Tax Blog

For companies that have implemented employee layoffs in the past several years and made severance payments to terminated employees, the prospect of eligibility for federal tax refunds for any FICA taxes withheld from such payments took another step forward with the Sixth Circuit’s January 4th denial of the government’s petition for rehearing en banc in United States v. Quality Stores (Civil No. 10-1563, 6th Cir. 2012).

The rehearing petition was filed after a government loss in September of last year in which the appellate court affirmed a lower court’s decision that ...

The IRS released Notice 1036 to assist employer’s with determining the payroll tax consequences of the fiscal cliff.

2013 Withholding Tables. Notice 1036 includes the 2013 Percentage Method Tables for Income Tax Withholding. Employers should implement the 2013 withholding tables as soon as possible, but not later than February 15, 2013. Employers can use the 2012 withholding tables until they implement the 2013 withholding tables.

Social Security Tax. For 2013, the employee tax rate for social security increases to 6.2%. The social security wage base limit increases to ...