My Favorite Payroll Support Articles

It seems like the vast majority of payroll issues are related to taxability, which in turn is related to the setup of the payroll module.  So I thought I would share a couple of my favorite payroll support articles related to taxability. 

How to correct overwithholding of payroll taxes
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/858712

I have used this article time and time again.  It can be broken down in to three key steps:

1. Refund the overwithheld taxes
2. Correct the tax summary information for total taxes and taxable wages
3. Adjust the pay code used to pay back the taxes

Correcting differences in federal wages on the 941 -vs- Payroll Summary report
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/862929

This article explains how both reports calculate, and the subtle differences between them.  The key is that the 941 report uses the current tax status of deductions to recalculate taxable wages while the payroll summary relies on the taxable wages calculated at the time the payroll was posted.

To minimize tax issues in payroll in GP, you should (in my humble opinion)...

• Ensure that the payroll setup tax flags for pay codes, deductions, and benefits are set up correctly from the start (Setup-Payroll-Deduction, Benefit, Pay Code)
• Resist the urge to change tax flags at the individual employee level (Cards-Payroll-Pay Code, Deduction, Benefit)---simply because it becomes more complicated in terms of the variations in taxability that could exist for a single code
• Ensure that all pay codes that are marked as SUTA taxable also have a SUTA state specified (this is a required field when manually setting up a pay code, but the behavior can vary when rolling down pay code assignments)
• Ensure that a default state tax code is specified for the employee, this is DIFFERENT than setting the employee up for a state tax (Cards-Payroll-State Tax).  You need to go to Cards-Payroll-Tax and make sure a default state tax code is specified for transaction entry.
• Print your 941 after every payroll when you first go live, and validate the results.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Christina Phillips is a Microsoft Certified Trainer and Dynamics GP Certified Professional. She is a supervising consultant with BKD Technologies, providing training, support, and project management services to new and existing Microsoft Dynamics customers. This blog represents her views only, not those of her employer.