Question

Describe in detail and in your own words the different types of withholdings that you will withhold from an employees gross pay when doing payroll. Additionally, describe the types of payments that an employer may make regarding payroll for employees (not the forms and payment to the employee).

Answer 1

Accounting for payroll is a very crucial and important as it covers a major part of the business expenses.The payroll cost is the amount of payment made for the employees either to them or on them behalf to other revenue department.

The payroll expenses are of two parts i.e payment made to the employee gross pay and the employer payroll taxes. Here the expenses does not mean the net pay but the gross pay made to the employee. The total payroll expenses are said as cost to company or CTC.

The following deduction are made from the gross pay, FICA withholding i.e social security taxes of 6.2% and Medicare taxes of 1.45%.federal income tax withholding, state income tax withholding, union dues in some cases, retirement savings plans like ,401(k) , charitable to employer sponsored charitable giving plans etc.

This deduction are remitted by the employer to the various departments and respective deduction areas for which it is being deducted from gross pay i.e for federal tax, FICA taxes will be paid to department, union dues to unions etc.

Further the employer also contributes the payroll taxes such as FICA taxes and Medicare taxes equal to the employee contribution and also the only payment made by employers for the unemployment taxes i.e Federal unemployment taxes i.e FUTA @ 0.6% and state unemployment taxes i.e SUTA @ 5.4%.

The withholding for the FICA taxes are for the employee benefits total @ 15.3% which benefits after the retirement of the employee. And further all other deduction are meant for the employee benefits in some way or other.

Feel free to comment doubts if any..