Tax Consequences of Bonuses
Bonuses paid in consideration for services rendered are almost always taxable wages subject to income tax withholding, FICA, and FUTA. These include production, incentive, and nondeferred profit sharing bonuses.
The Internal Revenue Service has also ruled that bonuses paid to employees for signing or ratifying an employment contract are considered wages subject to FICA, FUTA, and income tax withholding. In addition, a bonus paid to an employee for the cancellation of an employment contract is also considered wages subject to employment taxes and income tax withholding.
Gift Cards and Gift Certificates
If an employer gives its employees $35 gift cards—for example, to the grocery store or a shopping mall—the gift will be treated as income and is subject to payroll taxes and withholding, along with the rest of the employees’ income.
Many employers are in violation of this rule, especially around the holidays, because they assume the gift falls under the de minimis rule. De minimis fringe benefits are not taxable, because they are not considered cash. So, for example, if a company gives its employees a coupon specifically for a free turkey or a ham at a particular store during the holiday season, this falls under the de minimis rule and is not taxable.
However, gift certificates that can be used like cash do not fall under the de minimis exception. If the employer gives its employees a $25 gift card to the same store, but not specifically for a turkey or ham, the gift card is taxable as income.
Tech workers? Always a compensation challenge, but we’ve got proven techniques. Join us April 23 for BLR’s new Compensation Strategies for Tech Workers: Best Practices for Motivating and Retaining Talent webinar. Practical, field-tested approaches. Guaranteed. Get info here.
FMLA and Bonuses
The 2009 final Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) regulations state that employees on FMLA leave are not entitled to any bonus or payment, whether it is discretionary or nondiscretionary, when the bonus or other payment is based on the achievement of a specified goal such as hours worked, products sold, or perfect attendance, even though the employee has not met the goal due to FMLA leave.
Employers, however, may deny such payment only if employees on an equivalent leave status (non-FMLA leave) are also denied bonus and incentive payments.
Bonuses—an important part of retention, and especially important with tech workers. What are the current best practices and best strategies for motivating and retaining those always-ready-to-move-on tech specialist?
Good news! There’s a timely webinar that addresses just that question.
Even during the past few years of a down economy, employers tell us that they are struggling to fill technical positions. Unfortunately, the need for tech talent—engineers, scientists, project managers, and more—still outpaces supply.
And tech workers play by different career rules and goals than other employees do. As a compensation professional, you need to be sure your compensation practices for tech talent are as innovative as possible. If not, you’re in danger of losing your top talent to your competitors.
Fortunately there’s timely help in the form of BLR’s new webinar—Compensation Strategies for Tech Workers: Best Practices for Motivating and Retaining Talent. In just 90 minutes, you’ll learn the practical, field-tested approaches that work. Register today for this interactive webinar, and learn how to keep the feds and the attorneys at bay and your organization in compliance.
Tech workers looking to bolt? If you’re worried about tech workers taking off, you’re not alone. What to do? Attend BLR’s Compensation Strategies for Tech Workers: Best Practices for Motivating and Retaining Talent webinar, and find out. Click here to find out more.
Recertification Credit
This program has been approved for 1.5 recertification credit hours toward PHR and SPHR recertification through the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI).
Participate in this interactive webinar and you’ll learn:
- Why your technical staffers don’t think about their jobs the same way your other workers do—and what that means for your compensation policies and practices
- How to develop tech compensation strategies that are externally competitive yet internally motivating
- The best ways to gauge your demand for specific types of technical skills as you set compensation levels
- The pros and cons of adding skill premiums into base salaries for tech workers versus using separate salary supplements or bonuses
- What’s working these days with tech compensation beyond base salaries—from incentive pay to benefits and rewards/recognitions
- Key non-cash factors that you must incorporate into your tech compensation program, from job autonomy to professional development opportunities
- How to balance individual and team compensation options with tech employees
- And much more …
Register now for this event risk-free.
Compensation Strategies for Tech Workers: Best Practices for Motivating and Retaining Talent
Monday, April 23, 2012
10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (PST)
11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (MST)
12:30 to 2:00 p.m. (CST)
1:30 to 3:00 p.m. (EST)
Join us on April 23—you’ll get the in-depth Compensation Strategies for Tech Workers: Best Practices for Motivating and Retaining Talent webinar AND you’ll get all of your particular questions answered by our experts.
Train Your Entire Staff
As with all BLR/HRhero webinars:
- One fee trains all the staff you can fit around a conference phone
- You can get your (and their) specific phoned-in or emailed questions answered in Q&A sessions that follow each segment of the presentation
- Your satisfaction is assured or you get a full refund
What if you can’t attend on that date? Pre-order the conference CD. For more information on the conference and the experts presenting it, to register, or to pre-order the CD, click here. We’ll be happy to make the arrangements.
Why You Can Sign Up to Attend This Event with Confidence
As with all BLR/HRhero products, you’re completely protected. If, for any reason, you are unsatisfied with this webinar, simply let us know, and we will return your entire registration fee. 