personnel

  • Beware of a stealth tax on Social Security benefits

    Some people mistakenly believe that Social Security benefits are always free from federal income tax. Unfortunately, that’s often not the case. In fact, depending on how much overall income you have, up to 85% of your benefits could be hit with federal income tax.

  • Cost containment: An important health care benefits objective for businesses

    As the Fed continues to do battle with inflation, and with fears of a recession not quite going away, companies have been keeping a close eye on the costs of their health insurance and pharmacy coverage.

  • Education benefits help attract, retain and motivate your employees

    One popular fringe benefit is an education assistance program that allows employees to continue learning and perhaps earn a degree with financial assistance from their employers. One way to attract, retain and motivate employees is to provide education fringe benefits so that team members can improve their skills and gain additional knowledge. An employee can receive, on a tax-free basis, up to $5,250 each year from his or her employer under a “qualified educational assistance program.”

  • Employers should be wary of ERC claims that are too good to be true

    The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) was a valuable tax credit that helped employers that kept workers on staff during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the credit is no longer available, eligible employers that haven’t yet claimed it might still be able to do so by filing amended payroll returns for tax years 2020 and 2021.

  • It’s possible (but not easy) to claim a medical expense tax deduction

    One of your New Year’s resolutions may be to pay more attention to your health. Of course, that may cost you. Can you deduct your out-of-pocket medical costs on your tax return? It depends. Many expenses are tax deductible, but there are several requirements and limitations that make it difficult for many taxpayers to actually claim a deduction.

  • Supreme Court: Overtime rules still apply to highly compensated employees

    If you were told someone earns more than $200,000 annually, you might assume the person is a salaried employee who’s ineligible for overtime pay. However, as demonstrated in the recent U.S. Supreme Court case of Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. v. Hewitt, this isn’t always a safe assumption.