Payroll Tax Specialist

Position Summary

The Payroll Tax Specialist is responsible for ensuring accurate, timely, and compliant payroll tax administration for employees across the United States. This role manages federal, state, and local payroll tax obligations, including tax setup, deposits, filings, reconciliations, agency notices, and year-end reporting. The Payroll Tax Specialist partners closely with Payroll, Human Resources, Finance, government agencies, and third-party vendors to resolve tax issues, maintain accurate records, and strengthen payroll tax processes and controls within UKG.  In addition, this position will support overall payroll operations including garnishment management, maintaining deduction codes, and supporting unemployment.

The salary range for this position is $55,000 - $70,000 per year. This is an exempt position and is not eligible for overtime.

Ideally, this position will be based in Dallas, TX. There is potential for a remote applicant in the United States who has UKG experience and a strong background in multi-state payroll tax administration.

Key Responsibilities

Payroll Tax Administration

• Manage federal, state, and local payroll tax activities for employees working across multiple U.S. jurisdictions.
• Review and validate employee tax setup, including work and resident locations, withholding elections, reciprocal agreements, unemployment insurance, and local tax requirements.
• Monitor payroll tax calculations in UKG (UltiPro) and research and resolve discrepancies before and after payroll processing.
• Ensure accurate taxation of wages, bonuses, commissions, taxable fringe benefits, relocation payments, and other compensation.
• Coordinate payroll tax setup and registrations for new states and localities as the Company expands or employee work locations change.

Payroll Administration

• Process all garnishments and child support orders
• Manage employee deductions in UKG including garnishments, benefit deductions, and 401(k) deductions
• Support unemployment activities in partnership with 3rd party provider
• Assign payroll cards as needed

Tax Filings, Deposits & Reconciliations

• Ensure federal, state, and local payroll tax deposits and returns are completed accurately and on time.
• Reconcile payroll tax liabilities, payroll registers, general ledger activity, and agency filings on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis.
• Review quarterly Forms 941, state withholding and unemployment returns, local filings, and related amendments for accuracy.
• Research tax variances, prepare corrections, and coordinate amended returns or payroll tax adjustments when necessary.
• Support Finance with month-end, quarter-end, and year-end payroll tax accruals and reconciliations.

Agency Notices & Tax Accounts

• Monitor, research, and respond to federal, state, and local tax agency notices within required deadlines.
• Maintain payroll tax registrations, account numbers, deposit frequencies, powers of attorney, unemployment insurance rates, and agency correspondence.
• Partner with payroll tax vendors and government agencies to resolve filing, payment, rate, and account discrepancies.
• Ensure payroll tax account and unemployment insurance rate changes are implemented accurately within UKG.

Year-End Reporting

• Support year-end payroll tax activities, including balancing and validating Forms W-2 and W-3 and required state and local reporting.
• Coordinate employee W-2 corrections and prepare or review Forms W-2c and W-3c, as needed.
• Validate taxable fringe benefits and other year-end adjustments to support accurate employee reporting.
• Maintain year-end calendars, checklists, documentation, and audit support.

Compliance, Reporting & Process Improvement

• Stay current on federal, state, and local payroll tax laws and communicate changes that may affect payroll processes or employees.
• Maintain payroll tax records and documentation in accordance with legal requirements and Company retention practices.
• Provide payroll tax reports and documentation for internal, external, and tax audits.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen payroll tax controls, improve accuracy, reduce risk, and increase efficiency.
• Support UKG configuration, system testing, upgrades, integrations, and process documentation related to payroll taxation.
• Respond promptly and professionally to employee and business questions involving payroll tax withholding and reporting.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of U.S. payroll tax experience, including multi-state payroll tax administration.
• Strong working knowledge of federal, state, and local payroll tax requirements, including income tax withholding, FICA, FUTA, SUTA, reciprocal agreements, and local occupational taxes.
• Experience with quarterly and annual payroll tax filings, reconciliations, agency notices, and Forms W-2 and W-2c.
• Strong attention to detail with excellent analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to research complex payroll tax issues and clearly communicate findings and recommended solutions.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to handle confidential information with professionalism and discretion.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities while meeting strict payroll and filing deadlines.

Preferred

• Experience with UKG Pro (UltiPro) payroll and tax functionality, strongly preferred.
• Experience working with UKG payroll tax filing services or another third-party payroll tax vendor.
• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP), Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC), or progress toward certification.
• Experience supporting payroll tax compliance for a large, geographically dispersed workforce.
• Experience registering payroll tax accounts and supporting mergers, acquisitions, or new jurisdiction setup.
• Advanced Excel skills, including pivot tables, lookups, and the reconciliation of large data sets.

Competencies

• Payroll tax technical expertise
• Accuracy and attention to detail
• Analytical and critical thinking
• Compliance and risk awareness
• Confidentiality and integrity
• Process improvement mindset
• Customer service orientation
• Ability to manage deadlines in a fast-paced environment