To help prevent problems before they occur, it is important to review your payroll reports to ensure the information they contain is accurate and error free. Pay close attention to processing messages and/or wage and tax audit messages during the review process.
Several reports, such as the Payroll Register Grand Totals Page, the Payroll Exception Report, and the Adjustment Audit Report are available to assist you in reviewing payroll tax liabilities.
Payroll Register Grand Totals Page
Your company's Payroll Register Grand Totals Page accompanies your payroll and displays the tax and wage totals transmitted to the Ceridian's tax service. The Total Taxes in the Net Pay Analysis section is the accumulated tax total included in the transmission.
Each time a payroll is processed, review the Payroll Register Grand Totals Page closely to ensure:
The check date is correct.
All valid state and local tax codes are included.
The dollar amounts are correct for each tax jurisdiction, including the totals for the current period, as well as the quarter-to-date and year-to-date figures.
The Total Taxes in the Net Pay Analysis section of the Payroll Register Grand Totals page represents the amount to be funded for that check date. This amount may differ from the amount Ceridian actually debits from your account if your company is responsible for paying any of the following taxes:
• Hawaii Disability Insurance
• New York Disability Insurance
• Washington Workers' Compensation
• Wyoming Workers' Compensation (processed at quarter-end only)
These taxes appear on the Payroll Register Grand Totals page and are calculated in the Total Taxes. However, they are not transmitted with your periodic payroll tax data because Ceridian does not support processing of these taxes or, as noted, processes the data only at quarter-end. If your company is responsible for any of the above taxes, deduct the amount from the Total Taxes figure and fund your account for the net amount.
As noted, the Wyoming Workers' Compensation tax is supported, but it is not processed/collected until quarter-end. Refer to the Supported/Non-Supported Taxes table in the Reference section of this manual for additional information regarding which taxes are (and are not) processed by Ceridian's tax service.
If you find that any of the information on the Payroll Register Grand Totals Page is incorrect, contact your Ceridian tax service representative immediately. Taking immediate action may help prevent processing of the payroll tax data.
Payroll Exception Report
Your Payroll Exception Report combines three types of exceptions in one report. Two of these exceptions could have tax implications. These include:
• Processing Messages.
• Wage Tax Audit Messages.
Processing Messages are also found on the Processing Messages Report and can be either company or employee level. They can include warnings or errors involving missing or invalid federal and state ID numbers or Social Security numbers. They can also include informational messages such as a rate change for Unemployment Compensation. Additional information on tax ID and rate changes can be found in the Maintenance section of this manual.
The following Processing Messages have an impact on tax filing.
AF Applied For Status
"STATE UC # AF XXXXXXXXXXXX INVALID FOR XX"
This means an Employer Identification Number is not on file for this jurisdiction. Therefore, the tax is flagged "AF" meaning it has an "Applied For" status.
An AF status prevents Ceridian from filing taxes on your behalf in many jurisdictions and therefore, exposes your company to penalty and interest assessed by the agency. Two agency conditions are associated with AF IDs:
Some state and local jurisdictions will not accept deposits or returns without an assigned ID number. Refer to your QE Planner for a current list of state and local jurisdictions that do not accept AF IDs.
Some state jurisdictions will not accept magnetic filings without an assigned ID number. This presents a problem with those agencies that require returns and/or wage detail to be filed on magnetic media.
To resolve this type of processing message:
Apply for an ID number with the agency. To expedite this process, many agencies issue ID numbers over the phone. Your Ceridian tax service representative can assist you by providing agency registration forms and phone numbers. See the "Registering With Tax Agencies" procedure in the Maintenance section of this manual.
Forward your ID number or proof of registration to your Ceridian tax service representative prior to the end of the quarter.
SSN Social Security Number Invalid
"SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER ___________ IS INVALID"
This indicates an employee's Social Security number is not in the format required by federal and/or state agencies (Social Security numbers cannot be 000000000, 111111111, or 123456789, e.g.).
Although this message is unrelated to the data we maintain on your Client Master File (CMF), the consequences of not having valid Social Security numbers for employees includes improper reporting of unemployment insurance eligibility, non-compliant filing of wage detail via magnetic media, inaccurate Forms W-2, etc. As with Applied For IDs, these non-compliant numbers could expose your company to penalty and interest assessments.
To resolve this alert message, correct the employee's Social Security number to the proper format.
Note: This message only tells you that SSN does not meet the agency format. It will not tell you if the SSN listed matches the name of the employee.
Wage and Tax Audit Messages can also be found in the Wage and Tax Audit Report and are usually the result of employee transaction entries. For example, if an employee's Social Security taxes were under- or over-withheld, this message would display on the Wage and Tax Audit Report. Please contact the Customer Service Center (CSC) for guidance in correcting your Wage and Tax Audit Messages.
Adjustment Audit Report
This report provides an audit trail of all adjustment entries made in the current payroll processing. It can be used to audit and adjust quarter-to-date and year-to-date figures. Quarter-to-date and year-to-date adjustments are not sent to Ceridian's tax service on a per payroll basis. By maintaining a separate file or record of the Adjustment Reports, you can easily assist your Ceridian tax service representative at quarter- and year-end during the reconciliation process.
For customers using the Balance-As-You-Go option, the Adjustment Audit Report serves as a confirmation of the quarterly out-of-balance condition(s) detected by BAYG Balance As You Go.