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Payroll Glossary - D
De Minimis: Anything that is too insignificant to merit legal scrutiny, such as a fringe benefit that is provided occasionally and is too small to justify accounting for or recording it. This does not apply to cash or cash equivalents except in very specific instances such as supper money.
Debit: An accounting entry that increases assets and expenses and decreases liabilities and revenues.
Debit Card: A card with information on a magnetic strip used by a customer to withdraw funds on deposit in the customer's account using an ATM or merchant's "Point of Sale" system.
Deduction: An amount subtracted from an employee's gross pay to reach net pay, or an amount allowed to taxpayers as an offset against income.
Deemed Substantiation: Safe-harbor rules under which Internal Revenue Service requirements regarding the proof of amounts spent on employee business expenses are considered to have been met .
Deferred Compensation: In general, the post ponement of a compemsation payment to a future date. Usually a portion of wages set aside by an employer for an employee's account in a retirement plan on a pretax basis.
Defined Benefit Plan: A retirement plan that uses a calculation (usually based on an employee's length of service, salary and age) to calculate an retirement benefits and is funded by employer.
Defined Contribution Plan: A retirement plan with benefits determined by the anticipated amount an employee's account will contain at retirement date. The account may be funded by both the employer and the employee contributions.
Direct Deposit: The electronic sending of an employee's net pay to a financial institution of the employee's choosing, avoiding manual check payments.
Discrimination: In the concept of employee benefit plans, favoring highly compensated employees under the benefit plan.
Dismissal Pay: Amounts paid to employees that are terminated from employment, also known as payments in lieu of notice, termination pay, or severance pay.
Disposable Earnings: That part of an employee's earnings remaining after deductions required by law (e.g., taxes). Used to determine the amount of pay that is can be subject to a garnishment, attachment, or child support order.