Payroll Specialist - Tax

Position

Purpose:

The Payroll Tax Analyst is responsible for supporting accurate and compliant payroll tax administration across a large, complex, multi-state organization. This position performs payroll tax reconciliations, researches and resolves tax discrepancies, manages agency notices, supports tax filings and amendments, and assists with quarter-end and year-end processing. This role supports a highly complex payroll environment of 20,000+ associates across multiple legal entities, FEINs, states, local jurisdictions, and pay groups utilizing Workday Payroll and ADP Smart Compliance.

• Perform regular federal, state, and local payroll tax reconciliations between Workday, ADP Smart Compliance, payroll registers, tax filings, and general ledger activity.
• Research and resolve payroll tax discrepancies, including employee withholding, employer taxes, taxable wages, and jurisdictional differences.
• Validate tax calculations and taxable wage treatment for payroll adjustments, supplemental wages, fringe benefits, equity-related payments, and other taxable earnings.
• Review tax funding and liability activity to identify discrepancies prior to filing deadlines.
• Monitor tax exceptions and outstanding items and drive issues through resolution.
• Maintain supporting documentation and audit trails for payroll tax activity.

• Support quarterly and annual federal, state, and local payroll tax filings.
• Review quarterly tax returns and reconciliations for accuracy prior to filing.
• Research and respond to federal, state, and local tax agency notices.
• Coordinate tax amendments, including Forms 941-X, W-2C, and applicable state and local corrections.
• Research tax penalties and interest and assist with requests for abatements when appropriate.
• Track agency notices, amendments, and open tax issues through final resolution.
• Assist with tax account registrations, closures, and updates associated with organizational changes.

• Monitor payroll tax integrations and data between Workday and ADP Smart Compliance.
• Research integration errors, rejected transactions, jurisdictional discrepancies, and tax setup issues.
• Partner with HR Technology and vendors to troubleshoot system-related payroll tax issues.
• Participate in Workday testing related to tax configuration, system updates, integrations, acquisitions, and process changes.
• Validate tax results during testing and document identified issues and required corrections.
• Support continuous improvement and automation of payroll tax processes and controls.

• Perform quarter-end reconciliations of taxable wages, taxes withheld, employer liabilities, and tax filings.
• Support year-end balancing and reconciliation of Forms W-2 and W-2C.
• Validate employee tax forms and taxable wage reporting.
• Assist with year-end processing of taxable fringe benefits and other special earnings.
• Research and resolve W-2 discrepancies and employee tax inquiries.
• Support annual tax configuration and jurisdictional updates in preparation for the new tax year.

• Support payroll tax activities associated with acquisitions, integrations, legal entity changes, and employee transfers.
• Assist with federal, state, and local tax registrations for new entities and jurisdictions.
• Review acquired-company payroll tax data and identify outstanding liabilities, filings, notices, or reconciliation issues.
• Support predecessor/successor wage analysis and employee tax treatment when applicable.
• Validate tax setup and results during acquisition testing and payroll conversion.
• Partner with Payroll leadership, Accounting, HR Technology, and external vendors to support successful payroll integrations.

• Perform payroll tax audits and identify trends, discrepancies, and potential compliance risks.
• Develop and maintain tax reconciliation schedules, trackers, and supporting documentation.
• Assist with internal and external payroll tax audits.
• Support SOX and other internal control requirements related to payroll tax.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen controls, reduce manual processes, and improve payroll tax accuracy.
• Escalate significant tax discrepancies or compliance risks to Payroll Tax leadership.

• Research and resolve complex employee tax questions, including withholding, taxable wages, jurisdictional taxation, and W-2 reporting.
• Partner with Payroll…