Arizona Payroll Instructions

Arizona greatly simplified its withholding tax formulas in mid-2010. Instead of calculating them as a percentage of federal withholding, it now uses a simple "flat tax" percentage deduction of gross wages.

Employees can choose among several different percentages on their A-4 Form. One additional withholding rate (.8%) was added in 2011, then another one (2%) was added for 2023.

There have been 5 major changes of the calculation methods in the past 33 years, plus small annual table changes prior to 2010, when it was based on federal rates.

HINT: We provides free updates for Arizona and federal payroll tax tables in our payroll software. Click here to download federal and Arizona tax withholding tables for Goldenseal payroll software program.

Arizona State Withholding 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's record.
  3. Click the Payroll Setup button.
  4. Choose the employee's marital status in the Marital Status field.
  5. Enter the appropriate Tax Package into the Tax Package field. Use the package with the employee's selected % withholding rate, plus their W4 status. Choose Old W4 for pre-2020 forms. Choose New W4 Step2- if they did not check the box in step 2 of the new form. Choose Step2+ if they did check it.
  6. Enter the number of federal dependents into the Federal Exemptions field.
  7. Enter the number of Arizona dependents into the State Exemptions field.
  8. Click OK.

Arizona State Unemployment Tax Instructions

In 2023, the Arizona state unemployment insurance tax applies to the first $8,000 of each employees wages. It jumped this year after sticking at $7,000 for ages. The starting rate for new employers is 2.0%, with a possible additional 2% surcharge when fund balances are low. After two years, the rates vary, depending on your history, and the current fund balance.

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

  1. Choose Payroll Setup from the Costs menu, and choose Tax Items.
  2. You'll see a list of Tax Items. Open Arizona SUTA HINT: If you don't see Arizona 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.

Arizona Job Training Tax

Arizona has a .1% job training tax that is collected along with the regular SUTA tax. It only applies to some employers, depending on their reserve ratio and SUTA tax rate.

When you first import tax tables for Arizona, Goldenseal does not include this tax. If you need to pay the job training tax, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Payroll Setup from the Costs menu, and choose Tax Packages.
  2. Click on one of the Arizona tax packages, then click the Edit button.
  3. Turn on the checkbox next to Job Training Tax.
  4. Click OK.
  5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 for each of the Arizona tax packages.

Arizona Marital Status

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

State Tax Contacts

Website

Official State Lawn Ornament