Determining Year-to-date Payroll Tax-Related Liabilities

When it's time to record your year-to-date payroll taxes, you might need to go back to the beginning of the year and summarize all your payroll transactions. If, for example, it is late June when you get ready to set up your payroll in QuickBooks, you'll need to compile all your payroll tax expenses from January through June.

These are the taxes you'll compile:

• Federal income tax withheld

• FICA withheld (Social Security tax)

• Medicare tax withheld

• State income tax withheld

• Employer share of FICA (Social Security tax)

• Employer share of Medicare tax

• Federal unemployment tax

• State unemployment tax

In addition, you will need to enter year-to-date amounts you have withheld from employees for benefits such as health insurance, health savings account contributions, and retirement plans.

You'll also need to record year-to-date employer contributions to employee benefit plans.