Blog: Payroll

The key areas of worker classification focus on determining whether a person providing services to a business is an employee or an independent contractor - and within those categories, how they are further classified for legal, tax, and benefit purposes.

The Six Key Areas of Worker Classification Include:

Defining Employee vs. Independent Contractor

This is the most critical and common classification question, so here are some definitions:

Employees:

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Payroll:
About Employee Business Expense Reimbursements3/15/2026

Employers must have a reimbursement or allowance arrangement in place to reimburse employees for eligible expenses incurred on behalf of the company.

A reimbursement or allowance arrangement is a system by which an employer substantiates and pays the advances, reimbursements, and charges for its employees' business expenses.

How a reimbursement or allowance amount is reported depends on whether the employer has an accountable or a non-accountable plan.

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Payroll:
Totalization Agreements3/3/2026

If a company has employees who are required to live and work in a country other than the United States, the taxation for social security changes.

The employee may be covered by what is known as a totalization agreement or a binational social security agreement. The Payroll Department has to understand how these agreements came about, how they work and how to interpret the requirements in order to process the employee's taxation.

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Payroll:
Withholding On Nonresident Aliens3/2/2026

Foreign nationals authorized to work in the United States are classified as either residents or nonresident aliens for U.S. taxation purposes.

The distinction between these two classifications of workers is very important. As with U.S. citizens, resident aliens are taxed on their worldwide income. However, nonresident aliens are taxed only on their U.S. source income.

Salaries, wages, bonuses, or any other pay for personal services (referred ...

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Payroll:
How To Calculate Garnishments3/1/2026

There are two basic steps to determine how much to withhold for child support from an employee's income: calculating disposable income and calculating allowable disposable income. Each is described below.

Disposable Income = gross pay - mandatory deductions

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Payroll:
Types Of Payroll Taxes2/27/2026

When determining the taxation of wages for an employee on the state level and the requirements for the employer concerning withholding, depositing, and reporting of such taxes, the following areas should be addressed:

Income Tax 41 states require state income tax (SIT) to be withheld from employees' wages. Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming do not have state income tax. The federal Form W-4 (discussed in

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Payroll:
HR Generalist’s Guide to Payroll, PTO, and Wage & Hour Compliance2/22/2026

Introduction

In the intricate ecosystem of modern business, the HR Generalist stands as the central hub where policy meets practice. It is a role defined by its versatility, requiring a seamless shift from recruitment strategies to conflict resolution, and from benefits administration to legal compliance. However, few areas demand as much precision—and carry as much risk—as the convergence of payroll, paid time off (PTO), and wage and hour compliance.

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Payroll:
Why Payroll Knowledge Is Critical for HR Generalists2/22/2026

Introduction

In the competitive landscape of modern recruitment, salary might get a candidate's attention, but benefits are often what seals the deal. For the HR Generalist, benefits administration is a colossal responsibility that sits at the intersection of employee satisfaction, financial strategy, and rigorous legal compliance. It is not enough to simply hand out brochures during orientation; today's HR ...

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Payroll:
About Multi-State Taxation2/19/2026

Employees who live in one state but work in another can create withholding problems and questions for the Payroll Department. In general, if an employee lives and works in two different states, the employer must withhold taxes for the state where the services are performed. However, while an employer generally has to follow this rule, it also has to consider the withholding requirements of the ...

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Payroll:
Payroll Rules For Personal Use Of A Company Vehicle2/14/2026

A common benefit in many U.S. companies today is the use of a company owned vehicle. However, though a common benefit, an employee's personal use of such a company owned and provided vehicle is generally a taxable fringe benefit and the taxation regulations can be extremely complex. The taxable benefit amount, which is subject to full federal ...

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Payroll:
Multi-State Payroll Taxation9/21/2025

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