QuickBooks 2005: The Missing Manual

Paying Payroll Taxes

In addition to paying your employees, you must also remit payroll taxes and withholdings to a number of government agencies. There's no set answer for which payroll taxes you must pay and when you must pay them. The federal government has its requirements; each state has its own rules and schedules; and, in some areas, local governments tack payroll taxes on as well.

Government agencies send you letters telling you what your tax rates are and what payment schedule you must follow. When you set up payroll in QuickBooks (page 318), you can enter these details. The tax tables that the QuickBooks payroll services download update tax rates as well. Because the specifics of remitting payroll taxes vary from company to company, you must follow the instructions you receive from the tax agencies, your bank, and your accountant. Meanwhile, when it's time to remit payroll taxes, here's how you generate the payment checks.

Note

QuickBooks Standard Payroll provides tax tables only for federal payroll taxes. Enhanced Payroll Plus, Assisted Payroll, and Complete Payroll provide tables for federal and state payroll taxes. You'll have to calculate local taxes yourself.

1. Choose Employees→Process Payroll Liabilities→Pay Payroll Liabilities.

   QuickBooks opens the Select Date Range For Liabilities dialog box, in which you specify the starting and ending dates for the payment period for a payroll tax. For example, the federal government determines payment frequency by the amount that ...