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Configuring PR Federal Info

PR Federal Info registers the federal Deduction and Liability codes Vista uses in payroll calculations. For the United States that means Federal tax, FUTA, FICA Social Security and Medicare, Additional Medicare Tax, and supplemental-earnings threshold/rate. The same form also registers Australia PAYG / FBT / ETP codes and Canada federal tax, CPP/CPP2, EI, QPP/QPP2, and QPIP when those locales are in use. Codes that are not registered here are not used in payroll calculations.

:::caution Create codes first Create every Deduction/Liability code in PR Deductions and Liabilities before you register it here. Unregistered codes do not calculate. :::

Before you start​

  • PR Company Parameters exist for the payroll company (PR Company is required on this form).
  • Federal (and AU/CA) Deduction/Liability codes already exist in PR Deductions/Liabilities.
  • Current-year tax routines are initialized in PR Routines after Trimble tax updates.
  • For supplemental earnings (U.S.): earnings codes that need special federal tax treatment are flagged Supplemental Earnings on PR Earnings Codes.
  • For multi-tier 401(k) match: liability codes, pre-tax deduction group, matching formulas, and shared basis codes are designed before registration.

Steps​

Info tab (United States)​

  1. Open PR Federal Info and select the PR Company.
  2. On Info, register the Deduction/Liability codes (F4):
    • Federal tax deduction (withholding).
    • FUTA Liability.
    • SS Deduction and SS Liability (FICA Social Security).
    • Medicare Deduction and Medicare Liability.
    • Additional Medicare Tax deduction when required.
  3. Set supplemental earnings controls (U.S.):
    • YTD Supplemental Earnings Threshold: annual YTD supplemental wages above which the flat supplemental tax rate applies.
    • Supplemental Tax Rate: rate used when YTD supplemental earnings exceed the threshold.
  4. Supplemental behavior (with earnings flagged Supplemental Earnings):
    • Above the threshold: tax on pay-period earnings that exceed the threshold uses the Tax Rate on this form.
    • Below the threshold on a Bonus pay sequence: Federal tax uses the deduction code Bonus rate.
    • Below the threshold on a regular (non-Bonus) sequence: Federal tax uses the Federal tax routine. Taxes from the Federal Info rate (when threshold is exceeded mid-period) are added to routine tax as Trimble documents for mixed cases.

Add'l Federal Based Dedns/Liab tab​

  1. On Add'l Federal Based Dedns/Liab, enter DL Code rows for federal Deduction/Liability codes that do not have dedicated Info-tab fields (F4). Examples include employer 401(k) match liabilities and other federal-category codes you need calculated for all employees who carry the matching deduction.
  2. Multi-tier 401(k) employer match (when in scope):
    • Create multiple liability codes with Calculation Category Employee or Federal (Federal Type 1-Withholding when Federal), Method that matches your formula, 401k Liability checked, and the same Pre-Tax Group as the employee 401(k) deduction.
    • On each match liability basis: include earnings codes with Subject Only checked; include the matching 401(k) deduction code(s) without Subject Only.
    • Register both (or all) 401(k) match liability codes on this Add'l tab so employees with the corresponding deduction calculate automatically. Otherwise you must add the liability manually on PR Employee Dedns/Liabs.
    • Align Accumulate subject amounts / 401k Liability options with your plan rules and PR Pre-Tax Deduction Groups.

Australia and Canada (when used)​

  1. Australia: on Info, register PAYG and Fringe Benefit Type deduction/liability codes. Register Employment Termination Payment (ETP) codes on Add'l Federal Based Dedns/Liab.
  2. Canada: on Info, register federal tax, CPP/CPP2, EI, and Quebec QPP/QPP2 and QPIP codes as applicable. On Employer EI Liability Rates, maintain rates per Payroll Program Account (account begins with RP plus four digits; EI Liability Rate is required and defaults to .000000).

Notes​

  • This form is not only "change when federal law changes." It also holds company-specific code registration, supplemental thresholds/rates, AU/CA federal setups, and Add'l federal-based codes such as 401(k) match.
  • Most core U.S. and Canadian Info fields are required. YTD threshold, Additional Medicare Tax, and Add'l DL Code rows are not always marked required but are required in practice when those features are used.
  • After Trimble tax updates, initialize routines in PR Routines. Stale year values in routine names usually mean Initialize was not run.
  • Related: PR Deductions and Liabilities, PR Pre-Tax Deduction Groups, PR Earnings Codes, PR Routines, PR State Information.