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Insurance offered through OnPay Insurance Agency, LLC (CA License #0L29422)
Updated January 13, 2021
Meat Packers, German restaurants, and dairy farmers are just a few of the almost half a million small businesses that hire more than a million employees in Wisconsin. You’re a small business owner in America’s Dairyland, and we want to help you say cheese as much as possible. And when you use our handy payroll tax calculator to help you with all of your payroll needs, you’ll be all smiles all the time.
Simply enter wage and W-4 information for each of your employees into the calculator. Before you know it, you’ll have all Wisconsin state and federal payroll taxes calculated for your employees.
First, we have to pay Uncle Sam his due. Let’s calculate all your employees’ federal withholdings, as well as the additional taxes your business is responsible for paying.
Here’s a quick rundown of the components that go into federal tax withholdings. If you would like to see a more detailed explanation on all of the steps below, we invite you to head on over to our comprehensive step-by-step guide.
Now that we’re done with federal taxes, let’s look at Wisconsin state income taxes. It’s a progressive income tax, meaning the more money your employees make, the higher the income tax.
The state income tax rates range from 3.54% to a high of 7.65%.
As an employer in Wisconsin, you have to pay unemployment insurance to the state. The rate ranges from 0% all the way up to 12% on the first $14,000 in wages paid to each employee in a calendar year.
If you’re a new employer, you will pay 3.05% if your payroll is less than $500,000 and 3.25% if your payroll is above $500,000. If you’re a new employer in the construction industry, you’ll pay 2.90% if your payroll is less than $500,000, and 3.10% if your payroll is above $500,000.
Be sure to pay your SUI in full and on time so you can be eligible for the FUTA tax credit!
Say cheese! You’ve checked “payroll taxes” off your to-do list so you can focus on growing your business. Once each employee’s net pay is calculated (taking deductions and withholdings into consideration), you’re in the clear.
All you have to worry about is getting your employees paid on time as well as setting aside whatever you owe in FICA and UI taxes. The numbers can add up quickly if you don’t pay close attention to them!
You will need to use Form 941 to file federal taxes quarterly, and Form 940 to report your annual FUTA tax. You can pay taxes online using the EFTPS payment system. More details about employment tax due dates can be found here.
If all that wasn’t enough, here are a couple more links that can help you become the payroll whiz your small business needs you to be!
State of Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (414) 435-7069 | Unemployment Insurance Online Services | New Employer Registration
OnPay pays your employees and does tax filings for you.