payroll taxes and reports. true or false?

Question

When a business transfers money from its regular checking account to teh payroll checking account, the check is written for the amount of gross earnings?

hmm...

Answer 1

Maybe yes, maybe no. At the very least it must be cut for the amount of the paychecks being written. If the employer plans on paying the payroll taxes from that account then they would need to eventually transfer an amount equal to the net pay plus all payroll taxes. That would actually be an amount HIGHER than gross wages paid in virtually all cases.

Answer 2

It depends on how the system is set up. One company may transfer only the net payroll into the account, and the account gets emptied when all payroll checks are written for employees. That company would account separately for payroll taxes, withholdings, union dues, insurance, and other items associated with the payroll. Another company might transfer all payroll related amounts into the payroll account and when all payroll related items are paid, the account would be empty.

In either case, if anything is left in the payroll account, it gives the company a chance to determine why something is left and how to take care of it. Payroll accounting is complicated and requires detailed records, so separating the payroll account from other bank accounts can be very helpful.