Goldenseal Payroll
Software Info
US Federal Withholding
Tables
Free 2021 Payroll
Tax Table Updates
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Maine has state income tax withholding, using a 'step'
table that is similar to the federal withholding
tax tables. The formulas changed in 2021. They have changed in 25 of the past
31 years.
In 2016, the calculation method changed completely. Maine dropped the former exemption system, and now uses an adjustment to the exemption amount, for relatively high-income employees. It is a deduction for most people, but gradually dropped to a negative number in 2016. That was probably a calculation error, because it was corrected in 2017 so it only drops to zero.
NOTE-- In 2006 we changed the Maine calculation
formulas from annual basis to weekly,
since the state withholding instruction booklet
started to use weekly rates. Then in 2007,
the state changed their calculations back to
annual, so we changed back also. In 2014 they dropped the annual figures entirely, so we had to go back to weekly again. However, in 2016, they went back to annual again.
Who knows what the wacky folks in
the Maine tax department will do in future years...
Turtle Creek Software provides free annual updates for
US federal and Maine tax withholding rates.
Maine
State Withholding Instructions |
To enter withholding information for an employee in your Goldenseal company file,
follow these steps:
- Choose
Employees from the
Accounts menu.
- Locate
the employee record.
- Click
the Payroll Setup
button.
- Enter
the employee's marital
status into the Marital
Status field
(see note below).
- Enter
the number of federal
dependents into the
Federal Exemptions
field.
- Enter
the number of Maine
dependents into the
State Exemptions
field.
- Enter
the Maine
Tax Package
into
the Tax
Package
field. HINT--
If you
don't
see it
in the
list,
you'll need to import the
tax info
first.
- Click
OK.
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Maine
State Unemployment Tax Instructions |
In 2021, Maine SUTA (state unemployment insurance
tax) is based on the
first $12,000 of wages
for each employee (no
change since at least
2006). The tax rate depends
on your company's
past employment history
(it ranges from
.78% to 7.19%).
To enter your state SUTA tax rate into
the Goldenseal payroll
accounting software, follow these steps:
- Choose
Payroll Setup from
the Costs menu, and
choose Tax Items
from the submenu.
- You'll
see a list of Tax
Items. Locate the
Maine SUTA tax in
the list, and double-click
on it. HINT:
If you don't see
Maine SUTA in the
list, you'll need
to import your
state's payroll info
first.
- Enter
your percentage rate
into the field to
the right of Calculation
method.
- If
the cutoff amount
has changed, enter
it into the dollar
field to the right
of First Adjustment.
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Maine
Marital Status |
Enter one of the following values for each
employee, based on their marital and filing status:
- Single-
single employee
- Married-
married, single income
- Dual Income-
married, two incomes
- Head of House-
not used
- Other- not
used
NOTE-- There used to be separate tax
tables for married employees with two incomes, but they
now use the same rate as single-income couples. We still
keep the tables separate just in case Maine decides to
go back to the old system.
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Maine
Tax Contacts |
Withholding tax website
Payroll Tax Office-- 207 626-8475
SUTA-- 207 289-3961
Maine Bureau of Taxation
State Office Building
Augusta ME 04330 |
Official
State Lawn Ornament |
Coastal regions: stack of lobster traps.
Inland: stack of firewood.
Portland: stack of craft beer empties.
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