Employer Taxes

Once you become an employer, your tax situation is immediately much more complicated. Generally, you should hire a CPA to help you through this maze, but it’s good for the small business owner to understand the basics. Especially for Employers

Employment taxes are:
The amount you should withhold from your employees for both income and social security tax, plus
The amount of social security tax you pay on behalf of each employee.
Caution: If you ignore the federal tax deposit and filing requirements, the amount you owe can increase dramatically.

If you do not pay your employment taxes on time, or if you were required to and did not include your payment with your return, we will charge you interest and penalties on any unpaid balance. We may charge you penalties of up to 15% of the amount not deposited, depending on how many days late you are.

If you do not pay withheld trust fund taxes, we may take additional collection action. We may require you to:

File and pay your taxes monthly rather than quarterly, or
Open a special bank account for the withheld amounts, under penalty of prosecution. See Form 8109, Federal Tax Deposit Coupon and Circular E, Employer’s Tax Guide.