Fall is here in Michigan. Pumpkins are on porches and the air feels crisper, cooler, and filled with the scents of autumn. As the days get shorter and colder, spring feels like a long way off, and with it, the promise of a large tax return. But it’s never too early to examine where your payroll taxes go and what they’re used for.

Are you considering starting your own business in Michigan? Understanding your tax obligations and preparing taxes can be confusing and complicated, especially for someone who hasn’t had any training for it. If returns are neglected or filed improperly, you may be fined by the IRS. It is always a good idea to consult a tax adviser or accountant to help you understand and prepare your returns. At Dominion, we make sure that your local, state, and federal taxes are paid on time, every time. Our Tax Team is only a call or email away and is always willing to help you find the answers you are looking for. In this blog you will find useful information that will help you understand everything you need to know about Michigan payroll taxes and Michigan payroll processing for your new business.

The world of tax law and payroll regulations is a complicated one. Managing pay periods, calculating overtime, and staying current on the latest procedures is no easy task. One critical component of tax law regulation your business needs to comply to is the lookback period. The lookback period is a complicated affair, but in general terms, a lookback period is a determined length of time the IRS uses to make sure your previous tax filings are correct. The status of your business will determine the length and filing type of your particular lookback period. Let’s take a look at a few common examples to better understand this component of tax law.

Those new to processing payroll in-house might be a little overwhelmed at the prospect of calculating taxes. After all, miscalculating deductions can result in having to reissue paychecks and can even lead to fees and penalties from the IRS. That is why it’s important to have the right training and tools at your disposal to ensure you’re calculating your taxes correctly every time. Make sure the resources you’re referencing are from a reliable source, and more importantly, up-to-date. Below are a few tips I’ve compiled to help make your tax calculations a little less daunting.

2018 is right around the corner and we cannot wait to see what it has in store for us! Before looking at the future, I decided to take a look back at the Dominion blogs that were the most popular. When it comes to the payroll and HR industry, there are thousands of resources that can be found online, and for us, being industry leaders is a top priority. We want to be able to share our knowledge and educate our readers on certain topics including employee benefits, time and attendance, payroll, and human resources in general. 2017 had many trending topics such as employee burnout, tracking employee time and attendance, absenteeism, and more. If you missed out on reading these blogs or are interested in getting a refresher, look no further. The following are the top 10 blogs at Dominion in 2017.

First things first, compliance is everything in the back office. Whether you’re running the payroll, tracking employee hours, calculating who is eligible for ACA, or what have you, the key to success is making sure all your ducks are in a row. Issues with compliance can lead to hefty fines and working backward to correct what has been wronged. All-in-all, it should be avoided at all costs and with the help of a few tools, it can be for the most part. Even the most seasoned HR and payroll professionals can find themselves with a penalty due to error. 

Considering how relevant they are in our day to day lives, employment taxes can be awfully complicated to understand. As the employer, it’s your job to deposit and report employment taxes and prepare and file Form W-2. This is used report wages, tips and other compensation paid to your employees. 

When dealing with the world of taxation, it’s important to know the intricate details so you can avoid fees and penalties. In this blog, I want to specifically cover deductible taxes versus non-deductible taxes. A tax deduction is a reduction in the income that is able to be taxed, essentially lowering the amount of taxes paid.

If you’re an employer and you are considering hiring aliens (or have already done so), there are certain parameters you will need to be in compliance with in regards to the reporting and withholding of federal taxes. The first thing you will need to do is identify all aliens on the company’s payroll (an alien is considered any non-U.S. citizen).

If you work in payroll or HR, chances are at some point you will be approached by a fellow colleague inquiring about their paycheck. This conservation will vary from employee to employee depending on their hourly rate, benefit elections, tax localities and so on. While it is not your job to make sure the employee knows exactly how to read their paystub, it is in everyone’s best interest for you to be able to guide them as to why certain amounts are being withheld.  

Getting audited by the IRS is something every business owner should keep in mind and be prepared for. Even though the chances of getting audited are less than 1%, you need to be able to prove the legitimacy of your deductions and credits and be able to verify you reported all sources of income. The IRS doesn’t say exactly what they are looking for when they are auditing a business, so when filling out your tax return, do it with the plan of being audited. Do not claim anything you can’t prove. If by any chance your business is being audited, here are some tips you need to be aware of in order to survive the process.

If you haven’t worked in payroll before you may find the tax calculations daunting and downright confusing. Without the proper tools and training, you can easily find yourself miscalculating tax deductions and ultimately having to reissue paychecks to fix your mistakes. There are a few things you can do to avoid miscalculations for your in-house payroll - mostly referencing the correct (and most up-to-date) resources and keeping a calculator handy. Here are a few ways to ensure you are properly calculating your Michigan payroll taxes.

Every employer is responsible for payroll taxes. Whether you have hundreds of employees or even just one, you need to make sure to do them correctly. This is a big responsibility, and it is imperative to do it the right way in order to avoid any penalties. The following are three common mistakes every employer needs to look out for when dealing with payroll taxes.

As a company continues to grow there are many changes that will need to take place to adjust to the influx of employees. Things such as office space, hardware, titles, and yes, even the software you use. As you grow you may notice some aspects of your job start to become a little more difficult than they used to be. Running payroll used to take 20 minutes, but now that you’ve nearly tripled in size it’s slowly becoming a more robust job. 

As an employer in the state of Michigan, deducting the state payroll tax from employee taxable wages is just a part of the process. Being a new business owner can be difficult in many aspects, so automating time consuming processes may alleviate some of the time consuming tasks. Calculating the Michigan state payroll tax can be summed up in four simple steps.

When a business is just getting started it is important to be mindful of unnecessary expenses. Things such as lavish graphic design, luxury office space, and leadership training are among a few of the things new businesses can afford to cut out. Good payroll software is not among one of those things. Messing up payroll means more than just having unhappy employees; in some cases you’ll be expected to pay fees and fines to the government. Here are three ways you can mess up your payroll by not using a software to streamline the process.

Year-end can be stressful for businesses big and small. A lot of time and preparation goes into the year-end process; if you work in payroll you know exactly what I mean. Keeping up with IRS regulations and ensuring you are recording accurate wage information can be daunting. Did you know you can get a head start on year-end and avoid costly errors?