US payroll for non-resident companies: the basics
If your foreign company has employees in the States, US payroll is an important topic. Payroll covers withholding taxes and social contributions from your US employees' wages and adding the mandatory employer contributions on top. The exact rules and rates depend on the state where the company and its employees are based.
What sets Mount Bonnell Advisors' payroll service apart from other providers: we run payroll for foreign companies and register you as an employer in the States. So even as a non-resident company you can hire staff in the USA without having to think about payroll yourself.
Non-resident companies also need an EIN, the US tax identification number, to run payroll. First, the company is registered as an employer in the States. After that, several types of taxes and rates come into play. Some are typical payroll taxes, usually calculated at a fixed percentage; others are income taxes, withheld based on the employee's annual income. The most important ones are income tax, which the employer withholds from wages, Social Security and Medicare contributions, and unemployment insurance, which the employer pays alone.
Keep in mind that these mandatory levies exist not only at the federal level but also at state and local level, and each has to be paid separately to different authorities. Who pays also varies by levy. Income tax is borne by the employee. Social Security (6.2 % each) and Medicare (1.45 % each) are split equally between employer and employee.
As part of payroll, non-resident companies must not only withhold, add and pay contributions and taxes for their US employees but also complete and file the related forms. You'll find more on payroll and the individual taxes and forms here.
Our payroll services for non-resident companies
Once you've engaged us, Mount Bonnell Advisors runs your non-resident company's US payroll every month. We prepare payslips for all your employees and email them to a contact person at the company, who then hands them out to staff. Any extras or fringe benefits your employees receive are included on the payslips. At the same time, the people responsible at your company receive all the information they need for salary payments and payments to the IRS and other authorities.
We fully prepare all calculations for income tax, Social Security and other levies, so they only need to be paid to the relevant federal, state or local authorities. Salaries can also be debited directly from the company account and paid out to employees automatically, and taxes can be paid by direct debit as well. Automating payroll means you no longer have to juggle different payments: everything runs correctly in the background.
Beyond regular payroll, we take care of other tasks too, such as onboarding new hires or handling an employee's departure. Once a year, after year end, every employee receives a Form W-2. It shows their total earnings for the past year and the taxes withheld, and they need it for their personal tax return.
In the USA, companies can choose to run payroll monthly, every two weeks or weekly. Shorter intervals are quite common in the States, and payslips are issued accordingly. Paychecks are also widely used as an alternative to bank transfers. If you prefer to pay your employees this way, we're happy to handle that for you too.
One-time fee of $1,600 to set up your company's payroll. Ongoing payroll costs $60 per employee per month.
Important notes on payroll for non-resident companies
Next steps for your payroll
FAQ: payroll for non-resident companies
How much does payroll cost for my US company?
A one-time fee of $1,600 to set up payroll, plus $60 per employee per month. When you order, you tell us how many employees you have in the USA.
What do I need to watch out for with payroll?
Even as a non-resident company, US payroll taxes and contributions must be withheld and paid correctly, and the forms filed on time and then kept on record. Every company with employees in the USA is legally required to do this. You should also research local taxes in each US state carefully beforehand, because they depend on where your employees work.
Beyond payroll, we take care of your US company's taxes in English: from the tax return to correspondence with the IRS.
