Employee pay strategies

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Coppersmith said:
For most people a take home vehicle is a perk. They don't have to pay for gas to commute to work. They don't have to commute to the shop before heading out to work. You don't also need to pay them just because they are driving a company vehicle to their first stop. That's commuting and it's on them.



Even though employees generally like taking home a vehicle, the reason you send employees home with vehicles is it saves the company money. You don't need a big lot to park in. They are usually safer from break-ins. You don't have to pay employees to drive from the shop to their first service call or from their last service call back to the shop (that's commuting). You can also send them to jobs based on where they live so you can get more billable hours per day (less windshield time). Since the primary reason for sending the vehicles home with the employees is for the company's benefit, IMHO the employees are not getting something of value they should have to pay taxes on (but I'm not an expert on IRS law in this area).



Agreed, a field supervisor should be randomly dropping in on the jobs both to make sure people are working efficiently and to check the quality of their work.

P.S. Watch out for employees using their take home vehicles for off hours side work. Even if they are not using company materials, they are probably using power tools and expendables. The additional driving increases vehicle expenses and risks additional accidents.
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Gotta watch too for guys heading out to the bar on company vehicle. I've known of a few cases around here. LIABILITY. Something to keep in mind if you have lots of heavy drinkers on board. I know 2 guys I enjoy working with but that I wouldn't trust with a take home vehicle.
 
If an employee regularly takes a company vehicle home and it is considered a taxible benefit, how does the IRS ever know unless the employer reports this somehow?

Sounds like it is a rule but is pretty easy to get around it - even if you aren't even aware of the rule.

Many that do drive a company vehicle do so because they do report directly to places that are not the main office/shop/etc. and/or go home at the end of the day instead of reporting to main office.
 
Not worried about the vehicle aspect. That's is outside my focus. Wages and commission are my focus. I just listed the additional benefits for perspective. There are even more that are imputed income if used.
 
kwired said:
Many that do drive a company vehicle do so because they do report directly to places that are not the main office/shop/etc. and/or go home at the end of the day instead of reporting to main office.
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You can get away with a lot until the IRS catches up with you.

IF you are paying them to do the driving, it is not a taxable benefit.

IF you are having them take the vehicle home because they are on call it is likely not a taxable benefit.

IF they are taking it home solely to get the benefit of the employer paying for their commute cost, it is likely taxable.

IF the vehicle is not suitable for general use, such as a police car or a single seat delivery van, a take home car is not a taxable benefit.

BTW, there is a story coming out of Chicago that is interesting. Something like 200 Chicago cops had their taxes redone by another cop who supposedly was a CPA. he charged them $500 for each tax year and got most of them refunds in the $10-$15,000 range. The IRS is now coming to chat with the 200 cops about their tax fraud. Is it really worth a potential tax fraud charge over a few bucks worth of gas money? keep in mind that it is the responsibility of the employer to provide the 1099s. if they are required and not provided as I understand it, the employer is responsible for the back taxes due. And the penalties. And the potential criminal liability. Why do any employer want to put himself through such a possible misery for such a tiny thing.
 
petersonra said:
You can get away with a lot until the IRS catches up with you.

IF you are paying them to do the driving, it is not a taxable benefit.

IF you are having them take the vehicle home because they are on call it is likely not a taxable benefit.

IF they are taking it home solely to get the benefit of the employer paying for their commute cost, it is likely taxable.

IF the vehicle is not suitable for general use, such as a police car or a single seat delivery van, a take home car is not a taxable benefit.

BTW, there is a story coming out of Chicago that is interesting. Something like 200 Chicago cops had their taxes redone by another cop who supposedly was a CPA. he charged them $500 for each tax year and got most of them refunds in the $10-$15,000 range. The IRS is now coming to chat with the 200 cops about their tax fraud. Is it really worth a potential tax fraud charge over a few bucks worth of gas money? keep in mind that it is the responsibility of the employer to provide the 1099s. if they are required and not provided as I understand it, the employer is responsible for the back taxes due. And the penalties. And the potential criminal liability. Why do any employer want to put himself through such a possible misery for such a tiny thing.
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If you want to be really picky about it, before I became a contractor I worked for another EC. I only lived a few blocks away and walked to and from the shop each day, no problem with taking the vehicle home for the night - it just didn't ever happen. But I would take it home for lunch if we were working closeby, or occasionally drove it to personal appointments, etc., if I was going to return to work afterward. I guess I should have gotten 1099's for that use, though they likely would have been for less then $100, maybe even $50 per year back then.

Many times I may have been heading to the shop for something, since my home was just a few blocks away, might have stopped there to use the bathroom, grab something I wanted to have, maybe change to warmer clothes if working outside on a cold day, etc...many times was working far enough away that just wasn't going to happen.
 
Employee pay strategies

ramsy said:
Just curious, did you tire of crawl spaces, or just couldn't fit in them anymore?
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Haha..... nah I’m still pretty fit. I don’t particularly enjoy them but I’m not above crawling in one still.


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I personally prefer to just get paid for the time I worked.

Speed bonuses usually just result in sloppy work.

Up sell, means more time talking to the customer and less time working.

I show up at seven and leave at 3:30 whether it's to and from the shop or the job site, doesn't much matter. Just give me my eight.
 
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