2025 Year-End Newsletter

Check pay dates are adjusted for bank holidays and courier service is rescheduled when the SimpleHR office is closed. Review holiday memos you receive from your Payroll Coordinator for the adjusted processing and delivery schedules for these closures and holidays.

Invoice ACH drafts are pulled the day before your check date. If your check date is changed, then the ACH will pull from your account the day before the check date. Bank holidays are not included in a draft day. Example: Check date is Tuesday following a Monday holiday. The invoice draft will pull from your account on the Friday before with the payroll being processed on Thursday.

Important Deadlines and W-2 Information

• Void Checks
  • Any 2025 payroll check that may have been issued in error, and you are holding, needs to be VOIDED through the SimpleHR payroll system. Return these checks to your Payroll Coordinator no later than Friday, December 12, 2025.
• Uncashed Checks
  • Any checks that have not been received and/or picked up by an employee MUST be returned to SimpleHR by December 12, 2025. The law requires us to attempt to deliver payment to the employee for those earnings or submit them to the state.
• Bonus Payments
  • Any bonus payments you may be issuing need to be submitted by December 12, 2025, so that your Payroll Coordinator may properly allot time to process these additional checks. Payments can be processed and dated for a later date, up to December 31, 2025, as long as they are captured for 2025. SimpleHR can not process same day checks, so please plan ahead to ensure any special bonus checks can be issued as needed.
    
    Be aware of the current 401(k) limits when electing to put bonus money into your 401(k). The annual limit for 2025 is $23,500 with a catch-up contribution of $7,500 for individuals age 50 and older. You want to be sure that you do not exceed the annual limit; otherwise, you may face tax implications.
• Employee Addresses
  • Address changes for W-2s need to be turned in by January 2, 2026. Active employees can make an address change request on the Employee Self Service (ESS) app or web portal.
• 2025 W-2s
  • All W-2s will be mailed no later than February 2, 2026, as required by law. We will be using the same service we used for our 2024 W-2s. They provide a number of services that are beneficial to our clients and employees:
  • Automatic W-2 upload to TurboTax
  • Automatic W-2 upload to H&R Block
  • W-2 Hotline for reprint services
  • Online W-2 access for terminated employees (active employees have access through the SimpleHR Employee Self Service (ESS) app or web portal)
  • Integrated Post Office address updates (for employees with active forwards through USPS)
  • Optional alternate mailing address update
  • H&R Block services discount (see coupon with W-2 Form for details)
• Tipped Social Security Wages
  • Tipped Social Security Wages are located in Box 7 on the W-2 Form. Tipped Social Security wages that employees received during the year are reported in Box 7 and must be added together with taxable Social Security Wages in Box 3 for the total amount of Social Security taxable wages. Box 5 contains the total Medicare taxable earnings.
• W-4 Exempt Filing
  • Employees filing 'exempt' for federal purposes in 2025 will need to file a new W-4 by February 15, 2026 to keep their 'exempt' status for 2026. Anyone who does not file a new W-4 will be changed to single and zero for withholding purposes. SimpleHR will send out a letter to those employees requesting a new W-4 Form.
• W-4 Form
  • SimpleHR cannot accept invalid W-4 Forms for 2026 and in the future. You must submit a current W-4 Form that has NOT been tampered with by an employee (i.e. strike outs or additional information written in). When an invalid Form is received by SimpleHR, we enter the employee as single and zero until we receive a corrected form.
• W-4 Filing Status
  • IRS regulation suggests that as employers we should remind our employees that they may need to amend their current W-4. Employees may have changes that could affect their filing status for 2026. Examples of a change could be marriage, divorce, or children. There are tools online to help in making a more accurate decision when completing a W-4 Form. The Tax Withholding Estimator can be found on www.irs.gov and a W-4 Calculator on www.paycheckcity.com. There is also a "Paycheck Checkup" on the IRS website at www.irs.gov/paycheck-checkup. If the employee has any questions, you can refer them to those websites, a tax accountant or the IRS.
• Taxable Fringe Benefits or Additional Payments
  • Taxable Fringe Benefits or Additional Payments must be reported to your SimpleHR Payroll Coordinator by December 12, 2025. It is important that these earnings are reported so that proper withholdings can take place and/or that they be included on the W-2. Examples of Taxable Fringes that may need to be reported are: Personal Use of Company Car; Group Term Life; Third Party Sick Pay. Examples of additional pay are: gift certificates/cards/awards that you may have issued, any taxable reimbursed amounts for gas, etc. that are not covered under an accountable plan or mileage amount that was paid over the IRS limit of 70 cents for 2025.
• Pay Rate Changes
  • Any pay increases for the first payday in January 2026 will need to be submitted by noon on the Thursday one week prior to the effective first pay date. Reminder: we cannot process changes at the same time we process the payroll. As an example, if you submit the payroll on Monday, please send your changes by noon on Thursday of the previous week.
• Timesheets
  • Timesheets for web payroll are sent out on Friday after 4:00 p.m. If there are any changes that have not been turned in to your Payroll Coordinator before this day and time, you will not see them on the timesheet. This could be a new hire, a termination, rate change, etc. You can use the note section of the timesheet to confirm that the change form has been received by your Payroll Coordinator.
• S Corporations
  • The cost of accident and health insurance premiums for 2%-or-more shareholder-employees paid by an S corporation for 2025 can be added to our W-2s in both Box 1 and Box 14 if reported to SimpleHR by January 2, 2026. This date will be strictly adhered to because of the large number of W-2s SimpleHR generates.

• Federal Minimum Wage for 2026 will remain at $7.25 per hour with minimum wage for tipped employees at $2.13.
• Florida Minimum Wage was increased on September 30, 2025 to $14 an hour and the minimum wage for tipped employees was increased to $10.98. There will be no increase until September 30, 2026.
• On November 3, 2020, Florida Amendment 2 $15 Minimum Wage Initiative passed. This amendment increases the state's minimum wage incrementally until reaching $15 per hour September 30, 2026:
  • $15.00 on September 30, 2026 - $11.98 Tip Rate
• The 2026 W-4 Form has not been released by the IRS but they do have a draft copy on their website. Once the Form is released, it will be posted on Web Payroll or you can ask your Payroll Coordinator for a copy. It is important for employees to read the instructions that are included with the form. The IRS recommends employees conduct the "paycheck checkup". To conduct the checkup, use the IRS's Tax Withholding Estimator. SimpleHR cannot give out tax advice to employees.
• Business Mileage – The IRS has not announced the business standard mileage rate for 2026. The rate is generally announced in December and we will notify you when released. The rate for 2025 is 70 cents per mile.
• Social Security Wage Base - Wage Base is increasing from $176,100 to $184,500. All employees and employers will pay 6.2% of wages earned to this amount. The maximum Social Security Tax employees and employers will each pay in 2026 is $11,439.
• Medicare Tax – As in prior years, there is no limit to the wages subject to the Medicare Tax; therefore, all covered wages are still subject to the 1.45% tax for both employee and employer.
• 401(k) – The 2026 limit for 401(k) deferral will be $24,500. The 'catch-up' contributions for individuals age 50+ will be $8,000. Also, age-50+ participants with prior-year FICA wages above $145,000 must make their 401(k) catch-up contributions as Roth, while those below the threshold may continue using pre-tax catch-ups.
• Federal and State Posting Requirements – Review your worksite to make sure that you have up-to-date postings based on federal and state employment laws. Certain required notices must be posted prominently and conspicuously where they can be easily seen by employees. It is important to ensure that mandatory posters stay posted and are not removed either mistakenly or intentionally. Check posters at least monthly to ensure they are still visible. As a reminder, SimpleHR will provide updates to posters through email or payroll delivery when they occur.
• Tip Credit Report – SimpleHR sends a Business FICA Tip Credit Report to each eligible client with tipped employees. The IRS is strict on who is eligible for the credit. Your restaurant business must meet both of the following criteria to be eligible: employees received tips from customers for providing, delivering, or serving food or beverages for consumption and you as the employer paid or incurred employer Social Security and Medicare Taxes on these tips. This report will be sent to clients by January 31, 2026. You may also print a copy of the report using the FICA Tip Credit Report choice on the Reports menu in Web Payroll.

• TERMINATIONS
  • Employee Separation/Termination forms need to be submitted to SimpleHR immediately upon termination (form can be downloaded from Web Payroll under documents). Please make sure that the form is complete to include reason for termination and signed before being submitted. The termination reason plays a large role in unemployment claims. The employee is also to be told to notify SimpleHR within 72 hours of separation (required for Leased Employees per Florida Statutes). Failure of the employee to notify SimpleHR may result in a denial of Reemployment Insurance Benefits. If you have any questions, please contact our Human Resources Department at (850) 650-9935.
• DIRECT DEPOSIT PRENOTES
  • SimpleHR requires that all direct deposits be prenoted. Prenotes are crucial in verifying the accuracy and security of account details before actual funds are transferred. This process generally takes 3 to 5 days.
• PAYROLL SUBMISSION TIME DEADLINE
  • Payroll hours are due by 10:30 a.m. on your scheduled processing day. Submitting your payroll on time ensures that your Payroll Coordinator has enough time to process and have your payroll delivered by your payday. Keep in mind that direct deposits are not guaranteed on your scheduled check day unless it is processed 48 hours in advance.

Automatic gratuities are service charges, not tips. Tips are discretionary (optional or extra) payments determined by a customer that employees receive from customers. Tips include cash tips received directly from customers; tips from customers who leave a tip through electronic payment (includes credit card or debit card payment); tips received from other employees paid out through tips pools or tip splitting. Certain factors are used to determine whether payments constitute tips or a service charge: customer determines amount and recipient.

Service charges (auto gratuities) are not subject to "no tax on tips". Service charges are a mandatory fee that is predetermined and added to a customer's bill by the employer: example 18% for a party of 6. This is not a voluntary payment. Service charges are considered non-tip wages for the employee.

If you have auto gratuities, a separate pay code will need to be used when paying your employees. Contact your Payroll Coordinator to help with the new pay code and answer any of your questions.

The SimpleHR Employee Self Service Mobile App has been updated with a new version. The Employee Mobile App enables worksite employees to view payroll information from the Employee Self Service (ESS) Portal on their mobile device. It includes convenient access to paycheck stubs, W-2 information and other employment information from the ESS Portal. Employees can also use the Change Request feature to request updates to their information on file such as address changes.

For more information about the Mobile App, download the instructions posted in the Document section of Web Payroll. Please forward this information and the Mobile App instructions to your team. Note that to use the ESS site and Mobile App, employees must be currently active staff of current SimpleHR clients.

Kick off the year by scheduling a first-quarter client success meeting with your SimpleHR Human Resource Business Partner. This is the ideal time to review your employee handbook, discuss any policy updates, conduct employee and compliance audits, and align on key HR priorities for the year. A proactive Q1 check-in ensures your organization remains compliant, organized, and well-prepared for a smooth and successful year ahead.