Oklahoma New Employer Information
Congratulations on your decision to become a new employer in Oklahoma! You will need a few things in place before you run your first payroll:
Federal and State Tax Accounts
Federal Tax Accounts:
- If you don’t already have an EIN (Employer Identification Number), also called an FEIN, you can easily apply for an EIN with the IRS online. There is no cost to apply for an EIN.
- The EIN is a unique nine digit number assigned by the IRS to identify your business. To read more about applying for EIN’s, read our help article, “How to Apply for EIN.”
- Although it is not required, we suggest you register online for the EFTPS.
- The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) is an easy way to pay your federal taxes online or view any tax filings made on your behalf by Patriot. To find out more about the EFTPS, please read our article, “What Is EFTPS?”
State of Oklahoma Tax Accounts:
- You will need to register your business with the Oklahoma Tax Commission using Oklahoma’s Taxpayer Access Point (okTAP).
- You will be able to use this system to pay your state income taxes (SIT) as well as other tax liabilities.
- You can register for a state unemployment insurance (SUI) account online with the EZ Tax Express. You will need to fill out information under the “Employer Status Report.” Alternatively, you can fill out the paper form OES-1 and return it by mail.
- Employers in Oklahoma will receive a new State Unemployment Tax Assessment (SUTA) rate every year.
- Oklahoma’s new employer SUTA rate for 2021 1.5%. You will need to know this when you are setting up your payroll tax settings.
- To learn more about SUTA please read our article, “What Is SUTA Tax?”
Setting Up Your New Employee:
- Fill out the required Form I-9 for employee verification for working in the USA.
- This is a two part form. The first section is filled out the by the employee and the second part is to be filled out by the employer.
- You must retain each employee’s completed Form I-9 as long as the individual works for you. For more information please read, “What Should Be in an Employee File?”
- Oklahoma follows the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
- By law, you are required to post the minimum wage poster for your employees.
Once you have all the necessary information, you will be able to set up your payroll for your business.
You will want to keep all payroll records for at least three years. For more information, please read our help article, “What Employers Should Know About Employee Payroll Records.”
Let us know if you have any questions. We are here to help!
