payroll terminology

This includes the base pay plus any additional earnings (ex. bonuses, vacation pay, commissions, etc). Gross pay – Gross pay is the total pay received by the employee before taxes and deductions are removed. Taxable wage base is the maximum amount of income that is affected by Social Security taxes. Processing payroll is a complex https://www.business-accounting.net/how-do-you-find-net-income-with-total-assets-and/ and time-consuming endeavor that requires adherence to strict federal and state rules and regulations. Small businesses often handle their own payroll using cloud-based software. Other companies choose to outsource their payroll functions or to invest in an integrated ERP system that manages the overall accounting and payroll.

  1. The FICA tax rate is 15.3%, split evenly between employees and employers, with 12.4% going toward Social Security tax and the remaining 2.9% for Medicare.
  2. Many medium- and large-size companies outsource payroll services to streamline the process.
  3. Paid time off is the time your employees don’t spend working but still earn a paycheck (at their regular pay rate).
  4. Overtime must be paid at one-and-a-half times the person’s hourly pay rate for employees who work more than 40 hours in a workweek.
  5. Refers to when an employee receives a bigger paycheck than they should.

Compensation

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers to pay employees regularly. Your pay-period options are weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly. Businesses can run payroll manually or outsource the task to payroll software or an accounting firm. A zero-dollar ACH transaction to verify whether an employee’s bank account information is correct, prior to paying them by direct deposit. An application that employers use to automate, manage, and streamline payroll processes, including wage payment and tax reporting.

SUI (State Unemployment Insurance)

Many states have laws dictating the minimum information that must go on a pay stub. The organization can rely on it to calculate gross wages, compansension, deductions and net pay accurately, while allowing them to maintain some control over the process. The payment is considered fully taxable for the first six months, then becomes exempt from FICA and FUTA if the payments continue into the seventh month and beyond.

payroll terminology

Take Out Pre-Tax Deductions

Solve the mysteries of terminology with this informative resource. Updated regularly with industry-specific vocabulary and concepts, the Glossary provides easy-to-understand definitions of tax-related terms. The acronym SSA can refer to either the Social Security https://www.online-accounting.net/ Act or the Social Security Administration. The Social Security Act was enacted by President Roosevelt in 1935 as part of the New Deal plan. Its aim was to set up a social insurance system in order to reduce destitution among senior citizens and the disabled.

Her expertise is in personal finance and investing, and real estate. Sign up to receive more well-researched small business articles and topics in your inbox, personalized for you. Learn more about Salaried vs Hourly employees and how to classify them in our guide. Check our article on how to get an EIN for more specific instructions on this process. The last quarter of the year and beginning of the next, when many tax and financial requirements are due.

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payroll terminology

If you are either registered for GST or withhold taxes from an employees wage, then you will need to submit and remit payment of your Business Activity Statement (BAS). A business activity statement is usually completed and submitted on a quarterly basis but some organisations may need to complete more frequently. Subtract amounts from an employee’s wages for taxes, garnishments or levies, and other deductions (like medical insurance or union dues). These amounts are paid over to the government agency or other party to whom they are owed.

The portion of an employee’s wages that is subject to taxation, such as federal income tax, Social Security tax, Medicare tax, and state income tax. A state payroll tax which is used to help fund the unemployment insurance system. A few states, including New Jersey and Pennsylvania, require employees to pay SUTA via payroll deduction. The length of time for which employees are paid, based on their pay frequency. For example, a weekly pay period may start on Sunday and end on Saturday.

W1 is the total salary, wages and other payments from which you are usually required to withhold PAYG. Specific inclusions and exclusions can be found on the ATO website. The amount of pay a customer receives (typically in their bank account) after taxes and other deductions gross profit vs net income have been accounted for. Staff employed on a casual basis receive a loading in lieu of entitlements to leave, typically around 15-25% of the hourly rate paid to permanent employees. The employee’s wages that remain after all normal deductions and taxes are taken out.

Money set aside by your employer over your working life for you to live off when you retire from work. Part time employees are usually employed on a permanent basis or on a fixed term contract. They work a fixed number of hours (less than 38 hours per week).

This definition includes step-relations (for example, step-parents and step-children) as well as adoptive relations. A person is a casual employee if they accept an offer for a job from an employer knowing that there is no firm advance commitment to ongoing work with an agreed pattern of work. Accrued Leave is the amount of leave an employee currently has available to them at a given point in time.