My employees withholdings seem to change drastically almost every pay period! This can't actually be possible, can it?

Greetings KarlaD,

We keep updating the tax table to make sure we are compliant to federal and state agency. I can share some details on how QuickBooks Desktop Payroll calculates the employee's withholding.

Federal and State Income Tax (FIT and SIT) amount calculations are determined by the following:

• agency's wage and tax calculation table
• employee's filing status, number of allowances, or extra withholding amount in the employee setup
• pre-tax deduction items included on the paycheck
• changes in pay frequency (creating extra paycheck outside of normal pay schedule)
• creating a paycheck with wages that has lesser or larger amount than what the employee normally gets in a pay period

To verify if QuickBooks is calculating correctly, you can open a paycheck and take note of the tax amounts. As a reference, you can compare the figure of FIT to the wage calculation table in IRS Pub 15 and SIT to the State Withholding calculation table in your State Agency's website.

Here's how to open a paycheck:

1. Click Employees at the top, then choose Pay Employees.
2. Select the employee's name and click Open Paycheck Detail.
3. Observe the taxes.
4. Click Save and close.

Following these steps should get you back in line.

Please let me know how it goes. I'm to here provide you additional assistance if you need anything else. Have a good one.