The IRS deposit schedule, the trust-fund rule, and who pays when a provider slips
This is the page that decides whether a payroll service is worth its fee. A late deposit is charged as a percentage of the deposit, and the trust-fund portion reaches a San Pablo owner personally. Both schedules are below, from the IRS.
Two free marketplace paths: one form brings back multiple vetted payroll providers who know they are competing for the account.
The federal penalty for depositing employment taxes late runs 2% up to 5 days late, 5% through 15 days and 10% beyond that, rising to 15% after an IRS notice goes unanswered - percentages applied to the deposit, not to the monthly fee a San Pablo business is comparing.
The IRS holds the employer responsible for depositing and reporting employment taxes even when payroll is outsourced, so a San Pablo owner who hires a provider is buying reliability and proof of filing - not a transfer of liability, which is the single most misunderstood fact in this market.
San Pablo, California has about 31,562 residents, and its payroll costs are set by headcount, pay frequency and state rules rather than by geography - the list price is national; the compliance bill is local.
There is one sentence on the IRS website that every San Pablo owner shopping for payroll should read before comparing prices: outsourcing payroll duties does not relieve the employer of the responsibility to deposit and report employment taxes. Providers can be excellent; the notice still arrives addressed to your EIN. That fact is what a payroll provider is actually being hired to prevent.
This is the page that decides whether payroll is worth outsourcing at all. The IRS penalty for depositing employment taxes late starts at 2% for deposits up to 5 days late, rises to 5% through 15 days, reaches 10% beyond that, and hits 15% once a notice has gone unanswered for ten days. Those percentages apply to the deposit, not to your monthly fee.
Put a payroll compliance review out to competing quotes before you compare prices
Two free marketplace paths: one form brings back multiple vetted payroll providers who know they are competing for the account. Competing quotes are the only reliable way to see what your headcount actually prices at.
External links go to the marketplaces' own sites and forms. This site may earn a referral fee at no cost to you - it never changes the data above, and no individual payroll provider pays to appear in our research.
The penalty schedule, in the IRS's own numbers
| What happened | Federal penalty | Applied to |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit up to 5 days late | 2% | The deposit amount |
| Deposit 5-15 days late | 5% | The deposit amount |
| Deposit more than 15 days late | 10% | The deposit amount |
| Still unpaid 10 days after an IRS notice | 15% | The deposit amount |
| Form 941 filed late | about 5% per month, capped near 25% | The unpaid tax |
| Withheld trust-fund taxes never paid over | Trust Fund Recovery Penalty - 100% of the trust-fund amount | A responsible person, personally |
Read that last row twice. Income tax and the employee share of FICA are withheld in trust, which is why the penalty for never paying them over can be assessed personally against an owner or officer of a San Pablo business under IRC 6672 - the corporation does not stand in the way. It is the strongest argument for hiring a provider, and the strongest argument for verifying that the provider actually files.
One detail in the IRS's favour: the percentages do not stack. A deposit more than 15 calendar days late is charged at 10%, not at 10% plus the earlier 2% and 5% tiers. That is the only piece of good news on this page.
The sentence that decides the whole question
The IRS puts it in two sentences on its outsourcing page: "The employer is ultimately responsible for the deposit and payment of federal tax liabilities," and if the third party fails to make those payments, "the employer is liable for all taxes, penalties and interest due." In other words, an employer who outsources payroll duties remains responsible for depositing and reporting employment taxes. Every payroll provider is selling reliability against that fact, and none of them can sell an exemption from it. The practical consequences for a San Pablo employer are concrete: keep the IRS address of record as your own so notices reach you, ask for filing confirmations rather than assuming, and treat a provider's penalty guarantee as a contract term to read - not as a transfer of the legal duty.
What outsourcing does and does not move off your desk
A provider can take over
- Calculating withholding, employer taxes and net pay each cycle
- Making federal and state deposits on the required schedule
- Preparing and filing Forms 941, 940 and state wage reports
- Producing W-2s and 1099s and filing them electronically
- New-hire reporting to the state directory, where offered
What stays with you no matter who you hire
- Legal responsibility to the IRS for depositing and reporting employment taxes - the IRS says outsourcing does not transfer it
- Personal exposure to the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty for withheld amounts never paid over
- The obligation to verify that filings actually happened - request confirmations
- Keeping the IRS address of record as yours, so notices reach you rather than only your provider
- Choosing a provider you can audit: filings confirmed, not assumed
The stale-advice warning: the e-filing threshold moved
Plenty of still-published payroll guides tell small employers they can paper-file W-2s and 1099s until they hit 250 returns. That threshold is gone. The rule now counts all information returns together, and at 10 or more for the year, electronic filing is required. For a San Pablo business with a handful of employees plus a few contractors, that arithmetic arrives much sooner than the old rule implied - and it is a question worth asking any provider: is electronic filing included at my tier, or billed per form at 4-8 dollars?
What this means in San Pablo
Withheld income tax and the employee share of FICA are trust funds - money that was never the company's. That is why the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty can reach an owner or officer personally, and why 'the company can't pay' is not an exit from this particular bill.
This page is independent research, not legal, tax or accounting advice. Federal deposit rules and state wage, unemployment and final-paycheck laws change - verify current requirements with the IRS and your state labor and revenue agencies, or with a licensed CPA or attorney, before acting.
Put a payroll compliance review out to competing quotes before you compare prices
Two free marketplace paths: one form brings back multiple vetted payroll providers who know they are competing for the account. Competing quotes are the only reliable way to see what your headcount actually prices at.
External links go to the marketplaces' own sites and forms. This site may earn a referral fee at no cost to you - it never changes the data above, and no individual payroll provider pays to appear in our research.
Common questions
Can I do payroll myself instead?
Yes, and for a single-state business with a handful of salaried employees, software plus discipline is genuinely cheaper. The variables that change the answer are multi-state employees, hourly overtime, tipped wages, garnishments and turnover - each multiplies the number of deadlines. For scale, an in-house payroll specialist averages about $64,865 dollars a year in 2026 wage data, so the real comparison for most small employers is software plus your own hours versus a service.
What hidden fees do payroll companies charge?
The recurring surprises are year-end W-2 and 1099 filing at roughly 4-8 dollars per form, additional state tax filings at 6-20 dollars per state per month for remote employees, off-cycle or bonus runs at 5-50 dollars each, setup or implementation fees, charges for mailed paper checks, and per-employee fees that continue for terminated staff. Ask for the full fee schedule in writing, not the pricing page.
How much does payroll cost per employee per month?
Per-employee fees cluster at $4-$15 dollars per month on top of the base fee for standard payroll software and services. Fully outsourced processing and PEO-style arrangements are quoted differently - commonly $30-$100 dollars per person per month or a percentage of gross payroll - and bundle benefits administration and compliance work that standard payroll does not include.
Do I have to file W-2s and 1099s electronically?
Almost certainly yes. The threshold dropped to 10 returns: if you file 10 or more information returns of all types combined in a calendar year, they must be filed electronically. Articles still citing the old 250-return threshold are out of date. Any full-service payroll provider files electronically as standard - confirm it is included rather than billed per form.
When does a final paycheck have to be paid?
That is set by state law, and it differs for employees who are fired versus employees who quit. Several states require immediate payment on termination; others allow the next regular payday; a few add a penalty that accrues per day until the check is delivered. Unused vacation payout is likewise state-specific. The rule for California is on this site's final-paycheck page with its source.
Put a payroll compliance review out to competing quotes before you compare prices
Two free marketplace paths: one form brings back multiple vetted payroll providers who know they are competing for the account. Competing quotes are the only reliable way to see what your headcount actually prices at.
External links go to the marketplaces' own sites and forms. This site may earn a referral fee at no cost to you - it never changes the data above, and no individual payroll provider pays to appear in our research.
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