AccuPay’s website provides a variety of useful payroll calculators that can be utilized at any time, free of charge, to assist employees and employers with payroll-related questions. We also have some calculators available to assist employees with Form W-4 preparation and for determining how tips will affect their paycheck. Below are brief descriptions about each calculator and how they can be used for net pay determinations and accurate tax withholding.
Salary Calculator & Hourly Pay Calculator
The Salary Calculator allows employees and employers to calculate a salaried employee’s net pay or “take home pay”. The net pay is the employee’s wages after withholdings and taxes. After entering all of the employee’s data, the results will display the full details of the check including gross wages, tax amounts, deduction amounts and take home pay.
The Hourly Paycheck Calculator allows employees and employers to calculate an hourly employee’s net pay. The tool allows the user to enter multiple hourly rates for one employee with a maximum of 6 different rates per employee/check. The end result provides the full details of the employee’s check including gross wages, taxes, deductions and net pay. Some possible uses of the calculators are:
- To determine the impact of a potential salary or hourly rate increase;
- To see the effect on net pay if an employee changes their tax settings;
- To see the effect on net pay if an employee adds or changes a deduction amount such as 401K
Bonus Calculators
The federal government allows an employer to calculate supplemental wages/bonuses using two methods: the aggregate method and percent method. The aggregate method will give the employee the highest take home pay. This is the method we see most used by our clients. The percent method will calculate taxes based on the higher supplemental wage rate, 25% flat rate for federal withholding tax for 2017, as required in the IRS Circular E. These calculators will give the user the full details of the supplemental wage payment depending on the chosen calculation method. These tools will allow employers to determine the take home pay from a bonus payment depending on the method used.
The Gross-Up Calculator
We often receive requests on what the gross wages would be for a specific net amount for an employee. To do this, we must “gross-up” the check. The Gross-Up Calculator will determine the gross wages before taxes and deductions are withheld, given a specific net pay amount. Employers can use this tool for supplemental wage payments, such as holiday pay and bonuses, when they want the employee to bring home a specific dollar amount.
The Form W-4 Assistant
The Form W-4 Assistant will take the user step by step through the process of completing a Form W-4. As the last step, the user can even print an official copy to provide to the HR/Payroll department. After completing all of the required and voluntary sections, a summary screen will provide you with the number of allowances you can claim based on your responses. You will then enter the number of allowances you wish to claim on the Form W-4. You can also enter an additional dollar amount you want withheld in addition to the tax table calculation. The tool will then provide you with a completed Form W-4 that can be saved and/or printed. Employers can direct employee’s to our Form W-4 Assistant when they request help completing the form.
Tip Calculator
The Tip Calculator gives an employee the opportunity to see what their take home pay will be when they are paid tips outside of payroll. Many employees who earn the majority of their pay in tips do not make enough through payroll to cover the taxes owed on their hourly pay AND tips. As a result, these employees often end up owing taxes on their personal tax return. An employee in this scenario, can use the Tip Calculator to determine if their taxes are being fully covered through payroll. If not, they can work with their accountant/CPA to plan ahead to avoid unexpected tax bills.
We encourage you to visit our website and test these calculators to determine how they can fulfill your personal and business needs. If you have any questions while using the payroll calculators, please contact our office at 317-885-7600 or via email at Payroll@accupay.com.