Payroll history includes any payrolls that were run or paid outside of Patriot before you started using Patriot Payroll. Entering payroll history ensures your employees receive accurate W-2 forms at year-end and that Patriot correctly tracks wage base limits for taxes that stop calculating once a certain earnings threshold is reached.
Enter payroll history one employee at a time, starting with the oldest pay date and working forward to the most recent.
Note: If you have no prior payrolls for the current year, you can skip this step and proceed to the next section of the setup wizard.
Enter Payroll History
Video Walkthrough
The video walks you through entering payroll history in the payroll wizard.
If you are starting payroll mid-year and previously paid employees by check for earlier quarters, you must still enter past payroll history into Patriot to ensure accurate W-2s, even if you file those earlier quarter returns yourself.
Before You Start
Keep the following in mind before entering payroll history:
Enter payroll history from oldest to newest pay date.
Enter payrolls one employee at a time.
Payrolls from open quarters must be entered by individual pay date.
Payrolls from closed quarters can be entered by individual pay date or as a lump sum using the last date of the quarter.
Semi-weekly federal tax depositors must enter payroll history by individual pay date for the entire year, including closed quarters.
How do I know if I’m a monthly or semiweekly depositor?
Check your lookback period. If your total tax liability during the lookback period is $50,000 or less, you’re monthly; over $50,000, you’re semiweekly. New employers start as monthly depositors.
Step 1: Add the Pay Period and Pay Date
In the payroll history wizard, click Add Payroll History.
Select the employee you are entering history for.
Enter the pay period start date and pay period end date.
Enter the pay date for that payroll.
Step 2: Add Hours and Money Types Paid
Enter the earnings for the pay period:
Select the applicable money type (for example, Regular, Overtime, Bonus).
Enter the number of hours worked, if applicable.
Enter the dollar amount for each money type.
If you are adding money for tips already paid or tips owed in payroll history and have not added Treasury Tipped Occupation Codes yet to the employee, you'll need to select the correct code from the Drop down for proper tipped reporting for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
If you are adding overtime hours you will need to enter the amount of hours and the deductible federal overtime wages--that is the 1/2 portion of time and a half.
Step 3: Add Deductions and Contributions
If you forgot to add a deduction or contribution in the wizard, you'll need to add it to your company setup. Click the Paying Employees header at the top of the page to go through the company level deductions and contributions wizard setup pages wizard again.
Enter any deductions withheld from the employee's pay and employer contributions made for that pay period:
Enter the employee deduction amount for each applicable deduction (for example, health insurance, 401(k)).
Enter the employer contribution amount for each applicable contribution.
Step 4: Add Employee Tax Withheld
Enter the taxes that were withheld from the employee's paycheck for this pay period:
Enter the amount withheld for each applicable tax, including:
Federal income tax
Social Security (employee share)
Medicare (employee share)
State and local income taxes, if applicable
Step 5: Add Employer Taxes Calculated
Enter the employer's share of taxes that were calculated for this pay period:
Enter the employer tax amounts, including:
Social Security (employer share)
Medicare (employer share)
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA), if applicable
Step 6: Continue for Each Employee and Pay Date
After saving the entry for the current employee and pay date:
Click Add Payroll History to begin the next entry.
Repeat Steps 1 through 5 for the same employee's next pay date, or switch to the next employee.
Continue until all payroll history has been entered for all employees.
Once all payroll history is entered, you can proceed to the next step in the setup wizard. If you have signed up for Full-Service Payroll (Patriot's plan that includes automatic federal and state tax filing and payment on your behalf), proceed to the Tax Service Setup section.
Making Corrections to Payroll History
Q: I made a mistake when selecting the pay period or pay date can I edit this?
A: If you have made a mistake on a payroll history entry but haven't approved your payroll history yet, you'll need to delete the entire entry. You can do this on the Pay period summary page. Each entry will be displayed. Click the trash can at the end of the row.
Q. I made a mistake with a pay amount or tax amount. Can I edit this?
A: If you've made a mistake on a payroll history entry, but haven't approved the payroll history yet, you can edit the amount of pay, taxes etc, by clicking the edit icon on the Pay Period Summary page.
