HR glossary of terminology

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Human Resources Glossary - F

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

A US federal law made to protect workers from unfair wages and treatment.

Federal Holidays

Holidays designated by the federal government of which both federal government and non-essential government agency employees have a paid day off.

Federal ID Number

A nine-digit number issued by the IRS to identify employers’ tax accounts.

Federal Income Tax (FIT)

Annual tax made on every form of income or earnings.

Federal Income Tax Withholding (FITW)

The federal income tax that is deducted from the employee’s wage.

Federal Mileage Rate

An amount that employees can take away from their federal income taxes for the costs of operating a vehicle for business medical charitable or moving purposes.

Federal Minimum Wage

The minimum wage an employer can pay an employee’s hourly rate.

Federal Tax Deposit

The employer’s responsibility to deposit the withheld taxes from the employees’ wages.

Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA)

A law requiring employers to pay unemployment taxes.

Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA)

A payroll tax taken away from employees’ wages to pay for their Social Security and Medicare.

Fixed-Term Contract

Type of employment contract that has a predetermined end date for the contract to expire establishing an employer-employee  relationship for a set duration of time. 

Flat Tax Withholding

Refers to the federal income tax withholding rate of 27% for supplemental wages

Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

A tax-exempt financial account designated for certain out-of-pocket health care costs resulting in payroll tax savings

Flexible Workplace

A work environment that implements responsive and adaptive scheme addressing the dynamic conditions within the company 

Floating Holiday

A paid day off also known as personal day that employees can use whenever they want and for whatever reason

FLSA Status

Refers to whether an employee is exempt (not eligible for overtime) or nonexempt (eligible for overtime) according to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

FMLA Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993

Law requiring businesses to grant employees up to twelve workweeks of unpaid leave annually for health and family reasons.

Form 940

A yearly report that employers must file to pay and report on their federal unemployment taxes.

Form 941

Also known as Employer’s Quarterly Tax Form an essential tax form for businesses to report federal withholdings from employees.

Form 942

A form for requesting a reduced filing fee for Form N-400 (Application for Naturalization)

Form 1040-ES

Used to figure and pay estimated tax which is the method used to pay tax on income not subject to withholding.

Form 1042-S

Also known as Foreign Person’s U.S. Source Income Subject to Withholding this is used to report amounts paid to non-resident aliens foreign partnerships foreign corporations foreign estates and foreign trusts that are subject to income tax withholding. 

Form 1099

Used to report income an individual receives from a person or entity that is not the individual's employer

Form 1099-SA

Reports distributions made from a health Savings Account (HSA) Archer Medical Savings Account (Archer MSA) or Medicare Advantage Medical Savings Account (MA MSA) to show an employee (and the Internal Revenue Service) how much money the employee spent from an owned account.

Form 1120-S

A tax return form for businesses classified as S corporations to avoid double taxation at both the corporate and personal level.

Form 2553

A tax form that a corporation can file to elect taxation as an S corporation which also provides documentation of the effective date of the S corporation election.

Form 5498-SA

A report of amounts used for Health Savings Account (HSA) Archer Medical Savings Account or Medicare Advantage Medical Savings Account sent by the trustee or account manager to their respective account holders.

Form 8109

A federal tax deposit coupon that businesses used to track paid taxes prior to 2011.

Form 8233

A form used by non-resident alien or foreign individuals to get exemption from withholding on compensation for personal services due to an income tax treaty or the personal exemption amount.

Form 8809

Also known as application for Extension of Time to File Information Returns and used by businesses and individuals to request an extension of the due date to file selected federal tax forms.

Form 8832

Also known as Entity Classification Election and used to elect how an entity will be classified for federal tax purposes (as a corporation a partnership or an entity disregarded as separate from its owner).

Form I-9

Also known as Employment Eligibility Verification which is used to validate the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the United States.

Forms 1094-C and 1095-C

These forms are used to report whether applicable large employers (ALEs) have offered health coverage to each of their employees and whether those employees are enrolled in health coverage.

Franchise Business

A type of business that permits franchisors to sell its products or services under its name brand and business model.

Fringe Benefits

These are also known as employee benefits which are add-on benefits that supplement an employee’s normal salary

Front Pay

This is intended to give compensation for a period of time that is sufficient to allow the wronged employee an opportunity to find similar employment.

FSA Limits

The maximum pre-tax amounts both employers and employees are allowed to contribute to a Flexible Spending Account (FSA).

FTE (Full-Time Equivalent)

Refers to the number of considered full-time hours and its calculation is based on total worked hours divided by the average annual hours worked in a full-time job.

Full-Time Hours

A classification set by law to determine a reasonable standard for working hours and to specify the maximum hours employees can work in a single week.