United States Payroll Tax Info

This section includes specific tax info for US Federal payroll taxes.

HINT-- For the latest state payroll info from our website, click here. For Canadian payroll taxes, click here.

GENERAL US TAX INFO
        Basic US Setup | Additional Withholding | Advanced EIC | Backup Withholding
        Entering SUTA Tax | Multiple State Deductions | Rounding | Tax Periods

WEBSITE INFO LINKS
       Payroll Software | Payroll Accounting Software | State Payroll Info

RELATED TOPICS
       Employee Accounts | Payroll Records | Tax Items | Tax Packages
       Tax Tables | Wage Schedules | Writing Payroll

Basic US Setup

When you import payroll taxes for your state, you'll also get Tax Items for the following US federal taxes:

  • Federal income tax
  • Social Security tax (employee and employer portions)
  • Medicare tax (employee and employer portions)
  • FUTA (Federal unemployment insurance)
To set up federal tax withholding, fill in the following fields in each Employee account:
  • Marital status
  • Federal Exemptions (from W-4 form)

Additional Withholding

If some employees opt for additional federal withholding on their W-4 form, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Payroll Setup from the Costs menu, and choose Tax Items from the submenu.
  2. Open the Federal Tax.
  3. Click on the First Adjustment popup menu, and choose Plus Fed Dollars.
  4. Click OK.
  5. Click Done to close the Tax Items list.
  6. Choose Employees from the Accounts menu.
  7. In the employee account, scroll down until you see the Additional Payroll Details area.
  8. Enter the additional withholding amount in the Fed Withholding field.

Advanced EIC Payments

Advanced EIC payments to employees are not included in the standard tax packages.  If you give Advanced EIC payments to one or more of your employees, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Payroll Setup from the Costs menu, and choose Tax Packages from the submenu.
  2. Click on the tax package that applies to this employee.
  3. Click the Duplicate button.
  4. Click the Edit button.
  5. Turn on the checkmark next to the Advanced EIC tax item (Single or Married).  Give a new name to the tax package.
  6. Click OK.
  7. Open the Employee account, and enter the new tax package into the Tax Package field.

Backup Withholding

If you need to make backup withholding from an employee, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Payroll Setup from the Costs menu, and choose Tax Items from the submenu.
  2. Click the New button.
  3. For a simple percentage tax, enter Direct Percentage as a calculation method, and enter the percentage into the number field.
  4. Click OK.
  5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 for any additional backup withholding taxes, if any.
  6. Choose Payroll Setup from the Costs menu, and choose Tax Packages from the submenu.
  7. Click the New button.
  8. Turn on the checkmark next to the new backup withholding item(s), and any other taxes that apply to this employee.
  9. Click OK.
  10. Open the Employee account, and enter the new tax package into the Tax Package field.

Entering SUTA Tax

SUTA Tax rates are usually different for each company-- based on your experience rating.

To enter your state SUTA tax rate, 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.
  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.

HINT-- If you don't see SUTA in the list, you'll need to Import your state's payroll info first.

Tax Periods

All of the tax tables are computed on either a weekly or yearly income basis.  Goldenseal will automatically make the appropriate calculations for your payroll period, whether it is weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or otherwise.

Rounding

If your state requires withholding amounts to be rounded to the nearest dollar or dime, you can select the appropriate rounding method in the state Tax Items for your state.  Choose a method from the popup menu in the Rounding field in each tax item.  For most states we use Penny Rounding, since it is more accurate.

Taxes for Multiple States

If you collect withholding taxes for more than one state, Import the state payroll for each state that you need.

If you need to use more than one state's taxes for the same employee, you'll probably need to create a custom Tax Package that includes the different taxes. To do so, follow these steps:

  1. Import tax files for each state.
  2. Choose Payroll Setup from the Costs menu, then choose Tax Packages from the submenu.
  3. Click on a tax package for one of the states.
  4. Click the Duplicate button.
  5. Click the Edit button.
  6. Turn on all the taxes that need to be collected for this employee.  You may want to rename the package.
  7. Click OK, then click Done to the Tax Package List.
  8. Open the Employee account.
  9. Enter the new tax package into the Tax Package field

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