State payroll taxes and what to file
See the payroll taxes, registrations and filings your state asks of employers, and estimate what a year of payroll costs there.
Every state you have employees in asks something of you as an employer, on top of federal payroll taxes. Most ask for state unemployment insurance and income tax withholding; some add disability or paid leave contributions, workers' comp rules or a payroll tax of their own, like Nevada's Modified Business Tax. Kloqk's State Payroll Taxes tool lists what your state asks for, the forms and when they are due, and estimates what a year of payroll costs there.
Open the tool for your state
- In the dashboard, open Reports and then Payroll.
- Click State payroll taxes and what to file. It opens on your business's state.
- Type how many people you employ in that state and their average yearly pay.
- If your state has sent you an unemployment insurance rate notice, type that rate. Otherwise the tool uses the rate new employers usually start at.
You can also open it any time at kloqk.com/resources/tools/state-payroll-taxes and pick another state, which helps when you are about to hire somebody there.
What the tool covers
| Item | What it is | Who pays |
|---|---|---|
| State unemployment insurance (SUI) | Funds unemployment benefits. A rate on each person's pay up to a yearly wage base. Reported every quarter on the state's wage report. | Employer (employees too in a few states) |
| State income tax withholding | Taken from each paycheck and sent to the state, with a regular return and a year-end reconciliation. Not in states with no wage income tax. | Employee, sent by you |
| Disability and paid family leave | State programs such as disability insurance and paid family and medical leave, paid through payroll in the states that run them. | Employee, employer, or both |
| Workers' compensation | Insurance for work injuries. Required in nearly every state; a few states make you buy it from the state's own fund. | Employer |
| Other payroll taxes | State-specific taxes on wages, such as Nevada's Modified Business Tax or Oregon's transit taxes. | Varies |
| New hire reporting | Telling the state about each new hire within a set number of days. | A filing, no cost |
| City and county taxes | Local income or payroll taxes in some places, for example parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York. | Varies |
The estimate also shows the federal lines for the full picture: Social Security (6.2% each for you and the employee, on wages up to $184,500 in 2026), Medicare (1.45% each), and federal unemployment (FUTA, 6.0% on the first $7,000 per employee, less a credit of up to 5.4% for paying state unemployment on time).
How Kloqk fits in
- Kloqk records the hours, overtime and breaks these taxes are worked out from, and the payroll report shows gross pay per person.
- Your payroll company (Paychex, Gusto, ADP, QuickBooks and others) calculates, files and pays the taxes. Kloqk's export files send them the hours. See Payroll provider exports.
- Kloqk does not file taxes or register you with a state. The tool tells you what to register for and links each agency.
The State quarterly report (Premium)
On Premium, Kloqk can also work out the numbers each state's quarterly wage report asks for: total wages, the part over the state's wage base, taxable wages, hours, weeks worked and how many people worked in the pay period that includes the 12th of each month. It is off until you turn it on, because plenty of businesses never file per state.
- Open Settings, then Payroll, and scroll to Reports by location.
- Under State quarterly filings report, choose On and click Save. A State quarterly tab appears under Reports.
- Open Settings, then Locations, and set the state for each time clock location. A location with no state is counted under your business's state, and the report names it until you set one.
Which state the wages go to follows the same setting as the other reports. With Home location, each person counts in their home location's state. With Where the punch happened, each person's wages are split between states by the hours they punched in each one, to the cent, and each state's wage base is measured against what they earned in that state this year. A punch at a roaming field location, or one with no location, counts in the person's home state. See Reports by location.
Good to know
- Taxes follow where the person works. Somebody who works in another state usually brings that state's registrations with them.
- A new business registers for state withholding and unemployment before the first payday in that state.
- Your payroll provider can usually register you, but check what they file and what they leave to you.
Questions people ask
Which states have no state income tax to withhold?
Pick your state in the tool: the income tax section says whether the state taxes wages. Where it does not, there is nothing to withhold, but unemployment insurance and workers' comp still apply.
What is Nevada's Modified Business Tax?
A Nevada tax employers pay on wages above a quarterly exemption. Pick Nevada in the tool to see the current rate, exemption and form.
Does Kloqk file my payroll taxes?
No. Kloqk records hours and sends them to your payroll company, which calculates and files the taxes. The tool shows what to file so you can check nothing is missed.
Why does the unemployment estimate use a new employer rate?
Your real rate depends on your history and is on the notice your state sends you each year. Type it in the tool to replace the estimate.
Can Kloqk split wages between states for someone who works in two?
Yes, on Premium. In Settings, Payroll, Reports by location, count hours by where the punch happened, and set the state of each time clock location in Settings, Locations. The State quarterly report then splits each person’s wages by the hours they punched in each state.
Related guides
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Updated 2026-10-08