Jeepers, its been a year since my last post! I realized my hiadous started when my second child went mobile (parents know what that means...). Time to get back at it.
Fiscal Cliff !!! Yes its an overplayed term, but here's what is likely to happen...
Since its December 22nd and Congress is vacationing for the holiday, there are only two likely outcomes that will happen upon their return: #1. No deal by Jan 1 or #2. A short term fix to be adjusted in 2013.
Either of these paths mean a pain in the rear for small business owners trying to manage payroll.
For those managing payroll in-house using software, you'll likely have to perform a download of the tax tables that will be used starting Jan.1. If the download doesn't work, then you'll have to spend time with customer service. Hopefully service is state-side and they have a large team because if the download didn't work for you it didn't work for others.
You will have to do this twice - because there will again likely be adjustments at some point in Jan/Feb, maybe even March and the adjustments to the income tax tables or payroll tax holiday will likely be retoractive for some tax payers (maybe some or all of your employees).
What my clients are telling me...
I'm hearing owners and managers who have done payroll in-house for years finally consider outsourcing because they don't have the time to spend dealing with these adjustments and making sure they are correct. Obviously incorrect payroll tax calculations = fines and penalties.
It seems outsourcing payroll is a viable plan for the next six months to a year for even the most 'anti-outsourcing' small business owners, at least until we get some stability in the tax code.
