Payroll and sales tax
Payroll is the area where mistakes carry the fastest penalties. It is also the one most often run on a spreadsheet and hope.
You are in the right place if…
First-time employers
You have just hired someone and discovered what that involves.
S-Corp owners
Reasonable compensation, which is not optional once you have made the election.
Multi-state sellers
Sales tax obligations that appeared as you grew, without announcing themselves.
Everything in the fee
- Payroll processing and pay runsPer cycle
- Federal and state tax depositsEFTPS
- Quarterly payroll returns941
- Annual federal unemployment return940
- W-2 and W-3 preparationAnnual
- Contractor 1099-NEC issuanceAnnual
- Sales tax registration and returnsState
- Nexus review as you expandAdvisory
Deposit deadlines are the sharp edge
Payroll tax deposits run on a fixed schedule determined by your deposit history, and the penalties for being late escalate quickly. Unlike most tax deadlines, these come round every fortnight or every month rather than once a year, which means a single missed process becomes a recurring problem.
Reasonable compensation, if you have elected S-Corp
An S-Corp owner who works in the business must be paid a reasonable salary through payroll before taking distributions. Owners who take everything as distributions to avoid payroll tax are running a well-known and well-examined risk. Getting the split defensible is part of the work.
Sales tax nexus creeps up on you
Selling into a state can create a filing obligation once you pass that state’s economic threshold — no office or staff required. For online sellers this changes as revenue grows, and the obligation typically starts before anyone notices it has. We review nexus annually rather than waiting for a letter.