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To pay employees in a new state, where you’ve never operated or paid people, you must register with the state tax agencies there. This lets you pay and file the taxes you and your employees are liable for.
Watch this quick tutorial to learn more.
Registering for taxes may not be the only to-do when starting or running a business in a new state. Go to our blog for complete guides on starting and running a business in each state.
Gusto works with Middesk to help you register your business in new states.
For now, this includes: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
What you need to do
Cost, timeline, and eligibility considerations
Prices vary by state. During the first few steps in Gusto, you can see the cost, process, and estimated turnaround time.
For now, Middesk cannot help these types of companies register:
What the process looks like
Third-Party Agent (TPA) authorization reminder
Some state agencies need Gusto to have TPA access to file and pay your taxes. Usually, Middesk does not set this up, so you’ll have to do it yourself after registration.
Check the state registration articles to see if TPA is needed and how to set it up. If there's no “Authorize Gusto” section, then TPA is not needed right now.
If setting up TPA requires online agency portal access:Prices vary by state. During the first few steps in Gusto, you can see the cost, process, and estimated turnaround time.
If you have questions about answering any of the questions, try Middesk’s Help Center or contact Middesk at [email protected].
When Middesk gets your tax account information back after registering, they'll enter it in Gusto for you.
Each state and agency takes different amounts of time to process a registration. To estimate when your state tax account info will be available, check the Post Submission Questions in Middesk's help article.
Important reminder
When your order is complete, you’ll get emails from Gusto and Middesk. They’ll detail the next steps, which include:
Before your order is done, you can check the order status in your Gusto account:
Q: Can I run payroll before my registration is done?
A: Yes. You may be asked to enter tax rates and tax deposit frequencies, but can use temporary info.
Important reminders
Q: I need to change some of the registration information that was submitted, what do I do?
A: Email Middesk at [email protected].
Q: Can I use Gusto to register in a new state without a Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN)? What if my business is merging or being acquired?
A: No, you need a FEIN in Gusto to get registration help for state taxes.
If your business is merging or being acquired, Middesk cannot help with registration. You'll need to work with a tax advisor and state agencies directly.
Q: What if I'm not liable for unemployment tax yet?
A: If you want Middesk to start setting up an unemployment account number before you're liable, you can:
Q: Can Middesk help if the responsible party is international without an ITIN or SSN?
A: No. Middesk cannot help in this scenario, you'll need to register on your own.
Q: Why am I unable to enter 0% ownership for the responsible party or add a commercial owner?
A: Some states have a 1% minimum for the responsible party ownership percentage. These states include ID, KS, MN, OH, SC, DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, and RI.
You’ll need to place registration orders directly with Middesk outside of Gusto or register directly with the agency.
Some states require an individual owner to be listed. If you’re a non-profit or unsure, contact Middesk for help at [email protected].
Q: When will my tax account information be available?
A: Each state and agency takes different amounts of time to process a registration. To estimate when your state tax account info will be available, check the Post Submission Questions in Middesk's help article.
Q: Where can I find my tax information?
A: You can find your tax info in several places:
Gusto’s state tax registration service does not contain tax, legal, financial, or HR advice. Since rules and regulations change over time and can vary by location, consult a lawyer, HR expert, or accountant for specific guidance.
Q: Does Middesk help with giving Gusto third-party access (TPA) for tax payments?
A: Some state agencies need Gusto to have TPA access to file and pay your taxes. Usually, Middesk does not set this up, so you’ll have to do it yourself after registration.
Check the state registration articles to see if TPA is needed and how to set it up. If there's no “Authorize Gusto” section, then TPA is not needed right now.
If setting up TPA requires online agency portal access:
Q: Does Middesk help close state tax accounts?
A: No, you'll need to close the tax account yourself.
Q: Can I cancel my Middesk order?
A: At this time, we cannot support order cancellations or refunds.
After you register, you should receive your account number and tax deposit schedule instantly.
Once a valid Georgia address has been added in Gusto for one or more employee(s), you can add your tax account information:
Most companies become liable for state unemployment insurance tax once the company has:
If you're not yet liable, or don't have your assigned rate yet, enter the new employer rate for Georgia in Gusto in the meantime—update the rate once you receive it.
Most companies* need to register online with the Department of Labor. You should receive your account number instantly after registering online—it'll be formatted as “XXXXXX-XX.”
*Nonprofit organizations, and those going through changes in ownership, must instead complete Form DOL-1N and mail it to the agency at the address below. You should receive your account number about one month after mailing the form.
Georgia Department of Labor, Suite 850
148 Andrew Young International Blvd.
Atlanta, GA 30303-1751.
Once a valid Georgia work address has been added in Gusto for one or more employee(s), you can add your tax account information:
If you've already registered in the state, you'll need to enter your tax account details in Gusto.
You'll need to be registered with one or more of the below agencies in order for Gusto to file and pay taxes on your behalf:
If you still need to register, click the applicable dropdown above in this article.
If you've run payroll in GA before, you can find your withholding account number by:
You'll receive a withholding number that looks like "XXXXXXX-XX."
Make sure to give Gusto the authorization we'll need to file and pay this tax for you.
To find your current tax deposit schedule, sign in to the Georgia Tax Center.
Gusto supports the following tax deposit schedules: Semi-weekly payer, monthly payer, or quarterly payer.
If you have any trouble finding the information, call the agency at (877) 423-6711 to confirm your withholding number and tax deposit schedule.
Businesses that have run payroll in the past can find their Department of Labor (DOL) Account Number by:
Your account number will be formatted as “XXXXXX-XX.”
You can find your unemployment tax rate in the GDOL Employer Portal—sign in, and under your business's name, click DOL account number.
Enter the “total tax rate” in Gusto—if you do not know your total tax rate, call the agency at (404) 232-3300 to confirm it.
If you do not have your assigned rate yet, enter the new employer rate for Georgia in Gusto in the meantime—update the rate once you receive it.
Once a valid Georgia work address has been added in Gusto for one or more employees, you can add your tax account information:
Third-party authorization (TPA) is needed for the agency below.
The Georgia DOR requires special authorization for Gusto to amend reports or troubleshoot issues relating to your withholding income taxes. To make sure Gusto can get the authorization we need, follow the steps below.
Step one: Verify the 'Withholding tax' type is on your Georgia Tax Center account
If “Withholding Tax” is not listed:
Step two: Verify all information in Gusto matches what the agency has on file
The information that must match is your:
You can review and compare the information from your Georgia Tax Center, or call the agency at (877) 423-6711 to confirm your details.
If you filed for the Georgia Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit or other Georgia tax credits and you'd like to claim it in Gusto, contact our team from the Support section of your account.
Requirements
How the credits are applied and where to find the credit-balance
Once we've entered the credit in our system, your Georgia withholding tax will be reduced on payrolls until the credit is used. You can track the credits that have been applied, and how much credit is still available, by heading to the Reports section of your account and running a “Tax credits” report.
Learn more
You can view forms in Taxes & Compliance > Tax documents. Switch between the tabs to find federal, state, W-2s, and 1099s.
To see what Gusto has paid on your behalf, run the Agency Payments report.
Learn how to close or reopen tax accounts here.