Yes. Don't worry if you need to do your first payroll or two (after a change is made) with the old tax tables. The difference over a couple of paychecks is negligible and will be made up when each employee files their own tax returns the following year. Generally there is no effect on the employer's share of taxes.

Place your order for new tax table formulas at the Procare Online Store. When they become available (in early January), your password to download tax formulas will appear on the Procare News tab. See article: Download Tax Tables

New tax table formulas are typically available for download sometime during the first week of January. If you have previously installed tax tables for another year a password will be required. See article: Download Tax Tables

Note: If your state makes changes mid-year please notify Procare Support. As a registered employer in your state, you may be aware of a change before we are.

From the Procare Home screen go to the Configuration > System > Accounting Management > Payroll > dbl-click Payroll Formulas.  Then click the Download & Update button (bottom of screen) and follow the on-screen prompts. If you have previously installed tax tables for another year a password will be required. See article: Download Tax Tables

No. Those changes should be made manually by going to Configuration > System > Regions and Schools. 

1. Federal Unemployment (FUTA)

To change FUTA select your Region, then click Set Options. Select the Payroll section (left side) and change the FUTA settings as needed. You may store settings for 2 years at a time. Change the oldest year (like 2010) to the current year (like 2012). Be sure the wage base(s) and rate(s) are correct.



2. State Unemployment (SUTA)

For SUTA, choose your School (instead of the Region), then Set Options, etc. You may store settings for 2 years at a time. Change the oldest year (like 2010) to the current year (like 2012). Be sure the wage base(s) and rate(s) are correct.

For details see article: FUTA & SUTA Settings

In the Payroll Formulas screen, choose either the Federal or State category (top left). Locate the formula on the right side of the screen. You'll see a Start Date which indicates when that table was last updated.  Mid-year changes will show a date after January 1st.

The easiest way to verify that you are withholding the correct amount from a payroll check is to check the Procare calculation against the IRS Publication 15, commonly known as the Circular E. Computer calculations are based on Table 7 for annual pay. This annual amount is then divided by the number of pay periods per year to determine the amount to withhold from an individual check. Visit the IRS Website to obtain a copy of the most recent edition of the IRS Publication 15 Circular E - Employer's Tax Guide. Search under Forms and Publications for either "Publication 15" or "Circular E".

There are a number of things that could cause withholdings to be incorrect, or make them appear to be incorrect on an individual paycheck. Please review the following items:

1. Consider the source of the discrepancy.

Note: Since Social Security and Medicare are exact percentages the amounts withheld should always be as expected. If they are "off" by more than a few cents further investigation is warranted. State and Federal income taxes, on the other hand, are simply an estimate of what each person will owe the following April. Computer calculations for federal & state income taxes can vary by several dollars (when compared to a manual calculation) because manual calculations are based on a range of income, for example if you earn between X and Y withhold so many dollars. Computer calculations use the number of pay periods in a year to estimate annual income which results in a more precise amount to withhold on an individual check.

2. Be sure you have the latest tax publication from your state or the federal government.
3. Make sure you have the latest Procare tax tables installed.
4. Confirm the Pay Periods have been configured correctly within the Employee Data section of Region and School Options.
5. Confirm the correct Withholdings and Credits have been assigned to that employee and that Variables (like the number of allowances claimed) are also correct.
6. Confirm that the tax exempt status of each General Withholding (health plan, retirement, etc.) is correct on the Payroll Formulas screen. For example some withholdings like a retirement or cafeteria plan may be marked as Exempt From certain taxes (confirm with your accountant) while others like health insurance or employee child care may not.

In the Procare Payroll there are two withholding choices for Federal Income Tax. You may set the variable for Filing Married as either True (married) or False (single). For persons who choose "Married but withhold at the higher single rate" (on Form W-4) mark them as False (single) so that more income tax will be withheld each pay period.

The Earned Income Credit (EIC), also known as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), is a federal income tax credit for lower income workers who are eligible for and claim the credit. This reduces the amount of tax an individual owes and previously (see note) could be added to their paychecks in the form of a credit. More Information: Search the IRS Web Site for "Earned Income Tax Credit" or "EITC".

Note: Beginning in 2011 EIC is no longer advanced to people on individual paychecks. Therefore it is not necessary to assign the EIC credit to them as the amount added to their checks would be zero. See IRS questions about the Advanced Earned Income Credit.