The IRS has announced the cost-of-living adjustments applicable to dollar limits on the benefits and contributions under qualified retirement plans, as well as other items for tax year 2018. The dollar limit on employee elective deferrals to 401(k), 403(b), and 457(b) plans increases to $18,500 (up from $18,000) and the limit on catch-up contributions for individuals age 50 or over remains unchanged at $6,000.

On October 13, the SSA announced that the 2018 social security wage base will be $128,700, an increase of $1,500 from $127,200 in 2017. All covered wages are still subject to the 1.45% Medicare tax. The maximum social security tax employees and employers will each pay in 2018 is $7,979.40, an increase of $93 from $7,886.40 in 2017.

The California Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) is informing employers that President Trump’s decision to end the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program does not require employers to immediately re-verify work authorization documents [LWDA, Press Release, 9-6-17].

The federal Office of Child Support Enforcement has released a revised version of the standard child support withholding order, Income Withholding for Support order/notice.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, and updated the Instructions for Form I-9. Employers must begin using the new version (dated July 17, 2017) by September 18, 2017.

In a win for APA, a California bill (S.B. 16) that would have tied student loan garnishment calculations to state and local minimum wage rates was voted down in a state Assembly vote of 38 to 24 in June, although the bill sponsor was given leave to try again later in this session to get the bill passed. APA’s lobbying effort began last February when it informed the Legislature that the proposed calculation method was inherently unfair to California residents.

California and the Virgin Islands have applied to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) for a Benefit Cost Rate (BCR; sometimes referred to as Benefit Cost Ratio) add-on waiver by the, deadline. California and the Virgin Islands are on the DOL’s updated list of potential Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) credit reduction states for 2017 [DOL, Potential 2017 Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) Credit Reductions, rev. July 2017].

Following up on its preliminary order issued last November, a Texas federal district court has ruled that the DOL’s rule, which would have increased the minimum salary threshold for exempt “white collar” employees from $455 to $913 per week, is invalid.

President Trump’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2018 would reduce funding to the U.S. Department of Labor and IRS. There is also a proposal to create a paid parental leave program.

The 2017 Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, Schedule B, Schedule R, and their instructions have been released by the IRS. Form 941 has been updated to allow eligible employers to claim the qualified small business payroll tax credit for increasing research activities. IRS Publications