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It Pay$
To Know
May, 2006
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Chicago Chapter
American Payroll Association
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P. O. Box 836 – Chicago, IL 60690 – (773) 631-8480
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Notes from
Our Board
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A Note from our
President Is it
already May? I see daffodils and
tulips popping out of the ground.
Spring is here and I for one can’t wait for the warmer weather and
longer days. Spring gives us more
energy and time to work on projects.
The board is working on Chapter Meetings, APA Congress, Illinois
Statewide, and the Holiday Party.
Right now we are busy putting classes and speakers together for the 13th
Annual Illinois Statewide Conference.
The conference will be held on September 20-22. Mark your calendars. More details will follow shortly. We have
also completed this year’s CPP and FPC classes. Good Luck to those that are sitting for the exam, let us know
how you did. To those that have
thought about taking the test; Make a commitment to yourself to study and
take the test. Be it this year or
next year, be committed to do something for you. For those planning ahead APA has two
new events for NPW, (National Payroll Week). The first annual “Money Matters” National Educational Day is
September 8th. A goal for
NPW is to share payroll knowledge with the youth around the nation. For those working with youth groups or in
school districts let’s see if we can’t bring this knowledge to them. The other event is called “NPW
Supporter.” Any company that helps
spread the NPW message will be given the designation of an “NPW Supporter”
and recognized on www.nationalpayrollweek.com. More information on these two events can
be found at the above website.
Enjoy the spring weather
and the longer days. It is not what
we have, but what we enjoy that constitutes our happiness. Enjoy your happiness, Chris
O’Hara, CPP President,
Chicago Chapter |
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March Meeting |
March Meeting We hope
those that attended our March 9th meeting on Payroll Accounting
and Amending Forms W-2 & 941 found the meeting
informative and educational. Special
thanks to our two presenters; member Sharon Goldsand, CPA, CPP from Elgin
School District and Gwenella Blackshire from the IRS. During the meeting a question was raised by one of our
members. Gwenella Blackshire has
researched the question and here is the response she asked that we share with
you all. Q: If you
receive a lock-in letter and the employee no longer works for you, what do
you do? A: You must send a written response to the IRS office designated in the lock-in letter indicating that the employee is no longer employed by you. Additional information relating
to the W-4 Form can be found at: http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=139412,00.html Also, a big thank you to those who attended
the meeting. Through your donations
to split the pot the chapter was able to donate $40 to the Y-Me Breast Cancer
Campaign. Amy Czech, CPP and Kim
Childress, CPP were the other lucky winners.
Thanks to Katie Staffeldt, CPP and Linda Lowe, CPP for taking care of
this event. |
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June Meeting |
Next
Meeting - June 8, 2006 - Thursday Morning 8:30 AM - 12:00 Noon Four Outstanding Speakers
provided by Fidelity Institutional
Retirement Services Company. Where: Information
Resources, 150 N. Clinton, Downtown Chicago Special Event: Bring along your Benefits Representative
and your name will be entered into a raffle. Reserve your space today!
Call the Chapter Helpline at: (773) 631-8480 or send your email
correspondence to:chicago_chapter_apa@hotmail.com. The cost
to attend the meeting is $10.00 for members of the Chicago Chapter and $15.00
for non-members |
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24th Annual Congress |
24th Annual
Congress Will you
be attending the 24th Annual Congress in Orlando, Florida? Have you booked the hotel? Made the
travel arrangements? Have you
planned your agenda? Checked it twice? Good. Whether you are attending for the first
time, or have attended in the past, as the event draws closer, the
anticipation grows. The Chicago
Chapter officers would like to share in your Congress experience. Christine
O’Hara, CPP (President) and Mary Kazmierczak, CPP (Vice-President) welcome
the opportunity to meet you in Orlando. We are coordinating a get together at
the Disney Boardwalk, the evening of Sunday May 21, 2006. If you
are attending and would like to join your fellow chapter members for some
networking, send your RSVP to chicago_chapter_apa@hotmail.com
, include contact information so we can forward you confirmation and details.
RSVP by May 8, 2006. We look
forward to sharing our Chapter Spirit in Florida. |
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13th Annual
Illinois Statewide Payroll Conference
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13th
Annual Illinois Statewide Payroll Conference Make your reservations early! Vendor Information - Dennis Washington, CPP, 847/291-5750 |
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News on our Members |
Member
News The
chapter would like to start a new section of our newsletter. We realize that as payroll professionals
we don’t always like to ‘toot’ our own horns but now you have the
opportunity. Have you had something
important happen to you that you would like to share? New Job, Award, Marriage
Proposal, New Baby? Share the news
with your fellow members. Congratulations to our own Dennis Washington, CPP
and Chapter Government Liaison! He
has been chosen as one of Lane Hotel’s 2005 most outstanding employees. He will be attending a special ceremony
at Lane’s 2006 General Manager’s Conference. |
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2006 CPP and FPC Review Classes |
2006 CPP and FPC Exam We have heard from several of our
Review Class attendees on passing the exam.
Congratulations to the following: ¶ Linda Aldrich, CPP ¶ Lisa Boyd, CPP ¶ Dawn Cerrito, FPC ¶ Colleen Hanson FPC ¶ Scott Holley, CPP ¶ Orjuana
Johnson, CPP ¶ Kay Kazlowski, CPP ¶ Josie Lash, FPC ¶ Cheryl Lewis, FPC ¶ Matt O’Hart, CPP ¶ Joanne Panno FPC ¶ Karyn Rhoades, CPP ¶ Tina Sonsalla, CPP |
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2006 Dues |
Annual Membership Dues Membership fees for the
2006 calendar year are due by January 31, 2006. If you have already paid
your dues, thank you. Dues for 2006
will be $40.00. Remember, your dues cover
such items as postage, invitations, the website, telephone hotline for those
tough questions, post office box, CPP and FPC pins, career development and
networking with great people. Please mail the completed
attached form and your check, made payable to the Chicago Chapter APA, to the
Chicago Chapter, PO Box 836, Chicago, IL 60690-0836. A membership form is also
available at our website: www.chicagopayroll.com We are excited this year
to announce a special referral program!
A “referred by” section has been added to the membership form. Each time a new membership (anyone who was
not a member in 2005) indicates that they were referred by you; your name
will be added to a drawing. The
drawing will be held at our Holiday Party for a $ 50 Gift Certificate. |
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Government Updates |
FAQs regarding Form W-4
from http://www.irs.gov/gov Frequently asked questions and
answers are provided for general information only and should not be cited as
any type of legal authority. They are designed to provide the
user with information required to respond to general inquiries. Due to the
uniqueness and complexities of Federal tax law, it is imperative to ensure a
full understanding of the specific question presented, and to perform the
requisite research to ensure a correct response is provided. Q: Can employees change their Forms W-4 in mid-year to
increase their withholding exemptions, even though their marital status and
number of dependents have not changed? For example, an employee revises his
Form W-4 to increase his exemptions from three to nine or repeatedly changes
his Form W-4. A:
No. Every
employee must furnish to the employer a signed withholding exemption
certificate (Form W-4) on or before the date of employment. The Form W-4 must
indicate the employee's marital status and the number of withholding
exemptions claimed. This number should not exceed the number to which the
employee is entitled. A married employee can claim an exemption for a spouse
only if the spouse does not have in effect a Form W-4 claiming his or her own
exemption. Code section 3402(f)(1)(B). If the employee fails to provide a
Form W-4, the employer must withhold as if the individual were single with no
withholding exemptions. Section 31.3402(f)(2)1(a), Employment Tax Regulations. Publication
505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax, provides detailed instructions for
completing Form W-4. Pub. 505 and
Pub. 919 provide information about determining the correct amount of income
tax withholding. Employees
may amend their forms W-4 if their situations change. Some of the reasons to
add an exemption would be if an employee gets married (provided the spouse
does not work and claim his or her own exemption) or if a child is born or
adopted. Section 31.3402(f)(2)-1(b), Employment Tax Regulations. The
purpose of completing the Form W-4 is to have the right amount of tax
withheld. Sometimes this cannot be done simply by claiming an exemption for
each member of a family. The employee may be entitled to additional
withholding allowances, as provided in the regulations. Code section 3402(m),
section 31.3402(m)1. For instance,
the employee might have deductions and credits which will significantly
reduce taxable income. To benefit from extra allowances, the employee must
have in effect with the employer a Form W-4 claiming additional allowances. The
employee may also be entitled to fewer exemptions or need to have additional
tax withheld if, for instance, the employee has additional sources of income,
such as self-employment or investment income. Form W-4 is also used to
authorize additional withholding. See Publication 919. Any
unauthorized change or addition to a Form W-4 makes it invalid. This includes
taking out the language by which the employee certifies that the form is
correct. A Form W-4 is also invalid if, by the date an employee gives it to
the employer, he or she indicates in any way that it is false. An employee
who files a false Form W-4 may be subject to a $500 penalty.
An employer should not knowingly use an invalid Form W-4 to calculate
withholding. The employer should tell the employee it is invalid and ask
for another one. If the employee does not provide a valid one, the employer
should withhold taxes as if the employee were single and claiming no
withholding allowances. However, if a prior Form W-4 is in effect with
respect to the employee, the employer should continue to withhold in
accordance with the prior form. Sections 31.3402(f)(2)-1(e) and
31.3402(f)(5)-1(b), Employment Tax Regulations.. Q: Employees sometimes claim
exemption from withholding on their Forms W-4. What are the applicable rules? A: An employer is
not required to deduct and withhold income tax upon payment of wages to an
employee if the employee has filed a valid certificate of exemption from withholding.
An employee may claim exemption from income tax withholding if he or she (1)
had no income tax liability last year and (2) expects to have no tax
liability this year. Code
section 3402(n). See the Form W-4 instructions for more information. An employee
must submit a Form W-4 to the employer each year by February 15th to claim
exemption from withholding. If the employee does not provide a new Form W-4,
the employer must withhold tax as if the employee were single with zero
withholding allowances. Beginning with the first quarter
of 2005,
employers are no longer required to submit certain copies of Form W-4 to the
IRS. The IRS has developed a new process to more effectively identify workers
with withholding compliance problems.
In cases where problems are identified, the employer will receive a
written notice from the IRS with specific instructions for withholding on the
affected employee. Minimum
Wage Laws in the States - March 1, 2006 www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm Login in to the web
link and click on any state or jurisdiction to find out about applicable
minimum wage laws. |
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IRS Training Opportunity |
Internal Revenue
Service Free Phone Forums There’s still time to join the Internal
Revenue Service instructors from the convenience of your office or home to
participate in free Phone Forums for industry groups and businesses. Each Phone Forum is designed to last
approximately one hour. The last
forum is scheduled for Wednesday, June 6th at 11:30 a.m. Central
(12:30 p.m. Eastern). The topic is Tip Reporting Requirements. Learn how to take the mystery out of tip reporting. Ross Hirst, Senior Stakeholder Liaison
with Internal Revenue Service, will provide a comprehensive guide for
employers and employees on how to correctly report tip income. This session will help identify
recordkeeping and tip reporting procedures. Following presentation, there will be a question and answer session. Registration at www.attevent.com is necessary to ensure enough telephone lines are available. (Use Access Code: 525547) During registration, you will be assigned a Personal Identification Number (PIN) during registration that will be used in order to join the conference. If you have not created a profile with AT&T previously, you will need to create a profile prior to registering for this forum. A few days before the
phone forum, all registrants will receive a reminder e-mail with the
toll-free call-in number and any handouts for the session. If you have questions or need further
information, please contact phone.forum@irs.gov. |
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2006 Chapter Events |
2006 Events Monthly Meetings August: National Payroll
Week Celebration Meeting November: Preparing
for Year End Special Events 24th Annual
Congress May 21 – 25 Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Hotels Orlando, FL 13th Annual
Illinois Statewide Hosted by the Chicago Chapter September 20 – 22 Marriott Northwest Hoffman Estates, IL Chicago Chapter Holiday
Party November 17 Wellington Arlington Heights, IL |
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Charity Events |
Other Chapters Making News The North Carolina State Chapter
of the APA is sponsoring an eBay auction to benefit the Duke Children's Hospital
in Durham, NC. The auction will be
held from May 28th - June 4th under the eBay seller ID of nonprofit_helper. All members are invited to log
onto eBay during this time period and check out the items available. There are several items available for auction,
as well as, quite a few items in the 'Buy It Now' category. We need everyone's help to make this a
successful fundraiser for the patients at Duke Children's Hospital. Jackie K. Forlines, Treasurer NCAPA |
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Our Website gets a
Spring Makeover Have you
had a chance to visit the chapter’s web site lately, www.chicagopayroll.com
? You’ll notice a big change. The site has been completely revised
using the most current trends in web graphics and formats. A big thanks to Hank Mazik, CPP, the
Chapter’s Treasurer and Web Master for all his efforts and time in creating
this web site. When reviewing the
website be sure to check out the “In the News" section for detail information
regarding IRS topics and news. The IRS offers phone forums on various topics. Also, check out the Job Postings. We have been receiving a steady flow of
job opportunities. |
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Join Us
Membership Application
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1. Complete all required information on this form |
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2. Print it out |
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3. $40.00 check payable to "Chicago Chapter, American Payroll Association" |
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4. Mail to: |
Chicago Chapter,
American Payroll Association
P.O. Box 836
Chicago, IL 60690-0836
(Please allow 5 days for mail delivery)
Questions? (773)
631-8480
chicago_chapter_apa@hotmail.com
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Registration Form
for June Meeting
TO REGISTER, PLEASE TYPE IN THE REQUIRED INFORMATION, PRINT OUT & MAIL WITH YOUR PAYMENT.