2015 Brings New Payroll Tax Rates, ACA Requirements for Employers

2015 not only brings new rates, it also brings new Affordable Care Act (ACA) reporting requirements. Effective January 2015, large employers – defined as having 50 or more Full-Time Equivalents, or FTEs – will need to start accumulating health insurance information for each employee. This will result in providing each employee a 1095-C with their W-2 in January 2016.

The following is a rundown of changes in the most commonly used rates and limits.

States with Minimum Wage Changes for January 1, 2015

State	Minimum Wage
Arizona	$8.05
California	$9.00 eff. 7/1/2015
Colorado	$8.23
Connecticut	$9.15
Delaware	$8.25 eff. 6/1/2015
District of Columbia	$10.50 eff. 7/1/2015
Florida	$8.05
Hawaii	$7.75
Illinois	$10.00
Maryland	$8.00
Massachusetts	$9.00
Minnesota	$9.00 eff. 8/1/2015
Missouri	$7.65
Montana	$8.05
Nebraska	$8.00
Nevada	$8.25
New Jersey	$8.38
New York	$8.75 eff. 12/31/2014
Ohio	$8.10
Oregon	$9.25
Rhode Island	$9.00
South Dakota	$9.00
Vermont	$9.15
Virginia	$7.25
Washington	$9.47
West Virginia	$8.00 eff. 12/31/2014

2015 Rates

Item	2014	2015
Social Security – FICA (6.2%) – Medicare (1.45%) – Medicare (2.35%)	$117,000 $7,254 $200,000 > $200,000	$118,500 $7,347 $200,000 >$200,000
Domestic Worker Threshold	$1,900	$1,900
Elections Workers	$1,600	$1,600
Transit Passes / Van Pool / Bike	$130 / $130 / $20	$130 / $130 / $20
Parking	$250	$250
415(b)(1)(A) Defined Benefit Max	$210,000	$210,000
Max Contribution	$52,000	$53,000
Education Assistance	$5,250	$5,250
Limitations – 401(k) – 403(b) – 408(p)	$17,500 $17,500 $12,000	$18,000 $18,000 $18,000
414(v) Catch-Up	$5,500	$6,000
414(v) Catch-Up Simple	$2,500	$3,000
IRA	$5.500-$6,500 > 50	$5.500-$6,500 > 50
Limitations – Highly Compensated 414	$115,000	$120,000
Annual Compensation Limits – 401 Gvt Plans in Effect 7/1/93	$385,000	$395,000
HSA: – Annual Deduction Limit Single / Family – Maximum Out-of-Pocket Single / Family – Maximum Annual Contribution Single / Family – Maximum Annual Catch-Up (55)	$1,250 / $2,500 $6,350 / $12,700 $3,300 / $6,550 $1,000	$1,300 / $2,600 $6,450 / $12,900 $3,350 / $6,650 $1,000
Foreign Income Exclusion	$99,200	$100,800
Minimum Annual Comp 408	$550	$600
Adoption Exclusion Limits Tax Credit – Phase Out AGI – Total Exclusion AGI	$13,190 $197,880 $237,880	$13,400 $201,010 $241,010
Definition of Control Employee – Corp Officer – Earnings Test	$105,000 $105,000 $210,000	$105,000 $105,000 $215,000
Definition of Highly Comp.	$115,000	$120,000
Key Employee Top Heavy Plan	$170,000	$170,000
Long-Term Premiums – < 40 – 40-50 – 50-60 – 60-70 – > 70	$370 $700 $1,400 $3,720 $4,660	$380 $710 $1,430 $3,800 $4,750

Foreign Income Exclusions

Maximum Foreign Earned	Income Exclusion	Maximum Foreign Cost Exclusion
2014	$99,200	$13,888
2015	$100,800	$14,112

State Unemployment Insurance Wage Base Changes*

State	2014	2015
Colorado	$11,700	$11,800
Iowa	$26,800	$27,300
Kansas	$8,000	$12,000
Kentucky	$9,600	$9,900
Massachusetts	$14,000	$15,000
Minnesota	$29,000	$30,000
Montana	$29,000	$29,500
Nevada	$27,400	$27,800
New Jersey	$31,500	$32,000
New York	$10,300	$10,500
Oklahoma	$18,700	$17,000
Oregon	$35,000	$35,700
Pennsylvania	$8,750	$9,000
Rhode Island	$20,600 / $22,100	$21,200 / $22,700
South Carolina	$12,000	$14,000
South Dakota	$14,000	$15,000
Utah	$30,800	$31,300
Vermont	$16,000	$16,400
Washington	$41,300	$42,100
Wyoming	$24,500	$24,700

*Only states with changes for 2014 are shown. All numbers are current as of Nov 20, 2014 and subject to additions and changes.

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James Paille, CPP, is the Director of Operations for Thomson Reuters’ myPay Solutions and has been an executive manager in the payroll service industry for over 30 years, specializing in managing multi-location offices. A member of the APA’s Board of Directors and National Speakers Bureau, he chairs the CPP Certification Review Panel. Paille holds a BS in Accounting from St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY.