SNL Group, Inc - Dedicated to providing new and established business owners with the assistance you need to enable growth and increased profitability.

Your Guide to Hiring Employees

If you hire employees there is information that you need to secure for your records and forms that you must complete. You must verify that each new employee is legally eligible to work in the United States by having the employee complete Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. The employee must also complete Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate. If your employees qualify and want to receive advanced earned income credit payments, they must give you a completed Form W-5, Earned Income Credit Advanced Payment Certificate. If your state, city or county has an Individual Income Tax then you may also be required to have your employee fill out a Withholding Allowance Certificate for the appropriate jurisdiction, check with your state's Department of Revenue for more information. You will also be required to report the
New Hire to the appropriate agency for your state, click on this link for information for your state.

Employee's Social Security Number: You are required to get each employee's name and Social Security Number (SSN) and to enter them on a Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement showing the wages paid to them during the year. You should ask your employee to show you his or her social security card if they have it available. If the employee provides the card you may want to make a copy for your records (also may be used for I-9 verification). Any employee without a social security card should apply for one using Form SS-5, Application for Social Security Card. The Social Security Administration offers Social Security Number (SSN) verification, for more information click here.

IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) for Aliens: Do not accept an ITIN in place of an SSN for employee identification or for work. An ITIN is only available to resident and nonresident aliens who are not eligible for U.S. employment and need identification for other tax purposes. You can identify an ITIN because it is a 9-digit number, beginning with the number "9" and is formatted like a SSN. Note: An individual with an ITIN who later becomes eligible to work in the United States must obtain a SSN.

What are employment taxes?

If you have employees, you are responsible for several federal, state and local taxes. As an employer, you must withhold and deposit certain taxes from your employee pay checks, as well as paying certain employment taxes yourself as an employer. Employee taxes include the following: Federal Income Tax, Social Security and Medicare Taxes and possibly
State and Local Taxes. Employer taxes include the following: Social Security and Medicare Taxes, State and Federal Unemployment Taxes.
For more information on these taxes click here.