Massachusetts Payroll Instructions

To enter withholding information for an employee in your Goldenseal company file, follow these steps:

1. Choose Employees from the Accounts menu.
2. Locate the employee record.
3. Click the Payroll Setup button.
4. Enter the employee's marital status into the Marital Status field (see note below).
5. Enter the number of federal dependents into the Federal Exemptions field.
6. Enter the number of Massachusetts dependents into the State Exemptions field.
7. Enter the Massachusetts Tax Package into the Tax Package field. HINT-- If you don't see it in the list, you'll need to import the tax info first.
8. Click OK.

The Massachusetts state income tax system includes a special deduction for blindness. If the employee and/or her spouse is blind, enter a “1” into the “Other Exemptions” field in the Employee Account. Otherwise, leave the field blank.

Massachusetts SUTA tax applies to the first $14,000 in wages. In 2008, rates range between 1.12% and 10.96%, depending on your company's past experience. The starting rate for new companies depends on the business type.

To enter your state SUTA tax rate into the Goldenseal payroll software, follow these steps:

1. Choose Payroll Setup from the Costs menu, and choose Tax Items from the submenu.
2. You'll see a list of Tax Items. Locate your state's SUTA tax in the list, and double-click on it. HINT: If you don't see Massachusetts SUTA in the list, you'll need to import your state's payroll info first.
3. Enter the percentage rate that you pay into the percentage field to the right of Calculation method.
4. If the cutoff amount has changed, enter it into the dollar field to the right of First Adjustment.

Use the following to determine the value for the Marital Status popup menu in each Employee account:

• Single- single employee with one personal exemption
• Married- married employee with two personal exemptions
• Dual Income- married employee with one personal exemption
• Head of House- employee claims Head of Family status
• Other- not used

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