Best practices of quarter end processing.

2. In a Galaxy Far, Far Away –
Quarter-End Best Practices
Ariel Braam
Tax Manager
Alisha Santoorjian Thunstrom
Director of Support

4. Agenda
• Preparing for Quarter End
• Organizing using Jurisdiction Setup
• Determining what to file
• Filing and balancing:
• Federal 941
• Unemployment
• Withholding – State and Local
• Making corrections

5. Preparing for Quarter End
• Run Tax Deposit Report weekly
• Register with new states/localities
• Correct mistakes
• Verify account numbers and
e-filing logins
• File any monthly returns
• Verify SUTA rates
• Employer Tax Setup Verification
Report
• Administration > Employers > SUTA
setup

6. Jurisdiction Setup
• Access via administration > employers > jurisdiction setup
• Add new jurisdictions via plus button

7. Jurisdiction Setup
• Verified checkbox
• Tax ID numbers
• Website information for e-filing
• Filing instructions
• Use sorting and grouping

8. What to File
• Types of quarterly returns
• Federal 941
• Unemployment
• Withholding*
• Locals*
• FUTA 940 payment depending on your size
• Use the jurisdiction setup and/or tax deposit as a checklist
• Run tax reports by check date
• Don’t forget to file $0 returns
• Tax Deposit shows taxes withheld for the quarter
• Jurisdiction Setup can be used to identify $0 states

9. Federal 941
• What year did the Supplemental Medicare Tax go into effect?
• 2013

10. Federal 941
• Use the Federal 941
Report to fill out the form
• https://www.irs.gov/pub/ir
s-pdf/f941.pdf

11. Federal 941 – Negatives on Schedule B
• Negative wages are not
allowed in the daily
portion of Schedule B
• Move negative wages to
offset next day with
positive wages

12. Federal 941 – Report Balancing
• Compare Federal Tax
Deposit Report to
Federal 941 Report

13. Unemployment Tax – SUTA/SUI
• How many states have employee contributions to unemployment?
• Three
• Pennsylvania
• Alaska
• New Jersey

14. Unemployment Tax – Mag Media Files
• What are Mag Media files?
• Files generated in Enterprise
• Contain quarterly unemployment wage
details
• What formats are there?
• CSV
• ICESA
• MMREF/EFW2
• Other (ex. XML and TIB)
• Why so many types?
• Decentralized authorities
• Changing technologies
• Which one do I need?
• Usually based on size
• How do I change the type?
• Contact TempWorks Support

15. Unemployment Tax – Report Balancing

16. Unemployment Tax – Definitions
• Month Counts – Count of employees
who worked the week containing the
12th of the month
• SUTA Gross – SUTA juris gross less
pretax adjustments and exempt wages
• Excess Wages – Wages in excess of the
wage base limit. Calculated as SUTA
gross less SUTA amount taxable
Gross $100
PreTax Adj $10
Juris Gross/Gross
Wages
$100
SUTA Gross $90
SUTA Amount
Taxable
$10
Excess Wages $80

17. Unemployment Tax – Upload Errors
• Helpful information for troubleshooting
• Full screenshot of the error
• Copy of the file you were trying to submit
• Hierarchy level and parameters you used when creating the file
• Steps you took to get to that point (i.e. what file type did you choose to
upload)

18. Withholding Tax
• How many states do not have individual income tax?
• Nine
• Alaska
• Florida
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Washington
• Wyoming

19. Withholding Tax
• You pay what you withheld
• Some returns combine
withholding and
unemployment
• Tax Deposit Report
• State – Local Tax Deposit
• Shows states with $0 tax
• Includes employee count

20. Withholding Tax
• Be mindful of frequency and
prepayments
• Ex. GA does not show what
you have paid thus far
• Payment frequency can differ
from filing frequency

21. Local Taxes
• Some locals paid with state
withholding
• Ex. MD and IN
• Use the Local Tax Detail
Report
• Be mindful of frequency and
remittance location
• Ex. OH and PA collection
agencies administer groups
of localities
• Majority of locals only
accept paper returns
• When in doubt, call the
locality/agency

22. Corrections
• Check Voids
• Be consistent
• Be mindful of where you are in the process
• Communicate between departments
• Don’t change taxes that were correct
• SUTA rate changes
• Edit and recalculate in Enterprise
• If you are a payroll or tax client, talk to your processor
• Unemployment Correction Detail Report
• Check date vs weekend bill date on reports

23. Corrections – Unemployment Correction Detail

24. Corrections – Date Filters and Reports
GP Summary 6/5-6/11 Before
GP Summary 6/5-6/11 After
GP Summary 7/9 – Recalc run this week
GP Summary QTD After

25. Corrections – Date Filters and Reports
Unemployment Summary by Check Date - Before
Unemployment Summary by Check Date - After

26. Take-aways
• Run Tax Deposit Report weekly
• File online
• File early
• Stay organized
• Know what to expect
• Run Tax Deposit Report weekly