Payroll regulations can be very complex. Quicken can be helpful in keeping track of payroll-related expenses and employment taxes if your payroll is fairly simple. If your operation has many employees, employees on hourly wages or total payroll greater than $2500 annually, you should consider using QuickPayroll as an add-on program to Quicken. The examples and discussion that follow pertain to a payroll that is straight forward and fairly easy to understand. The following examples relate to agricultural employers ONLY.
The withholding of federal and state income taxes and FICA and Medicare taxes are what makes payroll transactions complicated. If an agricultural employer has total annual payroll greater than $2500, regardless of the number of employees, the employer is required to withhold federal income taxes, FICA and Medicare taxes. If total payroll is less than $2500, then each individual employee who is paid $150 or more in cash wages is subject to withholding of income taxes, FICA and Medicare taxes. If the employees are subject to withholding, the employer must match the employee’s contribution of FICA and Medicare taxes. Withholding of Ohio income taxes is optional and is required only if the employee requests it. If total payroll is less than $2500 and no one employee is paid $150 or more, the employer does not have to withhold on any employee and the payroll transaction is very straightforward.