Payroll

Updated June 2021 U.S. Payroll Taxes — The Taxes No One Expects…  While everyone is well aware of the impact of business income taxes, the sleeping giant of payroll taxes (also known as employment taxes or trust fund taxes) often catches business owners and employees by surprise. This guide will give you an overview of […]

This is the US version of our small business tax guide for sole proprietors. For the Canadian version, click here. February 2019 Update: The tax brackets for individuals have changed. Be sure that you’re filing and paying accordingly. The standard deduction has also nearly doubled, meaning that in many cases you can skip itemizing and […]

In order to ensure a stress-free wrap-up of your fiscal year, we’ve outlined eight steps that will work for anyone — whether you’re a payroll DIYer, working with your accountant or bookkeeper — or using payroll software to manage your company’s payroll.

Canadian tax laws for tips and gratuities impact businesses the service, hospitality or restaurant industries. As an employer, you’re affected when it comes to reporting tips and gratuities as income through the process of running payroll. 

A Social Insurance Number (SIN) is a 9-digit form of identification that every individual residing and/or working in Canada must have in order to access government benefits, file income taxes and, most importantly, get paid. (Through the fate of acronyms, SIN also sounds a bit biblical.) A short timeline of the SIN. 1964 — SINs were […]

Unlike the provincial motto, “Gloriosus et liber” meaning “glorious and free,” there are very few things that are free when you own and/or operate a business in Manitoba. Enter the Health and Post-Secondary Education Tax Levy (HE Levy or HAPSET). What is the HE Levy? According to Information Bulletin HE 002, the HE Levy is a […]

You would think that once an employee has been let go, that would be that. But payroll is never just that simple. It’s not at all uncommon for employees to be paid after what was supposed to have been their final paycheck and after a Record of Employment has been issued. From the employee perspective, […]

Like most payroll topics, there is no one easy answer. Generally, you are lost in a world of ‘choose your own adventure’ stories. On a good day, you can call some legislative agencies several times and get a different answer from each representative with whom you speak. To say this is frustrating is an understatement. […]

As much as you want to avoid turnover as a business owner, a certain amount of attrition is to be expected in any company. When an employee leaves your company, thus ending their employment, you are required to administer a final payroll. The final pay will be your employee’s last form of compensation from your […]

Most enforcement of government payroll regulation is reactive, initiated by an employee complaint. Similarly, while the possible penalties for non-compliance can theoretically be severe – including potential jail sentences – such penalties are rarely, if ever, imposed. However, there is one area of government regulation where significant penalties, at least financial ones, are actively and regularly […]

The myriad of responsibilities an employer has to deal with can be quite overwhelming, but unfortunately, government agencies do not look kindly upon mistakes, even those made unknowingly. One such employer responsibility is the act of submitting a New Hire report to the designated agency in your state. Fortunately for you, New Hire reporting is […]

Double Overtime is relevant to your company if any of the following applies, You’re a California, US-based company You’re a British Columbia, Canada based company You have employees who work in either of the above locations If none of the above applies to your business, you don’t have to worry about double overtime. You only […]

A simple and straightforward payroll looks at an employee’s gross annual or hourly pay rate, divides it by the frequency of your payroll and then applies the necessary Federal, State and Local taxes. This final amount is the net income that gets deposited into your employee’s bank account.  Occasionally though, you’ll need to go beyond […]

Few things are more contentious than disagreements over employee work schedules. Does the employer have the right to determine how many hours employees will work or request mandatory overtime? Are there thresholds past which employees can’t be made to work, with or without their consent? To answer these questions, we first have to recognize three […]

This blog post is written for Canadian businesses. U.S.-based companies should refer to How to Structure Paid Time Off Plans Like a Pro. Small business owners have a decision to make when it comes to Vacation Pay. As delightful as vacations can be, the complexities of vacation payroll can sometimes leave you wishing for a vacation […]