What are Horizon's office hours?
Our hours are:
- Monday through Wednesday 9:00 am until 6:00 pm
- Thursday and Friday 9:00
am until 5:00 pm
- We list all holidays on our website and in our newsletter.
NEW TO HORIZON FAQS
If I have any questions, who do I contact?
Direct any questions to your payroll representative. If they cannot answer
your question immediately, they will research the answer and call you back
as soon as possible.
Can my CPA access my payroll information from Horizon's website?
Yes, ask your payroll representative for an internet access authorization
form and we will create a user ID for your CPA. With this they can print
needed reports without having to take up your time. As an added convenience
for your CPA, they can log in one time and get access to all of their clients
that are also Horizon clients.
Is training available for using the internet site?
Yes, after creating a user ID and password, helpful training is available
over the phone or in person.
How many banks can an employee deposit money to?
Each employee can deposit money into 6 different bank accounts. They do NOT
have to be in the same bank.
What is the best way to submit new employee's information to Horizon?
By filling out the Employee
Master File Sheet completely and submitting it
to us by fax or e-mail. This insures we have all the correct information
needed to set-up a new employee and insures we are sending the correct information
to the state for the New Hire Reporting that we do for all customers. This
form is also available on our website.
What are the different pay options for employees?
Horizon offers paper checks, direct deposit and Direct Payroll Cards.
Do you support time and attendance systems?
Yes, Horizon supports many time and attendance systems. We recommend and
distribute a time clock system called Count Me In, which can easily be
imported into our system through our website. Please give us a call to
see how we can help you with your payroll input.
Can Horizon recommend a discount group rating company for Worker's Compensation?
Yes, we have a list of discount group rate companies you can call to find
the best rate for your company.
Does Horizon charge extra for multiple states and cities?
Horizon allows 3 states and/or 10 cities before charging any extra fees.
Who is my contact?
A payroll representative is assigned to each customer at the time of set-up.
Your payroll representative's name is also at the top of the timesheet.
When will my payroll be ready?
Please submit your payroll to us by 1:00pm to insure your payroll has next
business day delivery by Horizon Payroll’s drivers. If shipped
UPS ground or U.S. Mail, it should be to your office the next day. We have
no control over UPS or the US Mail if they do not deliver on time, but
we consider both these to be reliable carriers.
What is minimum wage?
Currently $5.15 is the Federal law.
Some states have a higher minimum wage that would take priority over the
Federal law.
Can you help me apply for my tax ID numbers for a new company?
Yes, we can help in most cases. If you have your Federal ID we have the applications
for you to fill out for the other ID numbers necessary to run your payroll.
Payroll FAQS
Can we have our payroll tracked by period end date instead of check
date?
No, the law requires us to track by check date.
What are the different ways to accrue PTO (Personal Time Off)?
There are two ways to accrue PTO. You can accrue by the hour (percentage
per hour method), or by a flat rate (flat rate per pay).
How do you figure the PTO accrual?
There are no labor laws about how to figure PTO accrual. It is completely
up to the employer how they want to give this benefit to their employees.
And yes, this is considered a benefit. We do have two ways to accrue this
for you, but please contact us to be sure.
How does the employer reimburse an employee for expenses, without taking
out taxes?
Companies can refund money to an employee for company expenses by reporting
them to your payroll representative. Please make it clear that this a reimbursement
and not ordinary taxable gross pay. We are trained to handle these special
reimbursements.
What if the employer doesn't have a payroll this pay period? Do I still
need to notify you?
If you do not notify us that you have no wages to report this week, we will
call you to verify that there are no wages. You can help us by calling us
first and letting us know.
TAX FAQS
When will the W-2’s be delivered to the employer?
Horizon's goal is to have the W-2’s delivered to your employees between
January 15th and January 20th.
Why is the employee's W-2 wages different than what was on the paycheck
stub?
W-2 Box 1 shows Gross Taxable Wages that are reported to the IRS. The employee
paycheck stub has both Gross Wages and Gross Taxable Wages. If the employee
had any pre-taxed deductions there may be a difference. For example, deductions
such as 125 cafeteria, 401(k)'s, and Simple IRA are tax-exempt. These deductions
are subtracted from the employee's total gross wages, to give gross taxable
wages.
Why do my employees have two W-2’s, and the second one is blank
except for the city wages?
If an employee is working in more than one city, Ohio Law requires that you
first pay city tax where the employee works, then where they live. If they
live in a city whose withholding tax rate is higher than the work city, the
employee is required to pay the difference. Some cities require that the
employee pay some percentage to the city no matter where the employee works.
Horizon provides each employee a separate W-2 for each of the cities worked
in for tax filing purposes. We will also provide one if the employee has
a local School District Tax.
How can I make sure Horizon is paying my Federal and States Taxes?
Federal Income taxes can be easily verified by going online to www.eftps.gov . EFTPS is the federal government's Electronic Fund Transfer Payment System.
You would need to call the state's tax department to verify the payment
of state taxes.
What taxes do you pay?
Horizon Payroll Services, Inc. pays all taxes related to your employee payroll
checks, including Federal and State Withholding, Federal and State Unemployment,
all cities, local school districts, and Ohio worker's compensation.
When do you pay my payroll taxes?
Due dates on payroll taxes vary by each tax entity. Horizon pays all its
Federal Income taxes semi-weekly and all state and city withholding are
paid monthly. Federal and State Unemployment are paid quarterly, and Ohio
Workers Compensation is paid Semi-Annually.
Can we print tax forms from Horizon's website?
Yes, you can print forms W4, I-9. Ohio withholding and employee master file
forms; can be printed by clicking the Taxes button.
Can employers get tax information so they can write a handwritten employee
check from the employer's account?
Yes. Call your payroll representative and they can give you the breakdown
of taxes and at the same time record the wages you are paying.
How can I tell if an employee is subject to a live city tax or a school
district tax?
Companies are not required to withhold live city tax on its employees, but
it is an advantage for the employee if you do. Local taxes in Ohio can be
complicated for employees, since city taxes first have to be paid where the
employee works. It is the responsibility of the employee to give correct
information about which city they live in to their employer. The employer
needs to make sure that the employee has filled out state form IT501. This
form tells the employer how many state exemptions the employee has, and which
school district they live in. The employee can find out their school district
by calling their local school. This form is available on our website.
How do city and local taxes work in Ohio?
In Ohio, city taxes are paid first where the employee works. Then,
if the city in which the employee lives has a higher tax rate, the tax to
the live city is the difference between the live city rate and the work city
rate.
For example, if an employee works in Kettering (1.75%),
and lives in Dayton (2.25%), the tax would be 1.75% for Kettering and .50%
for Dayton.
There are some exceptions. For example, Xenia requires
that residents of Xenia pay .25% to Xenia, even if the employee works in
a city like Dayton that has a higher tax rate. In addition to all of
this, many school districts have a tax that is based solely on where the
employee lives.
REPORTS FAQS
Do you need that Ohio BWC Payroll Report?
Yes, Horizon needs the Ohio BWC Report. Ohio's BWC (Bureau of Workers Compensation)
is state run and as such is the only tax that we cannot file electronically,
due to restrictions set forth by BWC.
What reports give me YTD Totals?
Horizon has several convenient reports that have YTD Totals. Our most popular
is available 24 hours a day on our website. Log into your account, go to
the Wages by Week report and choose the YTD option.
What Do We Need To Keep You Informed Of That Will Affect The Accuracy of
our Data?
