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Employee Center: Tax

The Tax tab of the Employee Center manages employee tax withholdings.

Navigate
Layout
Add a Tax
  - State Income Tax Withholding (SITW)
  - Federal Income Tax Withholding (FITW)
Tax Code Explanations
FAQs

 

 

Navigate

Find the Tax page by navigating to HR Admin (module) → Manage Employees → Employee Center → select 2024-02-08_16-42-31 Employee → Payroll (tab) → Tax (tab).

A screenshot of the navigation path to the Tax page..

 

 

Layout

The Tax tab lists all taxes assigned to the employee and additional relevant details:

  • Select Add New to create a new Tax.
  • Select Grid Options to add additional columns to the Tax grid.
  • Select Export to export all data shown in the Tax grid.
  • Select Edit 2024-02-08_16-42-31 to edit an existing Tax.
  • Select Delete 2025-05-02_13-48-06 to delete an existing Tax.

A screenshot of the Tax tab.

 

 

Add a Tax

If you wish to edit an existing tax, you must select Add New to create a new version. After you save this new version, the old version will automatically be end-dated, and the new one will replace it at the next check date.

  • Tax Code: Select the appropriate Tax Code for this tax. Different fields may appear depending on the selected code.
  • Start Date: Enter the first check date for which you want this tax to be active. This field will automatically default to the next upcoming check date.
  • End Date: Enter the last date for which this tax will be applied. If you want this accrual to occur indefinitely, enter “12/31/2100”.

Note: Tax codes created on this page will populate the tax options in Payroll. To check the status of a code:

  • Navigate to HR Admin (module) → Manage Employees → Employee Center → select 2024-02-08_16-42-31 Employee → Payroll (tab) → Tax (tab)

  • Find the Active dropdown and select History.

  • Filing Status: The employee’s tax filing status. Status options will vary by state, but some options may include M=married, S=single, H=head of household.

 

State Income Tax Withholding (SITW)

The following describes the available fields for State Income Tax Withholding (SITW) tax codes.

A screenshot of the State Income Tax Withholding set up.

  • Primary Exemptions: The number of primary exemptions filled out on the employee’s W-4 should be documented in this field.
  • Additional Exemptions: The number of additional exemptions filled out on the employee’s W-4 should be documented in this field.
  • Additional/Extra Amount: If the employee chooses to have an additional flat amount withheld from their paycheck, enter the amount in this field.
  • Supplemental: Use the drop-down menu to select whether to use the state supplemental tax rate.
    • Blocked: This tax will be blocked on supplemental checks.
    • NoEff: Special Payment Flag has no effect on this tax.
    • Special: Use additional taxes for supplemental checks only
    • Supp: Use tax supplemental rate.
    • Supp+: Use tax supplemental rate, plus any additional rate.
  • Reciprocity: Certain states have reciprocity agreements where, if an employee works in one state but lives in another, they can choose which state taxes are withheld. This is usually for bordering states like New York and New Jersey, for example. Please contact Checkwriters Client Support at support@checkwriters.com if this option applies to your situation.
  • Additional Percentage: If the employee chooses to have an additional percentage of their taxable earnings withheld from their paycheck, enter the percentage in this field.
  • Primary Tax: If the employee has taxes in multiple states, this checkbox indicates that this should be treated as their primary tax. This state should be the same as the employee’s State Unemployment Insurance (SUI).
  • Apply Tax Credit: This is a legacy option that is no longer supported. This checkbox will always be grayed out and not selectable.
  • Override Tax Calc: Can only check for SITW and FITW. Select this checkbox to do a full override of the State Income Tax Withholding

 

Federal Income Tax Withholding (FITW)

The following describes the available fields for the Federal Income Tax Withholding (FITW) tax code.

A screenshot of the Federal Income Tax Withholding set up.

  • Supplemental: Use the drop-down menu to select to flag this Special Payment
  • Exempt: Select this checkbox if the employee has determined that they will be exempt from federal taxes. This can be common with working students or any employees who make under a certain dollar amount within the year. This corresponds to the “Exemption from Withholding” section of the General Instructions on the W-4.
  • Nonresident Alien: Select this checkbox if the employee holds a Nonresident Alien status and a start date on or after 1/1/2020.
  • Primary Tax: Because employees can only have one FITW, this checkbox will automatically be selected for the FITW tax code. This checkbox will always be grayed out and not selectable.
  • Apply Tax Credit: This is a legacy option that is no longer supported. This checkbox will always be grayed out and not selectable.
  • Employee submitted 2020 (or later) W-4: This checkbox will automatically be selected for the FITW tax code. This checkbox will always be grayed out and not selectable.
  • Override Tax Calc: Select this checkbox to fully override the employee’s FITW. If this checkbox is selected, only one of the following fields should be filled out.
    • Percentage: The employee will have this percentage of their taxable wages withheld from their FITW.
    • Flat Amount: The employee will only have this flat amount withheld from their FITW.

Warning: The IRS mandates that a valid W-4 form be used to calculate federal tax withholdings. Before overriding the tax calculations, please review with your employment counsel.

Note: If “Override Tax Calc” is selected, the remaining fields will be grayed out and no longer editable.

  • Use special “Multiple Jobs” rate: This checkbox may be used for employees who work more than one job at a time or are married filing jointly, where both spouses work. The standard deduction and tax brackets will be divided equally between the jobs. This corresponds to Step 2 of the employee's W-4.
  • Total Dependent Amount: If your employee claims dependents, enter the total dollar amount they will claim. This corresponds to Step 4 of the employee’s W-4.
  • Additional Income: Additional income claimed by the employee. This corresponds to box 4(a) on the employee’s W-4.
  • Additional Deductions: Additional deductions claimed by the employee. This corresponds to box 4(b) on the employee’s W-4.
  • Additional Amount: If the employee chooses to have additional funds withheld from their paycheck, enter the amount in this field. This corresponds to box 4(c) on the employee’s W-4.

 

 

Tax Code Explanations

This table describes many of the possible taxes that could apply to your company and your employees.

Tax Code

Description

FITW

Employee Tax for Federal Income Tax Withholding.

[State Abbreviation]

Employee Tax form for state withholding.

[State Abbr.]SUI

State Unemployment Insurance (SUI) – These are employer-paid state unemployment taxes. Each tax differs by state.

FUTA

Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) – Employer tax paid for Federal Unemployment.

[State Abbr.]PML-EE

or

[State Abbr.]FLI-EE

Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML/PML/FLI) – This is an employee tax that applies to states with Paid Family and Medical Leave. This may be listed as one tax or broken into multiple taxes, and can vary by state.

[State Abbr.]PML-ER

or

[State Abbr.]FLI-ER

Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML/PML/FLI) – This is an employer tax that applies to states with Paid Family and Medical Leave. This may be listed as one tax or broken into multiple taxes, and can vary by state.

MED

Employee portion of Medicare tax

MED-R

Employer portion of Medicare tax

SS

Employee portion of Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI), also known as Social Security (SS).

SS-R

Employer portion of Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI), also known as Social Security (SS).
 
 
 

FAQs

What is FICA?

FICA stands for Federal Insurance Contributions Act. It is a mandatory tax for most, and both employees and employers are subject to it. FICA is broken down into two categories:

  • Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI), also known as Social Security.
  • Medicare (MED)

These taxes will be visible on the employee profile using the following terms:

Code

Description

MED

Medicare

MED-R

Medicare - Employer

SS

OASDI

SS-R

OASDI - Employer
 

How are federal income tax withholdings calculated?

Checkwriters employs the "wage bracket method" as outlined in IRS Publication 15-T, which calculates taxes on a per-pay basis using the information provided on the employee’s W-4.

Because Form W-4 and income tax filings encompass financial information beyond what is processed through payroll, employees should seek assistance from their income tax preparer or accountant or utilize available IRS tools.

What are my responsibilities as an employer relative to Form W-4?

Learn about an employer’s responsibilities regarding Form W-4: Topic no. 753, Form W-4, Employees Withholding Certificate