Things aren't going so hot in Los Angeles right now. I mean, things have been pretty bad over the last few months, wouldn't you say? There were fires all over the place, then this seemingly never-ending WGA strike and now this...
Axium Payroll Services suddenly shut its doors today.
This was somewhat surprising to say the very least, and anyone who has worked in the entertainment industry for more than a month or two has had a paycheck cut for them by Axium/Avalon. This is very distressing news, especially for commercial freelancers who receive anywhere from one to upwards of 20+ paychecks from this company a year.
It's income tax season, people. This is ridiculously bad timing.
So what does this mean for the little guy? There isn't a ton of information out there, so I thought I would do a little snooping...
Here is a list of things you can do if you expected a paycheck this week through Axium, or if you expect a W2 form from them as well...
1:
Panic.
Ha! Just kidding! This will all work out. I think...
2:
Contact HR and/or Accounting
Do this through the company you are working for right now. So if you are working on a commercial and it only lasts through the end of the week and you are on set right now you should REALLY take the time to call the office and see what their plans are regarding your paycheck. I've been on many sets, and I know how crazy it can get, but there is always time to make sure you will get paid.
3:
Outstanding paychecks.
If you have a paycheck through Axium or Avalon right now you probably should not cash it. I was told that if you cash the check the funds may not be there, and you will accrue fees from your bank if the check bounces. This royally sucks, I know, but this is yet another reason why you should call the company you are working for right away.
Find out if the company you are working for is hustling to pin down another payroll company and what you should do with your uncashed payroll check. I know more than one person has to be in this mess right now...freelance commercials people work so hard they rarely have time to even get to the bank to cash their checks...
4:
W2 Forms.
Axium is supposed to supply me with my income tax information for a full seven months of the year 2007. So what the hell do I do now? According to every website I've visited, the company is firmly closed, there is no way in hell I am expecting to get my W2's from them by the end of January.
I am considering filing for an income tax extension, or at the very least getting as much info as I can about this bankruptcy and how it affects me over the next few days.
If you plan on filing for an extension you can get information and do it here.
Now might also be a good time to try and collect all of your pay stubs for the last year, or check your bank statements online to track all of your paychecks as you cashed them. This might be a pain, but it won't hurt.
5:
Have our taxes been properly filed?
I read a story of a small Florida payroll company that filed for bankruptcy earlier this year and it was later discovered that instead of sending federal taxes that had been withheld from paychecks to the IRS (which is normal procedure) the company started keeping that money for itself. Read about that here
This site advises to regulary check EFTPS, which is the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System. Visit this website to see if your taxes have properly been filed with the IRS.
Have to honest here, I can't bring myself to do this right now...this could be REALLY ugly if Axium didn't properly file everyone's taxes. ROUGH.
That's all the info I can wrangle for now...here are links to other sites that have reported on this story today:
Filmmaker Blog: Breaking News Axium Shuts Down
Defamer: Axium Declares Emergency Bankruptcy
You can still file your taxes without a W-2 use IRS Form 4852, fill in all info requested use you last paystub from Axium for your year-to date
Good Luck!
Posted by: Abby | February 07, 2008 at 09:12 PM