Wisconsin Paycheck law and paystub Requirements

If you are operating your business in the state of Wisconsin , there are a number of things you should know before you provide pay stubs to employees and contractors.

This explains laws and regulations applicable to employers in Wisconsin for running payroll and providing pay stubs.

Pay stub regulations in Wisconsin

Information needed to generate pay stubs

To provide employees with accurate pay stubs, the information below is required.

• Employee's total allowances
• Employee's exemption status from state withholding
• Filing status and additional state withholding amount

Wisconsin wage and hour laws

Employers in Wisconsin are obligated by wage and hour laws to furnish non-exempt employees with minimum wage, overtime pay, meal and rest periods, and accrued paid time-off benefits.

The law encompasses the following considerations:

• Minimum wage
• Overtime pay
• Meal breaks
• Rest breaks
• Paid time off and leave

Minimum wage

Wisconsin mandates a minimum wage for employees, compelling employers to adhere to this standard by ensuring they pay their workers at least the designated minimum wage. The Minimum hourly wage requirement in Wisconsin for 2024 is $7.25.

Overtime Pay

In Wisconsin, non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours in a single work week. Overtime compensation is calculated at 1.5 times the regular hourly rate. Given that Wisconsin's minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, the overtime minimum pay rate amounts to $10.88 per hour, reflecting the 1.5 times multiplier applied to the minimum wage.

Meal breaks

In Wisconsin, employers are not mandated by law to offer meal breaks to adult employees. However, if a worker is not provided with at least 30 consecutive minutes free from work or is not allowed to leave the employer's premises during a meal break, the employer must compensate them for this time as an "on duty" meal period. However, if the break lasts at least 30 minutes and the employee is relieved of all duties and free to leave the premises, the employer is not required to compensate the employee for that time.

Rest breaks

Under Wisconsin law, employers are not obligated to provide rest breaks to their employees.

Paid time off and leave

In Wisconsin, employers are required to provide both mandated and optional leave benefits to their employees.

Wisconsin State Payroll Taxes

In Wisconsin, there are two categories of payroll taxes:

• Wisconsin personal income tax, and
• Wisconsin state unemployment insurance (UI) tax.

Wisconsin personal income tax

The Wisconsin state personal income tax system comprises four brackets (3.50%, 4.40%, 5.30%, 7.65%), which are applied based on an employee's income and filing status (Single, Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately, and Head of Household).

Wisconsin state unemployment insurance (UI) tax

SUTA, or State Unemployment Tax Act, was enacted to support workers who find themselves unemployed by providing them with unemployment benefits. Through SUTA, states gather funds, which are then utilized to administer unemployment insurance benefits to individuals who are without work.

In 2024, the state implements different State Unemployment Tax Act (SUTA) rates for new employers based on their payroll and industry:

For new employers with a payroll less than $500,000:

• Non-construction employers utilize a rate of 3.05%.
• Construction employers apply a rate of 2.90%.

For new employers with a payroll exceeding $500,000:

• Non-construction employers are subject to a rate of 3.25%.
• Construction employers face a rate of 3.10%.
• It's important to note that the taxable wage base remains unchanged at $14,000.
• Additionally, SUTA rates for established employers vary between 0% to 4.3% for positive-rated employers, while negative-rated employers experience rates ranging from 6.4% to 12%.

Wisconsin payroll tax filing

• Report of New Employees
• Report of Independent Contractors
• Filing a Quarterly contribution Report(form UCT-101-E)
• Wisconsin estimated individual income tax filing (form 1-ES)
• Wisconsin individual income tax return filing (form 1)

Report of New hire Employees

In Wisconsin, it is important to report any new hires to the Wisconsin New Hire Reporting Center within 20 days of their employment start date. This can be done via Form W-4 or WT-4. It is important to note that there is a $25 penalty for late reports.

How to report employees' new hire in Wisconsin?

You can use any of the following options to report new hiring.

Report of Independent Contractors

In Wisconsin, employers are not obligated to report independent contractors.

Filing a Quarterly Contribution Report (form UCT-101-E)

In accordance with Wisconsin's Unemployment Insurance (UI) Law, businesses are required to submit quarterly reports, even if they haven't conducted any payroll activities during that quarter. These contribution reports must be filed by the end of the month following the conclusion of each calendar quarter.

Late or non-filing of quarterly wage reports incurs penalties as follows:

• Filing within 30 days after the due date: $50 penalty.
• Filing more than 30 days after the due date: Greater of $100 or $20 per employee.
• Employers with 25 or more employees must file electronically; failure to do so incurs a $20 penalty per employee not reported electronically.
• Employers are accountable for penalties resulting from their or their representative's failure to file reports on time.

Wisconsin estimated individual income tax filing (form 1-ES)

In Wisconsin, income tax is due as income becomes available. While employers typically withhold income tax from wages, individuals with taxable non-wage income or other sources not subject to withholding may need to make quarterly estimated tax payments.

Wisconsin individual income tax return filing (form 1)

The deadline for filing your 2023 individual income tax return is April 15, 2024, unless you've obtained an extension to file.

Failing to file on time without an extension could lead to penalties and accumulating interest.

Failure to file your 2023 individual income tax return by April 15, 2024, could result in the following consequences:

• A late-filing fee - $50.
• Delinquent interest: 1.5% per month (18% per year).

Negligence penalty for failure to timely file: 5% per month of the tax required to be shown on the return, up to a maximum of 25%.

Processing payroll manually is complex

As a business owner who runs payroll manually, you will need to keep up with ever-changing payroll laws. You already have a lot on your plate and you might not want to get into the complex process of pay stub generation.

With SecurePayStubs, you can create a pay stub using our online paystub generator for your employees with accurate federal and Wisconsin state taxes and independent contractors in less than 2 minutes. Enter the basic employee and employer information, select a pay stub template for free, and let SecurePayStubs calculate the applicable payroll taxes accurately.

Spend less time generating pay stubs and more on your business growth.

This article has been updated from its original publication date of March 28, 2024.