Rhode Island New Employer Information
Congratulations on your decision to become a new employer in Rhode Island! You will need a few things in place before you run your first payroll:
Federal and State Tax Accounts
Federal Tax Accounts:
- Although it is not required, we recommend you enroll in the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS). You can easily register online for the EFTPS.
- The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) is an easy way to pay your federal taxes online or view any tax filings made on your behalf by Patriot.
- To find out more about EFTPS, please read our article, “What Is EFTPS?”
State of Rhode Island Tax Accounts:
- Rhode Island new employers will need to register their business with the state of Rhode Island to obtain a state income tax (SIT) account with the Department of Taxation, and a state unemployment insurance (SUI) account with the Department of Labor and Training, as well as other business taxes.
- You can register online through the Rhode Island Division of Taxation Combined Online Registration System. For existing businesses wanting to update or make changes to existing accounts, please call 401-574-8700 (Option 1).
- The Rhode Island new employer SUTA rate for 2022 is 1.19%, which includes the 0.21% Job Development Assessment rate. The Rhode Island Job Development Fund Assessment of 0.21% is automatically calculated in our software. For more information, please visit the Rhode Island Division of Taxation – Employer Tax Section.
- Employers in Rhode Island will receive a new State Unemployment Tax Assessment (SUTA) rate every year and will be notified of their individual tax rate.
- To learn more about SUTA, please read our article, “What Is SUTA Tax?”
Setting Up Your New Employee:
- Fill out the required Form I-9 for employee verification for working in the USA.
- This is a two-part form. The first section is to be completed by the employee and the second half is to be completed by the employer. Check out our article, “Form I-9 In a Nutshell” for more information.
- You must retain each employee’s completed Form I-9 as long as the individual works for you. For more information, please read “What Should Be in an Employee File?”
Form RI-W-4 is Rhode Island’s Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate for state income taxes.
- Rhode Island’s 2022 minimum wage is $12.25 per hour.
- By law, you are required to post the minimum wage poster for your employees where they can read it.
Once you have all the necessary information, you will be able to set up your payroll for your business.
You will want to keep all payroll records for at least three years. For more information please read our help article, “What Employers Should Know About Employee Payroll Records.”
Let us know if you have any questions. We are here to help!
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