🧾 Set Up State Tax Filings

🏛️ Stay compliant across jurisdictions. Managing state tax filings accurately is essential to avoid penalties and keep your payroll compliant with evolving local regulations. FlexPay simplifies this complex process by guiding you through configuring tax accounts, rates, and reporting requirements state-by-state.

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Introduction

After defining your employee roles in the previous step, you’re now ready to tackle one of the most critical compliance components of payroll: state tax filings. This step depends heavily on the employee data, company information, and role permissions you configured in earlier stages, especially the tax document setup from Step 4.

FlexPay’s robust tax filing module integrates your company’s location data, employee residency details, and pay schedules to automatically calculate and remit the correct state taxes for each employee. You’ll specify each state’s unique filing requirements, upload relevant tax forms, and configure deadlines within the system.

Since tax laws vary widely by state and often change annually, FlexPay provides automatic updates to tax rates and filing rules, minimizing manual overhead. However, your accurate initial setup is essential to enable this automation.

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UI Overview: Tax Filings Configuration

Figure 1. Tax Filing Dashboard on FlexPay Showing State, Status, Due Date

The dashboard organizes your filing setup in a clean, state-by-state list format with status indicators and action buttons for each jurisdiction:

State	Filing Frequency	Tax Rate	Next Due Date	Status
California	Quarterly	6.5%	04/30/2025	Active
Texas	Annual	0%	N/A	Not Required
New York	Monthly	7.1%	05/15/2025	Active

Table 1: Example summary of configured state tax filings.

You can edit each state’s filing rules, upload state-specific tax forms (like W-2s or unemployment insurance reports), and assign roles with permission to access or manage tax filings.

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Linking to Previous Steps

State tax filings rely on foundational data gathered during:

• 🏢 Step 2: Add Company Info & Team — Accurate company address and employee residency are critical for determining applicable state taxes.

• 🔍 Step 4: Configure Tax Docs — Your tax document configuration (federal and state-level) must be complete to enable proper filing and reporting.

• 👔 Customize Employee Roles — Permissions granted here determine who can access tax filing details and submit reports.

Remember that your pay schedules (defined in Step 1) also impact the timing and frequency of tax filings. Payroll processed monthly vs. quarterly influences how and when taxes must be reported.

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Setting Up State Tax Accounts

Figure 2. Creating a New State Tax Account

The setup includes:

Configuration Item	Description
State Selection	Choose the state for tax filing.
Filing Frequency	Set the frequency (monthly, quarterly, annual).
Tax Types	Specify applicable taxes (income tax, unemployment).
Tax Rates	Enter or confirm current tax rates for each tax type.
Due Dates	Define filing deadlines to trigger reminders.
Tax Form Uploads	Attach relevant tax forms for electronic filing.

Table 2: Key elements when configuring state tax accounts.

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Best Practices and Tips

Tax filing is one of the most error-prone payroll areas, so double-check all state-specific rules before activating a filing.

Leverage FlexPay’s automated reminders to stay on top of filing deadlines and avoid costly penalties.

Review your configured tax rates annually to align with any legislative changes. FlexPay provides update notifications, but it’s good to verify accuracy.

Grant tax filing permissions only to trusted Payroll Admins or designated staff via your roles setup to reduce risk.

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Additional Help and Hints

💡 Hint: Use the “Test Filing” feature in FlexPay to simulate a tax filing before submission. This helps catch issues early.

⚠️ Warning: Missing or incorrect tax filings can lead to audits, fines, and interest charges. Ensure your filing schedule matches your company’s payroll calendar precisely.

Summary

Configuring state tax filings correctly in FlexPay is vital for compliance and smooth payroll operations. This process depends heavily on the accuracy of your company, employee, and tax document data, as well as on clearly defined roles and permissions.

By carefully setting up each state’s tax account and filing parameters, you empower your team to meet deadlines and avoid penalties.

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What’s Next?

Next, you’ll define 💸 Direct Deposit Rules, where you configure how employees receive their paychecks electronically — a natural extension of the payroll flow you’ve been building.

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