Payroll processing in practice: US and UK tax deadlines, provider checks and payroll fraud signals
For payroll administrators, bookkeepers and finance assistants who prepare or check pay runs. Prerequisite: 'Payroll basics for bookkeepers', which covers gross-to-net pay, employer costs and the payroll journal. HR staff should also take 'Security awareness for HR staff: payroll diversion and W-2 scams', which covers direct deposit change scams. This course covers the processing side in two example jurisdictions: US federal employment taxes (IRS Publication 15 for 2026: Social Security and Medicare, deposit schedules and Form 941 and W-2 dates) and UK PAYE (GOV.UK: Full Payment Submissions and paying HMRC), plus checking a payroll provider really paid the tax, reviewing a payroll register for fraud signals and escalating what you find. State and local taxes, and other countries, have their own rules. Rates and dates are as published when this course was written; check the current guidance. This course is not tax or legal advice and doesn't qualify you to give it.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Length
- About 100 minutes
- Contents
- 5 lessons · final exam
- Status
- Published · updated 10 Oct 2026
Skills you'll practise
- Calculate US Social Security and Medicare withholding and the employer match for a payment using the current Publication 15 rates
- Determine the US deposit schedule and filing dates, and the UK PAYE reporting and payment dates, for a pay run
- Identify payroll fraud signals in a payroll register and change log
- Verify that a payroll provider has actually paid the employment taxes, knowing the employer stays responsible
- Decide what to escalate, to whom, and what to record when a payroll anomaly is found
Course outline
- 1.Calculating US Social Security and Medicare withholding and the employer matchLesson · 20 min
- 2.Determining US deposit and filing dates and UK PAYE reporting and payment datesLesson · 22 min
- 3.Identifying payroll fraud signals in a payroll register and change logLesson · 20 min
- 4.Verifying that a payroll provider has actually paid the employment taxesLesson · 16 min
- 5.Deciding what to escalate, to whom, and what to record when a payroll anomaly is foundLesson · 12 min
- 6.Payroll processing in practice: US and UK tax deadlines, provider checks and payroll fraud signals: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 14 questions
- 7.Payroll processing in practice: US and UK tax deadlines, provider checks and payroll fraud signals: practical exerciseKnowledge check · 1 question
- 8.Final exam10 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out
Sources it draws on
The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.
- IRS Publication 15 (2026), (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide: 2026 Social Security and Medicare rates and wage base, deposit schedules, $100,000 next-day rule, Form 941 due dates, trust fund recovery penalty (US federal)
- IRS: Understanding employment taxes (federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, Additional Medicare tax, FUTA) (US federal)
- IRS: Depositing and reporting employment taxes (deposit schedules, EFT, Forms 941/940, Form W-2 by January 31) (US federal)
- IRS: Outsourcing payroll duties (employer remains responsible; verify deposits in EFTPS) (US federal)
- GOV.UK: PAYE and payroll for employers (reporting on or before payday, records for 3 years, employer responsible when using a provider) (UK)
- GOV.UK: Running payroll (tax months, Full Payment Submission on or before payday, EPS by the 19th, payslips) (UK)
- GOV.UK: Pay employers' PAYE (by the 22nd of the next tax month, 19th by post; quarterly payments) (UK)
See it with your own jobs and topics
Tell us about your team and we'll walk you through setup, from choosing jobs to your first skills check.