Payroll Specialist

Overview

This role supports Payroll Tax Operations by resolving payroll tax issues end-to-end across Notices, Corrections, and Amendments. The Staff Payroll Tax Processor serves as a technical lead and subject matter expert (SME), spending significant time coaching less experienced staff while independently owning the most complex cases in the queue.

This position focuses on payroll tax defect resolution—not payroll processing.

Responsibilities

• Resolve the most complex State and Federal payroll tax notices, including multi-quarter, multi-state, and penalty assessment scenarios—owning the full case lifecycle from intake and root-cause analysis through agency response, submission, and confirmed closure.
• Prepare and file amended Federal and State payroll tax returns (Form 941-X and state equivalents) across 10+ states end-to-end, including:
  • Reconciliation to the original return
  • Recomputed liability schedules
  • W-2c preparation
  • SSA reconciliation
• Diagnose and resolve payroll tax errors across multiple pay periods and/or jurisdictions by tracing discrepancies to the originating payroll run, determining tax impact across all affected quarters, and driving the correction workflow to confirmed resolution.
• Maintain high productivity case resolution with a strong focus on accuracy for customer Correction, Amendment, and Notice requests.
• Monitor team WIP daily; identify aging cases, stuck holds, and Known Issues (KIs); resolve barriers proactively and escalate systemic blockers to M1 with root-cause analysis and a recommended resolution path.
• Serve as the primary real-time resource for Senior Payroll Tax Processors by answering questions via Slack, Zoom, and side-by-side sessions, while teaching the resolution process to build team capability.
• Conduct structured coaching sessions at least once per quarter with each assigned team member using the SBIC feedback model; increase coaching frequency for agents who are underperforming or addressing learning gaps.
• Contribute to team huddles, group QA sessions, and process meetings.
• Author, review, and approve SOPs and Knowledge Base (KB) articles for core processes; identify recurring error patterns in QA data and provide corrective action recommendations.
• Identify trends and emerging compliance issues; communicate findings to M1 and relevant stakeholders with a recommended response and drive implementation of resolutions.

Requirements

• 4+ years of payroll tax experience with a demonstrated focus on tax defect resolution for notice response, amended return preparation, and payroll error correction across multiple states.
• Expert knowledge of State and Federal payroll tax notice types.
• Proven ability to independently draft penalty abatement requests and formal agency response letters with complete supporting documentation.
• Hands-on experience preparing and approving amended Federal (Form 941-X, W-2c) and State payroll tax returns across all states, including jurisdictions with complex local requirements such as PA and OH (and more).
• Deep knowledge of federal payroll tax law: FICA, FUTA, FITW, employment tax deposit schedules, and associated penalty and interest structures.
• Multi-state payroll tax expertise including reciprocal agreements, resident and nonresident taxation, SUI account management, and local tax compliance across multiple jurisdictions.
• Prior experience serving as a lead, senior specialist, or SME, with specific examples of coaching or training junior staff through complex resolution scenarios.
• Deep knowledge of federal and state tax payment and filing regulations across all US jurisdictions.
• Advanced Excel skills for reconciliation and audit trail work.
• Strong written communication skills; SOPs and KB articles must be accurate, actionable, and written for a Tax processor audience without requiring revision.
• Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or Business preferred; equivalent experience accepted.
• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) preferred; expected within 18 months of Staff Payroll Tax Processor placement. FPC accepted for candidates with 5+ years of demonstrated tax defect resolution experience. Enrolled Agent (EA) is a strong differentiator.
• Experience at a payroll service bureau, PEO, or multi-client payroll tax operations environment strongly preferred.

Preferred Qualifications

• Payroll Tax, Tax Resolution, Tax Compliance, Process Improvement, Financial Reporting, Team Leadership

Compensation & Benefits

Not specified in the provided job description.

Location

Not specified in the provided job description.