covers roughly 36–43 percent of private businesses, brings two three-paycheck months a year and a 27th payday in 2026; semimonthly's 24 uneven periods never align with the 7-day FLSA workweek that governs overtime.
2026 has 27 biweekly paydays for many employers, adding about 3.85% to annual salaried payroll cost. Here is how to choose between dividing salary by 27 and paying the extra check, how to handle health, 401(k) and HSA deductions in the extra period, and what to budget for employer taxes at the $184,500 Social Security wage base.
For 2026 the section 402(g) elective deferral limit is $24,500 per person ($32,500 with the age-50 catch-up, $35,750 at ages 60 to 63), aggregated across every 401(k), 403(b), SIMPLE IRA and SARSEP you contribute to in the year. An excess not refunded with earnings by April 15 is taxed twice, once as wages in the contribution year and again on distribution. Steps include totaling W-2 Box 12 deferrals, notifying the plan in writing, reading 1099-R codes P and 8, and capping payroll after a mid-year job change.
