You must deduct payroll taxes from employees’ wages. But, what do you do with the withheld money? You can’t hold onto it until someone asks for it.
You must pay payroll taxes to the federal government. Some employers might have to send money to their state and local governments, too.
学习如何支付工资税，这样你既可以合法又可以避免罚款。
How to pay payroll taxes
Each section below will help you make a payroll tax deposit. You’ll find out when to make a payment and where to send it.
你还必须申报工资税。Reporting isn’t discussed in depth in this article, so make sure you also learnhow to report employment taxes.
Federal income tax
When you payfederal income taxvaries by business. Every business will either use a monthly or semiweekly deposit schedule. You do not get to chose your deposit schedule, nor is it based on how often you pay employees.
Your schedule is based on alookback periodofForm 941. This is the form used to report your federal income tax, Social Security tax, and Medicare tax liabilities. To learn more about the lookback period and how to determine your depositing schedule, see theInstructions for Form 941. You can also find information inPublication 15.
你的存款计划每年都可以改变，所以在每年开始之前一定要查看你的存款计划。
New businesses are automatically monthly depositors during their first year.
If you are a monthly depositor, your federal income tax payment is due by the 15th day of the next month. For example, federal income tax withheld in January is due by February 15.
If you are a semiweekly depositor, follow the table below:
| Payday falls on: | Deposit taxes by: |
|---|---|
| Wednesday, Thursday, Friday | The following Wednesday |
| Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday | The following Friday |
You must make your federal income tax deposits by electronic funds transfer. You can do this by usingEFTPS, a tax professional, or a payroll tax filing service.
Social Security and Medicare taxes
You must deduct Social Security and Medicare taxes (which make upFICA tax) from employee wages. As the employer, you must also pay a matching portion.
You will deposit FICA tax with the federal income tax. Make sure you deposit both the employee and employer portions of FICA tax. Use the same depositing schedule and deposit all the taxes together using electronic funds transfer.
Federal unemployment tax
Only employers pay federal unemployment tax (FUTA tax). Even though you don’t withhold FUTA tax from employee wages, you must still make regular deposits.
根据FUTA税联邦工资存款规定，您必须按季度进行存款。
When your FUTA tax liability is more than $500 during a quarter, you must make a deposit. FUTA tax is due by the end of the month following the quarter.
| Quarter | FUTA tax deposit due date |
|---|---|
| Quarter 1 January, February, March |
April 30 |
| Quarter 2 April, May, June |
July 30 |
| Quarter 3 July, August, September |
October 31 |
| Quarter 4 October, November, December |
January 31 |
For example, you owe more than $500 worth of FUTA tax for the first quarter. Your FUTA tax deposit is due by April 30.
如果你每季度的债务为500美元或更少，你不需要缴纳FUTA税。相反，把你的负债延续到下个季度。一旦你欠下超过500美元(包括展期金额)，在每季度到期日期存入FUTA税。
与联邦所得税和FICA税一样，您必须通过电子资金转移存入FUTA税。同样，您可以使用EFTPS，税务专业人员，或工资税申报服务。
State and local taxes
你可能需要预扣和支付州和地方所得税，以及州失业税。
The rules for paying state and local payroll taxes vary widely. You should check with your state and local departments of taxation or other relevant agencies to learn how to pay your state and local payroll taxes.
What happens if you don’t pay payroll taxes
如果你不缴纳联邦工资税存款，后果自负。Failure to pay payroll taxes可能会导致罚款。押金越晚罚款金额越高。你还可能受到刑事处罚，比如高额罚款和监禁。如您所知，学习如何存入工资税存款对您最有利。
Full Service PayrollSoftware will automatically withhold and pay payroll taxes for you. You don’t need to do calculations, fill out forms, or make deposits. The software takes care of your tax liabilities. Try Patriot Software’s payroll software for free!
This article is updated from its original publication date of 7/5/2013.