I just hired my first employee. What do I register for?

Three things: a federal employer identification number from the IRS if you do not have one, a Utah withholding account with the Tax Commission (form TC-69 on TAP, or through the OneStop business registration), and an unemployment insurance employer account with the Department of Workforce Services. Then report the hire to the New Hire Registry within 20 days.

My bookkeeper or payroll app made the mistake. Can I get the penalty waived?

You can ask. The Tax Commission waives penalties for reasonable cause, and a first late filing with a clean history is often waived on request. "My bookkeeper did it" on its own is not reasonable cause, because the employer is responsible for the filing. Ask in writing, explain what happened and what you changed, and pay the tax itself immediately.

Do I withhold Utah tax for an employee who lives in Idaho or Wyoming?

Generally you withhold for the state where the work is performed. An employee who works in your Salt Lake shop has Utah withholding whatever their home address. Remote employees working from another state are that state's problem, and you may need to register there. Ask before the first paycheck, not after.

Are owners paid through payroll?

Owners of an S corporation who work in the business must take a reasonable salary through payroll, with withholding and unemployment insurance. Sole proprietors and most LLC members not taxed as corporations do not; they take draws. Your CPA decides the entity question; we run whatever payroll it requires.

What does Summit & Pine handle, and what do I still have to do?

We register the accounts, run payroll, deposit withholding, file the TC-941E and the Workforce Services wage report every quarter, report new hires, and produce W-2s. You approve hours before each payday and tell us when someone starts or leaves. That is the whole list.

Utah Payroll Taxes for Small Employers: Forms and Dates

Who this is for

You run a business in Utah with employees, or you are about to. You have a federal employer identification number, or you know you need one. What you want is the list: which Utah agencies want something from you, which form each one is, when it is due, and what it costs to be late. That list follows. Everything here is the small-employer version; if you have more than a few dozen staff, more than one state, or a union, your CPA and a payroll specialist should both be in the room.

Two agencies matter. The Utah State Tax Commission handles income tax withholding (the tax you take out of paychecks). The Department of Workforce Services, usually called DWS, handles unemployment insurance (a tax you pay yourself, on top of wages) and the New Hire Registry.

Registering: TC-69 on TAP

Before the first paycheck you need a Utah withholding account. You apply online through Taxpayer Access Point (TAP), the Tax Commission's portal, using the application the Commission calls form TC-69. You will need the federal EIN first. The account number you get back is fourteen digits and ends in WTH; it goes on every withholding return.

At the same time, open an unemployment insurance employer account with Workforce Services. The two accounts are separate, with separate logins, separate due dates and separate penalties. Most of the letters we see from new employers come from the one they forgot.

Withholding: TC-941E

Utah has a single flat income tax rate, so withholding is simpler than in most states. For 2026 the rate is 4.45%, cut from 4.50% in 2025; the Tax Commission publishes the withholding tables in Publication 14 and the rate history on the tax rates page. The 4.65% figure still floating around in payroll vendor guides is the 2023 rate.

The return is the TC-941E, filed on TAP every quarter: by April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31. Paper is not accepted. The fourth-quarter return doubles as the annual reconciliation, and your W-2s and 1099s are filed electronically by the same January 31 date, even if you withheld nothing. The employer filing page sets this out.

Paying is separate from filing. If you withhold $1,000 or more in a month, you pay monthly, by the last day of the following month. Under $1,000 a month, you pay with the quarterly return. The Commission assigns the schedule when you register and can change it; read the letter.

Unemployment insurance: Workforce Services

Unemployment insurance is paid by the employer only; nothing comes out of the employee's check. You pay a percentage of each employee's wages up to a yearly cap called the taxable wage base, which is $50,700 for 2026 ($48,900 in 2025). Once an employee has earned that much in the year, the rest of their wages are not taxed.

The percentage is your contribution rate, set by DWS each November and mailed to you. For 2026 the rates range from 0.1% to 7.1%. A new employer starts on the average rate for its industry, and the rate moves with your own layoff history after that. Contractors new to Utah from out of state start at the top of the range.

Every quarter you file a wage report listing each employee and what they earned, on the same four dates as the withholding return: April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31. You file even in a quarter with no wages.

New-hire reporting: 20 days

Every new employee is reported to the Utah New Hire Registry, run by Workforce Services, within 20 days of their first day of work. A rehire counts as new if they were gone for 60 consecutive days or more. Reporting is done online through the DWS employer portal. The penalty is $25 per missed report, $500 if the state decides it was deliberate, and the registry is cross-checked against the quarterly wage report, so a missed one does get noticed.

The calendar

Four dates carry almost everything. Put them on the wall.

January 31: Q4 TC-941E and annual reconciliation; W-2s and 1099s to employees, contractors and the state; Q4 DWS wage report; federal 940 and Q4 941.
April 30: Q1 TC-941E; Q1 DWS wage report; federal Q1 941.
July 31: Q2 TC-941E; Q2 DWS wage report; federal Q2 941.
October 31: Q3 TC-941E; Q3 DWS wage report; federal Q3 941.
Every payday: Withholding set aside; monthly payers deposit by the end of the following month.
Within 20 days of a start date: New-hire report.

Penalties, and why "my bookkeeper did it" is not a defence

The Tax Commission charges a late filing or late payment penalty of the greater of $20 or 2% of the tax if you are 1 to 5 days late, 5% at 6 to 15 days, and 10% at 16 days or more, with a second penalty if the balance is still open 90 days after the due date. Interest runs on top at 6% a year for 2026. A late annual reconciliation is $50, and each late W-2 or 1099 is $30 to $100 depending on how late. The current figures are on the penalties and interest page and in Publication 14.

The employer is the responsible party on every one of these filings. If a payroll app or a bookkeeper missed a date, the penalty letter still has your name on it, and the Commission does not treat a third party's mistake as reasonable cause by itself. What does work: pay the tax immediately, ask for a waiver in writing with a plain explanation and what you changed, and have a clean history. First-time waivers are granted more often than owners expect.

What Summit & Pine handles

All of it. Jess Thornley registers the Tax Commission and Workforce Services accounts, runs payroll on your pay dates, deposits withholding on your assigned schedule, files the TC-941E and the DWS wage report every quarter, reports new hires within the 20 days, and files W-2s and 1099s by January 31. The confirmations go in your file. You approve hours before payday and tell us when someone starts or leaves.

Payroll is included in the Ridge and Summit plans with the monthly bookkeeping. See the payroll service page for what is included and the pricing page for the figures.

Payroll with every Utah filing included

Utah payroll taxes for small employers: the forms, the agencies, the dates.