Pennsylvania Payroll Instructions

Pennsylvania State Withholding Instructions

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

1. Open the Payroll tab on the left, and choose Employees.
2. Locate the employee's 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 dependents into the State Exemptions field.
7. Enter a Pennsylvania Tax Package into the Tax Package field, based on the employee’s W4 form. 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. HINT:If you don't see PA items in the list, you'll need to import the tax info first.
8. Click OK.
9. Goldenseal payroll software will automatically calculate correct withholding taxes for the employee.

Pennsylvania Local Tax Instructions

Many Pennsylvania localities have a separate income tax withholding for municalities and/or school districts. There are several thousand districts, so we do not provide all local rates. Employers must enter their address at this site to find out which local taxes they must collect.

We provide a few sample tax items and one set of local tax packages.

You can add more local tax rates, if you need to withhold for more than one location.

To adjust local tax rates, 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 one of the local taxes in the list, and double-click on it. HINT: If you don't see local taxes in the list, you'll need to import PA state payroll info first.
3. Enter the withholding rate into the percent field to the right of Calculation method.
4. Rename the item so it is more descriptive of the locality.
5. Click OK.
6. Repeat steps 2 to 4 for each local tax. You can use the Duplicate button to create more.

To create Tax Packages for local taxes, follow these steps:

1. Choose Payroll Setup from the Costs menu, and choose Tax Packages.
2. Click on one of the standard packages, then click Duplicate.
3. Enter a descriptive name for the package.
4. Go through the list of Tax Items, and select any local taxes that apply. You'll also need to select the proper Federal tax item, depending on the employee's W-4 form.
5. Click OK.
6. Repeat steps 2 to 5 for each locality where you need to collect taxes.

After you have set up additional Tax Packages, apply them to your employees:

1. Open the Payroll tab on the left, and choose Employees.
2. Use the browser controls at upper left, to locate an employee.
3. Click the Payroll Setup button.
4. Enter the Tax Package that applies.
5. Click OK.
6. Repeat steps 2 to 5 for each employee that needs local withholding.

Pennsylvania State Unemployment Tax Instructions

Pennsylvania state unemployment tax is charged on the first $10,000 of wages for each employee (2023 cutoff amount, no change from last year). The tax rate is different for each employer, based on their past employment history. New employers pay 3.689% as a starting rate (10.2238% for construction companies), plus a variable surcharge that depends on the current fund balance. After 2 or 3 years, the rate is adjusted, based on past history.

In addition, employees pay a variable percentage of wages into the UC fund. The employee contribution can vary between 0% and .09% of wages, depending on the current fund balance. Check with your local PA UI office for the current rate.

To enter the Pennsylvania SUTA tax rate for your business, 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 the Pennsylvania SUTA item. HINT: If you don't see it in the list, import the Pennsylvania state payroll info first.
3. Enter the rate that your business pays in the percent field to the right of Calculation method.
4. If the cutoff amount has changed, enter it into the dollar field next to First Adjustment.
5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 for the SUTA Employee contribution.

Pennsylvania Marital Status

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

State Tax Contacts

Website

Official State Lawn Ornament

Abandoned coal mine and/or gas/oil well.