We're setting up our payroll for a restaurant that will open soon. We plan to furnish our employees with free meals before or after their shifts. Does the value of the meals represent taxable compensation?

Meals furnished to a restaurant employee during, or immediately before or after, the employee's working hours are considered to be furnished for the employer's convenience and generally do not represent additional compensation. Unless you give your employees a choice to receive additional pay instead of the meals, you can ignore the meals for payroll purposes.

My father celebrated his 70th birthday last year. Does he have to take a minimum distribution from his individual retirement account (IRA) by April 15?

The deadline for the first annual minimum distribution is April 15 of the calendar year following the calendar year in which the IRA owner turns age 70 1/2. This rule applies to traditional IRAs, not to Roth IRAs. So, the answer to your question really depends on the type of IRA your father has and when his birthday occurred.

How quickly must my employees' 401(k) elective deferrals be deposited?

The U.S. Department of Labor says amounts withheld from employee paychecks must be deposited in the plan's trust as early as the can "reasonably be segregated" from the employers' assets. Translation: Deposit elective deferrals as soon as possible. For example, if you're required to deposit payroll taxes within three business days, there's probably no reason for elective deferrals to take longer. You shouldn't wait until the 15 th business day of the month after your withheld the deferrals.

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