How to Calculate Employee Payroll Checks
It is the responsibility of the employer to accurately calculate payroll for their employees. Errors can result in employees having too much or too little of their pay withheld for taxes, Social Security, Medicare and other deductions, which causes an inconvenience for your employees at tax time. Errors can potentially lead to audits by goverment agencies, such as the Internal Revenue. You may want to consider using Payroll For America's payroll service and spend your time on more revenue generating.
Things you'll need:
How to Calculate
FUTA and SUTA taxes »
FUTA Rate Change effective July 1, 2011
Instructions and
a list of things you'll need.
- W-4 Forms
- Circular E from IRS
- State/Local withholding charts
- Written authorization for voluntary Deductions/reductions
- Calculator
Calculating Payroll Checks
Have your employees fill out a W-4 Form. This is required by law and it must include their correct and verifiable name, address and social security number. They also need to indicate their marital status and their selected personal exemptions. The form must be dated and signed by the employee and kept on file by the employer.
Calculate your employee's gross wages. If your hire is a salaried employee, use his weekly salary as his gross pay and begin the deductions from that point. If he is paid hourly, multiply the hours worked by his hourly wage. The resulting sum is his gross pay.
Deduct voluntary payroll reductions. These amounts are subtracted from and reduce gross pay, thus rendering them non-taxable. Federal Income Tax is based on gross pay amount after these reductions are taken. Among allowable non-taxable reductions are contributions to retirement accounts. Any of these reduced amounts must have written authorization from the employee.
Deduct statutory payroll taxes from gross wages. These taxes include: Federal income tax. This amount can be obtained from the IRS Publication 15 (Circular E) tax tables and is based on an employee's filing status and number of claimed deductions. State Income Tax. This percentage rate will vary from state to state. Some states have no income tax; some tax only on certain kinds of income. Local Income Tax. Again, whether or not your employee is subject to this tax is determined by geographical location. For example, a single worker in New York City, earning $25,000 would be charged $856 in addition to other mandatory taxes.
FICA OASDI FICA Old Age Survivors and Disability Insurance. For 2011, FICA OASDI is calculated as your gross earnings times 4.2%. This is a one year reduction from 6.2%, which will return in 2012. Please note that this calculator does not make any assumptions as to the total FICA OASDI paid for the current year. For 2011, income over $106,800 that have already had the maximum FICA OASDI amount of $4485.60 withheld will not have additional FICA OASDI withholdings.
Deduct voluntary deductions. These deductions reduce net pay, but do not reduce gross pay and may include contributions to savings plans, tuition payments, direct deposits. Again, it is necessary to have written authorization from the employee to make these deductions from his paycheck.
Subtract all of the previous amounts to arrive at net pay.
Try our Payroll Calculators - It's Free!
Please note: Our explanation that are provided on our web site for "How to Calculate Employee Payroll Checks" are only meant to provide general guidance and estimates about the payroll process. They should not be relied upon to calculate exact taxes, payroll or other financial data. You should consult with a professional advisor or accountant regarding your specific payroll concerns.
To speak with an Online Payroll expert call 866-729-4460 • 941-752-3900 or contact us by email.
Learn more about managing your business | Independent Contractor | Employee Handbook Information | Acronyms for Payroll | Workers Compensation
