Small Biz Owners - How do I go about having an employee?

Question

ISmall Biz Owners - How do I go about having an employee?
I write travel books with my son as a hobby, but to consider the possibility of hiring some people in other cities.

My website: http://www.jacobguide.com/

Answer 1

Ah, the joys of being an employer... You need to apply for two employer ID numbers, one from the IRS, the other from your state tax authority. You need to withhold income taxes and payroll taxes from your employee's paycheck and send the money to both the IRS and your state tax agency. Unless your payroll is very small, you need to deposit your taxes two business days before the payday.

Generally, it is considered advisable to hire a payroll service to make sure that taxes are computed correctly and paid on time. If you use QuickBooks, you can sign up for Intuit's payroll service, which will save you a lot of time and headache.

Other servies also exist, including ones that operate online. PC Magazine recently reviewed several online payroll services and recommended PayCycle, with SurePayroll running a close second:

http://www.paycycle.com/
http://www.surepayroll.com/

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Answer 2

First get yourself set up with the IRS and what other government agencies you will need. Then advertise online via craigslist or in you local newspaper.

Answer 3

The truth is step one is to file this form:

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iss4.pdf

Then you will need to apply for an employer ID number for the state you are hiring from.

The best thing is to contact a payroll service and let them do it for you.