Payroll Tax Specialist (Temporary - Remote)

Overview

This role is a focused 60-day contract to resolve a backlog of payroll tax amendments, notices, and corrections related to a 2024 transition from UKG to Oracle HCM and ADP Tax Filing.

The ideal candidate will work independently from day one—researching root causes across Oracle HCM, ADP SmartCompliance, and agency records—calculating correct tax liability across federal, state, and local jurisdictions, and driving each item to confirmed resolution within the 60-day window.

Responsibilities

• Analyze prior-period payroll tax discrepancies across federal, state, and local jurisdictions and prepare corrected filings, including:
  • Federal 941-X amendments
  • State amended returns
  • Local corrections
• Calculate correct tax liability, over/under-withholding variances, penalties, and interest
• Coordinate with ADP SmartCompliance to submit amended returns and confirm agency receipt
• Triage and resolve open agency tax notices by:
  • Preparing written responses within statutory response windows
  • Escalating items approaching penalty or lien risk
• Coordinate W-2C preparation with HR, Oracle, ADP, and the Social Security Administration (SSA)
  • Confirm amended returns match corrected W-2C amounts
• Document root cause and resolution for each item to build institutional knowledge for the permanent team

Requirements

• Minimum 5 years of hands-on payroll tax experience
• At least 3 years focused on amendment processing and tax notice resolution in a multi-state, multi-FEIN environment
• Direct, hands-on experience preparing:
  • Federal 941-X filings
  • Multi-state amended returns
  • Ability to independently calculate liability, variance, penalty, and interest
• Working knowledge of:
  • State income tax withholding
  • SUI, SDI, and PFML across multiple jurisdictions
  • Local jurisdiction experience (e.g., Pennsylvania PSD codes, Kentucky local occupational taxes, Ohio local tax structures) strongly preferred
• Oracle HCM/USOPTE experience strongly preferred; at minimum, ability to review Oracle tax records and trace discrepancies to source

Preferred Qualifications

• CPP or FPC credential preferred
• Prior experience in a large-employer (10,000+), high-volume payroll tax environment

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary range (base pay only): $24 - $32 USD
• Short-term and long-term incentive compensation are not included in the salary range.
• Final base pay consideration may include factors such as location, experience, qualifications, and training.

Location

Not specified.