Deducting for Union Dues

How do I set up a deduction for union dues?

It is easy to set up a deduction for union dues.

Before you begin, set up an Other Cost account for the union (or whichever organization receives payments for dues).

Union Dues-- Setup

Follow these steps to set up a new payroll deduction for each set of union dues:

1. Choose Payroll Setup from the Costs menu, and choose Tax Items from the submenu.
2. Click the New button.
3. Enter a brief name for the item, for example "Teamsters Dues".
4. Click on the Calculation Method popup field, and enter Direct Dollars or Direct Percent. You can also use other calculation methods.
5. Type in the amount of the deduction.
6. Click on the Tax Type popup and enter Employee Dues (for an employee deduction) or Employer Dues (if you pay the dues directly).
7. If necessary, you can use the Adjustment fields to set up a minimum or maximum deduction.
8. Click on the Pay To Account clairvoyant field and enter the union to whom you make the payment.
9. Click OK.
10. If you have more than one type of dues, repeat steps 2 to 9 for each set of dues.
11. Click the Close button to leave the Tax Items window.

Then set up Tax Packages for each type of dues. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Choose Payroll Setup from the Costs menu, and choose Tax Packages from the submenu.
2. Click on one of your tax packages.
3. Click the Duplicate button.
4. Enter a name for the package (for example, Teamsters Union Employees).
5. In the list of taxes, click on the Union Dues item so it is checked.
6. Click OK.
7. If you have more than one set of dues, repeat steps 2 to 6 for each set of dues.
8. Click the Close button to leave the Tax Packages window.

Union Dues-- Employee Setup

Once you have set up a tax package for each set up dues, assign the dues to each union employee:

1. Choose Employees from the Accounts menu.
2. Find the employee's account.
3. Click the Payroll Setup button.
4. Enter the union tax package into the Tax Package field.
5. Click OK.
6. Repeat steps 2 to 5 for each union employee.

If you have some non-union employees, simply give them a tax package that does not include union dues.

Union Work and Non-Union Work

If your union employees sometimes do non-union work, follow these steps:

1. Choose Labor Hours from the Costs menu.
2. Click the New button.
3. Enter the union employee into the Employee field.
4. Fill in the hours worked, and other information about the labor.
5. Click in the Wage Schedule field, and enter a wage schedule that does not include union dues.
6. Goldenseal will automatically figure that work at non-union scale, and it will not include dues for those hours.

For more about payroll in the Getting Started manual, click here.
For more about payroll in the Reference manual, click here.

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Click here for general information about Goldenseal payroll software.

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