When payroll is run, we deduct the required amount of taxes and send them to the government (and file related forms).
If something changes after payroll is done, or forms were filed—like new info that changes the tax amount—you might owe more money or get some money back.
To fix this, we run a special payroll called a tax reconciliation. It helps make sure the right amount of taxes are paid and reported.
You may owe more taxes. If so, we’ll take the extra amount from your company’s default bank account in Gusto.
You may get a refund. If we still have the extra money you paid, we’ll send it back to the default bank account in Gusto.
Some tax reconciliation payrolls happen automatically as a result of changes to your account, or on a quarterly basis (to correct potential tax discrepancies ahead of filing). Other times, they may be run by our team, as needed, as a response to one of the situations below.
State unemployment rate change: This occurs when your State Unemployment Insurance (SUI) rate changes for the current quarter due to reasons specified by the state unemployment department.
This debit usually happens at the end of the quarter, depending on the timing of the tax rate change.
FUTA credit reduction states: This occurs if you're an employer in a credit reduction state, and a higher tax is due on federal Form 940.
This debit usually happens at the end of the year, contingent upon an employer's status in a credit reduction state.
Non-Gusto payrolls: When you add or remove a non-Gusto payroll, it may impact how previous payrolls should have been taxed. If additional taxes are owed, we'll debit your account and send the tax amounts to the applicable agencies.
Work/home location changes: If your company or an employee has a change in work or home location, you may be liable for additional taxes to federal and state agencies.
Benefit adjustments: Changes to benefits can also change taxes owed.
Exemptions: Adding or removing a tax exemption can result in an increase or decrease in taxes owed.
Auto-adjust for FICA taxes: Auto Adjust is a payroll tax feature that balances FICA (Social Security and Medicare) withholdings against year-to-date (YTD) wages and amounts already withheld. This helps ensure that employees’ tax withholdings are accurate by year-end.
Click the Reports section.
Scroll to find the “Tax Reconciliation History” report and click View.
Under the “Actions” column, click View details next to the tax reconciliation payroll you want to view.
To download the summary of a specific reconciliation, scroll to the bottom-right corner of the reconciliation details page and click Download.
If you plan to make the tax payments associated with the tax reconciliation payroll outside of Gusto (directly to the agency), you can cancel the Gusto debit. If you do not see the option to cancel, it means we have already debited. Canceling the debit does not cancel the amount owed or the payroll reporting of the amount.
This option is available until we've initiated the debit.
Click the Reports section.
Scroll to find the "Tax Reconciliation History" report and click View.
Under the “Actions” column, click View details next to the tax reconciliation payroll you want to view.
On the top-right of the page, click Cancel debit.
By clicking Yes, cancel debit, you understand that you'll be responsible for making these tax payments yourself to the relevant agencies. Any penalties, interest, over/underpayments, or notices will be your company's responsibility.
Click Yes, cancel debit.
As a reminder, you'll only be able to cancel the entire debit—if you need to cancel specific parts of it, or the tax reconciliation looks wrong, contact us from the Help section of your account.
Email notifications are sent when a tax reconciliation payroll results in a debit of $5.00 or more.
The email will notify you of the factors that impacted the tax reconciliation, the adjustment period, the last four digits of the bank account that will be debited, the debit date, any applicable taxes, and the total debit amount.
The debit typically occurs a few business days after you receive the email.
In certain cases, you may receive an email about a refund from Gusto—we'll let you know if there's any action required on your end, like reimbursing employees for overpaid taxes.