3 of January, 2025

Payroll management is vital for any business; there is no negotiating this. Not sure how to file a payroll report? This article contains all you need to know about the matter.

What is a payroll report?

A payroll report is a document that contains important information about an employee’s payment history. This document contains the specific financial and tax information about each payment including the amount paid, pay rates and hours worked, and any available tax payment details.

What is the purpose of a payroll document?

Payroll reports can be used for a variety of things:

To calculate employee wage
To verify tax payments
For carrying out vital business audits

Types of payroll reports

Payroll reports can be different depending on the reasons they are created for. Here are some examples:

Federal payroll reports

Employers are responsible for filing a number of federal payroll reports. Some of these include:

Form 941 and form 944

Both Form 941 and Form 944 are periodic Federal Tax Return forms employers are expected to file. These reports detail all income and payroll taxes withheld from employee paychecks. Form 941 is a quarterly form while Form 944 is the annual alternative for employers who don’t pay annual wages of more than $4,000.

Form W-2 and form W-3

Both Form W-2 and Form W-3 are annual wages and tax statement forms employers are required to file for their employees. Form W-2 is a payroll report that provides information about wages, compensation, and any taxes withheld from an employee over a tax year. Form W-3, on the other hand, is a transmittal form that shows the totals of all the Form W-2s an employee has submitted over the years.

State and local payroll reports

Apart from regular federal payroll reports, some states and regions require that employers file other forms of these reports as well. These state payroll reports would often reflect state income tax withholdings and other such laws. To find out if your state or local government requires these types of payroll reports, check with your local government or any financial consultant near you.

Payroll report summary

Governmental bodies are not the only parties that might require you to provide a payroll report. Having a payroll report summary is great for when general needs for payroll reports arise. These payroll reports often detail payroll information of the various employees you have working in your company and would often include net wage, tax withholdings, health and retirement plan deductions, and so on.

How to create a payroll report

Preparing a payroll report can be a chore. Using a payroll management system is the easiest and fastest way to successfully do this. But even when making use of such solutions, it is important to first identify what kind of payroll report you need.

Next would be to gather the necessary information needed for creating the report. This would include things like the full name of your employees and other data like their birthdays, bank account information, social security number, mailing address, and so on. You would also require their pay rates and applicable tax information. With this information, you can easily create any payroll reports using payroll reporting solutions.

Customer-oriented, both internally and externally, specializing in the definition and implementation of HR policies, as well as talent management, recruitment, and retention. Strong leadership, communication, negotiation, organization, and team coordination skills. Over 12 years of experience in Human Resources.

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iriserrador

HR Content Specialist

How to create a payroll report for your employees