Payroll and hiring guides

Start here: the guides most people need

• How to do payroll for a small business. The 12 steps in order: EIN, state registration, W-4 and I-9, new hire report within 20 days, then withholding, deposits and Form 941 every quarter. Software that does the math and filings costs $62 to $120.50 a month for 5 employees on the plans we priced.
• Payroll taxes: what employers and employees pay. Federal, state and local taxes with the math on two salaries. A $50,000 employee in Texas costs $4,110 a year in employer payroll taxes, 8.22% of pay.
• How to hire your first employee. The paperwork and accounts in order, and what one hire really costs: $54,770 a year for a $50,000 Texas employee with payroll software, before workers' comp and benefits.
• Payroll schedules and the 2026 payroll calendar. Weekly, biweekly, semimonthly or monthly, with both 2026 biweekly calendars (26 paydays either way) and the 27-payday year in 2027 for one cycle.
• The 2026 payroll compliance checklist. Federal, state and local rules by level, the penalties that come up most, and what each provider's tax penalty promise covers.

Paying people correctly

• How to pay employees: each payday step, direct deposit, checks and pay cards, and paying without a payroll service.
• Exempt vs non-exempt employees: exemption from overtime needs at least $684 a week ($35,568 a year) on a salary basis plus a duties test, under the rule the Department of Labor restored on May 15, 2026.
• W-2 employee or 1099 contractor: the tests that decide it, and the $2,000 threshold for filing Form 1099-NEC on 2026 payments, up from $600.
• How to process payroll, step by step, with a worked paycheck.
• Certified payroll and Form WH-347 for Davis-Bacon construction jobs.

Key payroll dates for the rest of 2026

The Social Security wage base is $184,500 for 2026 and rises to $192,300 for 2027 (SSA, October 14, 2026), so high earners will owe Social Security on $7,800 more next year. All the 2026 limits are in 2026 payroll tax rates, and the year-end steps are in the payroll year-end checklist.

Common payroll mistakes

The mistakes that cost small employers the most, from IRS and Department of Labor rules:

• Paying someone as a 1099 contractor when the work makes them an employee.
• Paying a salaried worker under $684 a week without overtime.
• Depositing payroll tax on the wrong schedule, monthly when the lookback period makes you semiweekly.
• Missing a filing date, such as the Form 941 due November 2, 2026.
• Switching payroll providers mid-year without checking your state unemployment account: one Hacker News commenter wrote that "my unemployment insurance rate went from 0.8% to 12.75%" after a switch.

The fix for each, and what the law requires when pay comes out wrong, is in common payroll mistakes and how to fix them.

Calculators and data you will need

• Employee cost calculator: employer FICA, FUTA and SUTA for any state, plus benefits, workers' comp and payroll fees.
• 2026 SUTA rates by state and the state payroll tax pages, with registration links for every state.
• 2026 minimum wage by state, with tipped wages and announced 2027 increases.
• International employee cost calculator for hires outside the US.

When to hand payroll off

Doing payroll yourself costs nothing in software but puts every deposit and filing on you. Full-service payroll for 10 employees costs $87 to $400 a month at published prices (checked October 16, 2026); compare providers on the payroll services hub, in our payroll rankings and on what payroll services cost. If you also need health benefits and HR, read the PEO hub. Hiring outside the US starts at the employer of record hub.

Every guide

All payroll and hiring guides, listed by name.

• Payroll mistakesThe errors that lead to back pay, IRS notices and SUTA rate jumps, with the fix for each.
• Exempt vs non-exemptThe $684 salary floor, the duties tests, and how each status changes payroll.
• How to set up payrollThe 12 steps, the 2026 deadlines and what software costs.
• Hiring your first employeeThe paperwork, the accounts and the real cost of one hire.
• How to pay employeesEach payday step, the payment methods, and paying employees without a payroll service.
• Payroll complianceFederal, state and local payroll rules, deadlines and where software stops.
• Payroll schedulesWeekly, biweekly, semimonthly and monthly pay, with 2026 calendars and state rules.
• Payroll taxesFederal, state and local payroll taxes, with the math on two salaries.
• Payroll year-end checklistEvery 2026 year-end deadline, the reconciliation steps and what changes for 2027.