1. Employee Management
  2. Payroll
  3. SuitePeople U.S. Payroll
  4. Payroll Setup
  5. Payroll Setup for Employees
  6. Taxes and Jurisdiction Setup for Employees
  7. Setting up Paid Family and Medical Leave Contributions for Employees in Massachusetts

Setting up Paid Family and Medical Leave Contributions for Employees in Massachusetts

If you have employees in the State of Massachusetts, then you are subject to the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) compliance requirements. Employers of all sizes must either withhold premiums from their employees’ paychecks or opt to cover their employees’ premiums themselves.

If your company averages fewer than 25 employees, you do not need to pay the employer portion of the premium. However, you must withhold the employee portion or cover it yourself.

For more information about Massachusetts' s PFML program, go to https://www.mass.gov/paid-family-and-medical-leave-information-for-massachusetts-employers.

PFML contributions are mandatory and the rates are the same for all of your employees. Therefore, you set the rate at the company level, not for each employee individually. SuitePeople U.S. Payroll will not calculate these taxes for paychecks with check dates prior to Oct. 1, 2019. However, you can set these rates prior to Oct. 1. Then, they are reflected in payroll batches that you calculate prior to Oct. 1, but that include dates on or after Oct. 1.

Please note the following information about the rates:

To set the PFML rate:

  1. Go to Setup > Payroll > Setup Tasks > Set Up Payroll.

  2. Click the Taxes subtab.

  3. Enter rates for the following three taxes (the values must sum to 0.75 percent or 0.0075):

    • MA Family Leave Contribution (Employee) – the employee-paid family leave contribution

    • MA Medical Leave Contribution (Employee) – the employee-paid medical leave contribution

    • MA Medical Leave Contribution (Employer) – the employer-paid medical leave contribution

  4. The Effective Date for each tax defaults to the current date. However, these taxes will not be calculated for paycheck dates prior to Oct. 1, 2019. If you run a payroll batch prior to Oct. 1 that has check dates on or after Oct. 1, the taxes will be calculated.

  5. Click Save.

To set the tax agency for these new taxes:

  1. Go to Lists > Employees > Payroll Items.

  2. For each of the WA PFML tax payroll items, click Edit.

  3. Select a tax agency from the Agency list.

  4. Click Save.

To update payroll information:

  1. Go to Setup > Payroll > Payroll Management > Update Payroll Information.

  2. Check the Agree box and then click Commit Updates.

To confirm that the PFML taxes have been added to the appropriate employees:

  1. Go to Lists > Employees > Employees.

  2. Choose an employee who is located in Massachusetts and click View beside their name.

  3. On the employee record, click the Taxes tab.

  4. The WA Paid Family Leave State Plan and WA Paid Medical Leave State Plan (Employee) taxes appear.

When you create a payroll batch after setting these tax rates and updating payroll information, and the payroll batch check date is prior to Oct. 1, 2019, the Taxed Wage Base field will be zero because these taxes apply on Oct. 1, 2019.

Related Topics

General Notices