PRIMARY PURPOSE OF POSITION
Own the full lifecycle of U.S. payroll tax compliance for a multi-state, multi-entity employer. Serve as the subject matter expert on federal, state, and local employment tax matters and lead tax-related projects with high visibility across Payroll, HR, Accounting, Compensation, Tax, Finance, and Legal.
PRIMARY DUTIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES
• Manage payroll tax compliance for federal, state, local, and international jurisdictions, ensuring timely and accurate filing of employment tax returns, tax payments, registrations, and account maintenance.
• Lead year-end payroll tax reporting, including preparation, validation, and distribution of Forms W-2, W-2c, and other required tax reporting documents.
• Review and reconcile payroll tax liabilities, taxable wages, payroll system activity, outsourced tax provider reports, and general ledger accounts to ensure accuracy and compliance.
• Research, analyze, and resolve payroll tax discrepancies, notices, penalties, and agency inquiries, including coordination of audit responses and corrective actions.
• Serve as the primary liaison with outsourced payroll tax providers, managing service delivery, filing compliance, issue resolution, and amended return processing.
• Maintain payroll tax configurations within payroll systems and support testing, validation, and implementation of tax updates, system enhancements, and regulatory changes.
• Provide payroll tax subject matter expertise and guidance to Payroll, HR, Finance, management, and employees on complex tax matters, including multi-state taxation, remote work, mobility, reciprocity, fringe benefits, and equity compensation reporting.
• Monitor changes in payroll tax legislation and regulatory requirements, assess business impacts, and implement necessary compliance and process updates.
• Develop and maintain payroll tax procedures, documentation, job aids, and internal controls to support compliance, audit readiness, and operational excellence.
• Partner with internal stakeholders, external consultants, and cross-functional teams to drive process improvements, automation initiatives, system implementations, and strategic payroll tax projects.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
• Bachelor's degree & 5+ years of progressive US payroll tax experience in a multi-state environment.
• Hands-on experience with third-party tax services such as ADP, Ceridian or Vertex.
• Proficiency in at least one major payroll platform: Workday, Oracle HCM, SAP, UKG or PeopleSoft.
• Advanced Excel skills including pivot tables, VLOOKUP, XLOOKUP, Copilot and data validation.
• Working knowledge of federal and multi-state employment tax law including FUTA, SUTA, FIT, SIT and local taxes.
• Familiarity with Form W-2c, amended 941 filings and SUI protest procedures.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with experience presenting findings to managers and directors.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
• CPP (Certified Payroll Professional) or FPC designation.
• CPA, EA or accounting degree preferred but not required.
• Experience with Oracle HCM USOPTE tax engine configuration.
• Exposure to equity compensation tax reporting (RSUs, stock options).
• Familiarity with data analytics tools such as Power BI, Alteryx or Tableau.
• Experience supporting a shared services payroll model.
