Virginia New Employer Information
Congratulations on your decision to become a Virginia new employer! You will need a few things in place before you run your first payroll:
Federal and State Tax Accounts
Federal Tax Accounts:
- Apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN, aka, FEIN) with the IRS online.
- To read more about how to apply for an EIN, read our help article, “How to Apply for an EIN”
- You will be assigned a unique nine-digit number to identify your business for your federal taxes by the IRS. To learn more, read, “What Is an FEIN?”
- Although it is not required, we suggest you register for the EFTPS (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 Software. To find out more about the EFTPS, read our article, “What Is EFTPS?”
State of Virginia Tax Accounts:
- New employers in Virginia need to register their business with the:
- Virginia Department of Taxation for a payroll withholding account for state income taxes (SIT)
- Virginia Employment Commission for state unemployment insurance (SUI)
- You can use the VATAX Online Services for Businesses to register for both of these accounts. This account will be used for filing and paying your SIT and SUI taxes also.
- New Virginia employers receive the initial base tax rate of 2.5% (base rate + add-ons) until eligible for a calculated rate for 2021. Please visit the VEC for more information.
- You will be given a new State Unemployment Tax Assessment (SUTA) rate after 12 months of taxable payroll, and then January 1st of each year.
- To learn more about SUTA, read our article, “What Is SUTA Tax?”
Setting Up Your New Employee:
- Fill out the required Form I-9 for employee work verification 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. To learn more, read, “What Is Form I-9?”
- You must retain each employee’s completed Form I-9 as long as the individual works for you. For more information, read “What Should Be in an Employee File?”
Form VA-4 is the Virginia Income Tax Withholding Exemption Certificate for state income taxes (SIT).
- Virginia minimum wage will increase to $9.50 per hour on 5/1/2021.
- 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, 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!
