Introducing tax exemptions

We’ve recently launched the ability to mark an employer or employee tax parameter as exempt—the process is as simple as two API calls!

Using our APIs, you can see what tax parameters Zeal currently allows exemptions for, and then you can mark that tax as either non-reporting (we don’t withhold or show taxable wages) or non-withholding (we don’t withhold wages, but report taxable wages). All tax exemptions simply take on the naming of their original tax parameter, and add EXEMPT at the end (for example, an exemption for California SUTA tax is SUTA_CA_EXEMPT).

There’s a lot of flexibility available with this new tax exemption, in combination with the work we have done to create the concept of specialty employees: employees with form or tax requirements that differ from the norm. For example, an employee marked as an agricultural employee can have FUTA turned off and, instead of a Form 941, will have a Form 943 submitted (which is specific to agricultural employees). In addition, both employer and employee sides of a given tax can be marked exempt, giving further flexibility. While we currently offer exemptions at the employee level, we will eventually offer exemptions at the shift level if an employee has multiple jobs that carry different tax rules.

As we set out to support more industries, we want to make sure that employers can take advantage of unique tax breaks that may come with their own industry. We are currently offering exemptions for all SUTA and SUI taxes, as well as FUTA and FICA (Medicare and Social Security) taxes. FUTA, FICA, and SUTA exemptions are—in particular—helpful for agriculture and non-profit industries that qualify for several exemptions. The ability to support these tax exemptions will help small businesses save thousands of dollars a year, helping them avoid haggling with tax agencies to get exemptions marked during year-end accounting. Zeal will continue to support a number of tax exemptions in the future as we partner with different industries.

We’d love to hear from you—get in touch with us to share a tax exemption you think we should consider building next.

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