August 1, 2016, is the deadline for filing retirement or employee benefit returns (5500 series) for plans on a calendar year. (The usual due date of July 31, 2016, is a Sunday.) You’ll also want to note two IRS updates regarding Form 5500. First, the compliance questions are optional. Form 5500 includes new compliance questions for 2015 tax years (returns with a due date of August 1, 2016, for calendar year filers). Because the questions were

According to recent statistics, budget cuts, staff attrition, and a heavy workload for IRS employees mean your chances of undergoing a tax audit are less than 1%. Does that sound like a non-event to you? Don’t be lured into a false sense of security. The statistic is a blended rate covering many types of incomes and taxpayers. Here are some of the reasons returns were audited.

Planning can help you achieve a comfortable retirement. Here are five suggestions to consider.

In May, the Department of Labor updated the rules for paying overtime. Under the new rules, salaried employees who earn less than $913 per week ($47,476 per year) will be eligible for overtime pay. That’s double the annual exempt amount of $23,660 from previous rules. In addition, the total annual pay for an exempt highly compensated employee is $134,004 (up from $100,000 previously). These amounts will be updated automatically every three years beginning in 2020. The