US payroll
Federal and state payroll tax. Done to the cent.
Run each pay period in a few clicks. TallyCheck works out every paycheck, posts it to the ledger, records net pay and every tax deposit — and gives you the figures for Form 941, 940 and the W-2s.
Every paycheck explained
A pay stub your staff can follow.
Gross pay, pre-tax deductions, each tax withheld and the employer's share — all shown, all traceable to the employee's Form W-4 and the year's rates.
- Salaried and hourly employees
- Overtime at time and a half
- Bonuses and other earnings
- 2020+ and older Forms W-4
- 401(k) and section 125 deductions
- Exempt employees and extra withholding
Pay stub · Nov 6, 2026
Example employee
Single · every two weeks · Texas
Employer FICA
153.00
FUTA + SUTA
66.00
Total cost
2,219.00
Example figures. State unemployment at an example 2.7% rate.
How a pay period runs
From draft to deposited, in six steps
Start the pay run
Pick the pay period and pay date. Every active employee is added with their pay and Form W-4.
Adjust the lines
Hours, overtime at time and a half, bonuses, other earnings — every change works the taxes out again.
Post
Wages, employer taxes and every payable go to the ledger in one balanced entry.
Pay employees
Record net pay from your bank account. Salaries Payable is cleared.
Deposit the taxes
Record a Form 941 deposit, FUTA, state unemployment and state income tax as you pay them.
Void if needed
Voiding reverses every entry the run made and frees the pay period.
Rates
The federal figures are built in. The state ones are yours.
Federal withholding follows the IRS's 2026 percentage method for payroll systems. Each pay run keeps a copy of the state and unemployment rates it used, so past pay periods never change.
Built in for 2026
- Federal income tax
- Form W-4 (2020+ and older), IRS 2026 tables
- Social security
- 6.2% + 6.2% up to $184,500
- Medicare
- 1.45% + 1.45%, no limit
- Additional Medicare
- 0.9% over $200,000 (employee)
- FUTA
- 0.6% on the first $7,000
Set by you
- State unemployment (SUTA)
- Your rate and wage base
- State income tax
- Your state's rules, per state
- No income tax on wages
- AK, FL, NV, NH, SD, TN, TX, WA, WY
- FUTA credit reduction
- When your state has one
- Pay frequency
- Weekly, every two weeks, twice a month, monthly
Around payroll
Everything a pay period touches
Employee profiles
Work state, salary or hourly rate, the Form W-4 and the state withholding certificate.
Every state
Enter each state's withholding rules once — flat rate or brackets. Posting waits until a state is set up.
Year-to-date limits
Social security, FUTA and state unemployment stop at their yearly wage limits, worked out from earlier pay runs.
In the books
Wages, payroll tax expense and a payable for every tax, posted in one balanced entry.
941, 940 and W-2
The quarterly and yearly figures and each employee's W-2 boxes, from the pay runs you posted.
Only for the right eyes
Payroll is its own permission. Others can't see pay or tax details.
Questions
Payroll questions
How do I know the federal withholding is right?
Does TallyCheck file or pay my payroll taxes?
Which states are covered?
What about city and county taxes?
Can I pay employees by direct deposit?
Is it in the Desktop edition?
See your books the way they should be.
Pick the edition that fits. You can move from one to the other later.
TallyCheck Web
For the whole team, from any browser.
TallyCheck Desktop
Offline, on one Windows PC.