State payroll tax accounts
Register your studio for state withholding and unemployment insurance accounts so Arketa can file and pay your state payroll taxes.
Before Arketa can file and pay state payroll taxes for you, your studio needs its own tax accounts with each state where your employees work. Registration is completed by your studio directly with the state.
Does this apply to you?
Yes, if you have W-2 employees. Registering for state payroll tax accounts is a required step in Arketa Payroll onboarding when you have employees.
No, if you only pay 1099 contractors. No taxes are withheld from contractor payments, so no state payroll tax accounts are needed.
What registration means
Most states require two accounts:
- A withholding account for the state income tax deducted from employee paychecks. States with no income tax skip this.
- An unemployment insurance (UI) account, which funds unemployment benefits and gives you an employer tax rate.
Registration is usually done online in under an hour. Once registered, you'll receive account numbers and, for UI, a tax rate. Enter these in Arketa during payroll onboarding so your filings are set up correctly from the first run.
What you'll generally need
- Federal EIN
- Legal business name and entity type
- Business address and the start date of payroll in that state
- Owner or officer information
Workers in more than one state
Workers are taxed based on where they work. If you have employees in multiple states, you need tax accounts in each of those states. Bring the list of states to onboarding and your specialist will walk through what's needed.
A note on accuracy
State requirements, rates, and portals change. Arketa's state guides cover the durable steps, but always confirm current details on the state's own site. If anything looks different from what a guide describes, contact Arketa Support.