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State Minimum Wage Rates Set to Increase

12/19/2014

State Minimum Wage Rates Set to Increase
The minimum wage will rise in a number of states next year. Unless otherwise noted, the following minimum wage rates (per hour) are scheduled to become effective on January 1, 2015:

Alaska: $8.75
Arizona: $8.05
Arkansas: $7.50
Connecticut: $9.15 (gratuity allowance for certain waitpersons rises to 36.8% of the minimum wage; 18.5% for bartenders)
Delaware: $8.25, beginning June 1, 2015
District of Columbia: $10.50, beginning July 1, 2015
Florida: $8.05 ($5.03 for certain tipped employees)
Hawaii: $7.75
Maryland: $8.00 ($8.25 beginning July 1, 2015)
Massachusetts: $9.00 ($3.00 for tipped employees)
Minnesota: $9.00, beginning August 1, 2015 ($7.25 for employers with annual gross volume of sales less than $500,000)
Missouri: $7.65 ($3.825 for tipped employees)
Montana: $8.05
Nebraska: $8.00
New Jersey: $8.38
New York: $8.75, effective December 31, 2014 ($9.00 beginningDecember 31, 2015)
Ohio: $8.10 ($4.05 for tipped employees), except that the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour may be paid to employees whose employers gross $297,000 or less per year
Oregon: $9.25
Rhode Island: $9.00
South Dakota: $8.50 ($4.25 for tipped employees)
Vermont: $9.15
Washington: $9.47
West Virginia: $8.00, after January 1, 2015

Be sure to comply with any city or other local wage requirements (which may be higher than the state or federal minimum wage) that may apply to your business. For more information on state minimum wage laws, including poster requirements, please visit our State Laws section, click on your state, and select "Minimum Wage" in the left-hand navigation menu.

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2015 Changes to Health FSAs and Other Tax Benefits

12/15/2014

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The IRS has announced a number of inflation-adjusted tax items for 2015. Items that may be of particular interest to employers and employees include the following:

Limit on Health Flexible Spending Arrangement (FSA) Contributions. The annual dollar limit on employee contributions to employer-sponsored health FSAs increases to $2,550 (up $50 from the amount for 2014).
Small Business Health Care Tax Credit. The maximum amount of the small business health care tax credit is phased out based on the employer's number of full-time equivalent employees in excess of 10 (unchanged from last year) and the employer's average annual wages in excess of $25,800(up from $25,400 for 2014).
Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefits. The monthly limit on the value of the fringe benefit exclusion for transportation in a commuter highway vehicle and any transit pass remains unchanged at $130. The monthly limit for qualified parking remains unchanged at $250.
Earned Income Credit. The maximum Earned Income Credit amount is $6,242 for taxpayers filing jointly who have 3 or more qualifying children, up from a total of $6,143 for tax year 2014. IRS Revenue Procedure 2014-61 includes a table that provides maximum credit amounts for other categories, income thresholds, and phase-outs.

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State Minimum Wage Rates Set to Increase

2015 Changes to Health FSAs and Other Tax Benefits

Small Business blog

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