Thrive in today's marketplace

How to Stay Competitive in a Tight Labor Market

Staying competitive in a tight labor market can be challenging. All industry sectors are challenged by labor shortages, but Gene Marks says small businesses are positioned with a built-in edge: flexibility.

Payroll taxes made easy

Withholding, filing, and remitting payroll taxes can be complicated tasks, but they are ones that you as a business owner must get right.

Let's review some payroll tax basics.

What Is Payroll Tax?

Payroll taxes are federal and state taxes related to an employee's taxable compensation. They include:

• Income tax withholding based on information provided by employees on Form W-4 . This tax is paid exclusively by employees.
• FICA , Social Security and Medicare taxes, is paid equally by employers and employees. The Social Security portion is referred to as Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance, or OASDI, and provides benefits to retirees, spouses, and former spouses, dependent children in some cases, and disabled individuals under retirement age. The Medicare portion allows those age 65 and older (and certain other individuals) to qualify for Part A Medicare coverage with no additional cost, plus coverage through Parts B, C, and D for an additional premium.
• FUTA , which is a federal unemployment tax, paid exclusively by employers.
• State unemployment tax paid by employers, although a few states require some employee contributions.

What Should Employers Know About Payroll Tax Responsibilities?

Employers have several mandatory tasks in handling payroll taxes:

• Calculate income tax withholding and other employment taxes.
• Deposit all payroll taxes according to a set deposit schedule (with an exception for a very small employer).
• File quarterly reporting about all employment taxes withheld, including income tax withholding and FICA (with an annual report for a small employer), and report annually to employees and the Social Security Administration about all employees' tax payments.
• Complete any additional required reporting, including state-level reporting and annual FUTA reporting.

Payroll taxes are like a Rubik’s cube — complex, but solvable. Access this guide to navigate the delicate balancing act between employee wages, deductions, and tax brackets to help ensure you get it right for your employees and business: https://bit.ly/3wIdYzC

Your business roadmap

Running a business can be incredibly rewarding, but it comes with a laundry list of responsibilities. Our Essential Guide for Business Owners and Managers is here to help you navigate difficult issues like payroll, taxes, hiring, benefits, and more.

Download Your Free Guide: https://bit.ly/3Ioncne

Take a look at new ways to pay employees

Help ensure the financial well-being of your team members, while also experiencing more flexible payroll processing with real-time payments and same-day ACH — now available in Paychex Flex?. Thanks to the joy of timely payments, payday headaches can be a thing of the past for both you and your employees.

See What's New: https://bit.ly/3wzDyqn

Kara Swisher on Why Embracing the Tech Industry is an Imperative for Your Business

Kara Swisher is a journalist, author, podcast host, and small-business owner who has written about the tech industry since the beginning of the internet age. Her new offering, Burn Book: A Tech Love Story, details her interactions with some tech giants. She also shares insights on Paychex THRIVE, a Business Podcast, about how a lack of regulatory oversight has led to challenges in society, including privacy issues and safeguarding information. She also talks about the tool that is AI and how business owners need to jump on board to understand how to use it for their benefit.

Level up with the RISE Act

The secret to attracting top talent? Offering a retirement plan. Thanks to the RISE Act, businesses with 1 to 9 employees can now earn tax credits when they do, giving employees a future they can bank on.

Unlock RISE's Benefits: https://bit.ly/48GgpjC

What’s trending

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The future of hiring

With 2024 here, finding and keeping talent remains a top priority for many business leaders. Here are a few hiring trends you need to know:

Hiring for Soft Skills

Our first hiring trend is the importance of hiring for soft skills. For instance, soft skills such as problem-solving, collaboration, and leadership can be more challenging skills to hire for than hard skills that could be learned like technical support, or cashier processes. A candidate's soft skills can significantly influence their ability to fit in with your culture. Identify some soft skills you want to bring into your organization, knowing you may be able to train a candidate in some of the hard skills required to execute on the job, such as learning your administrative processes and technology platforms.

Tapping Into Internal Hires

Looking at your internal talent pools can help fill talent gaps by focusing on upskilling and reskilling current employees to meet changing and future business needs. Often great candidates can be hidden in plain sight when recruitment efforts are focused outside of a company. Intelligent companies focus on their future by using internal recruiting as part of their strategic growth.

Providing ongoing opportunities for career development is one of the best benefits your organization can offer employees. It shows your commitment to their career well-being. Today's employees seek opportunities to develop skills that have marketable value both within the future of your business and outside of your employment. Help employees know what future skills are needed for success and provide opportunities to develop their skills sets and career paths to demonstrate you are invested in their growth and development. This will also help you stay abreast of current and impending recruitment and hiring needs to inform your talent acquisition strategy.

Providing Employee Wellness, Safety, and Support

Another significant hiring trend focuses on employee wellness, safety, and support. Communicating to employees about how you will provide a safe and healthy work environment is critical to bringing on great talent and maintaining a strong workforce. This includes building programs addressing employee work/life balance , mental health , and support for remote workers.

Stay Ahead of Hiring Trends: https://bit.ly/432Qx07