Oklahoma Hourly Paycheck and Payroll Calculator

Oklahoma Hourly Paycheck Calculator

If you’re a small business owner in Oklahoma looking for help to understand Oklahoma payroll taxes, you’ve come to the right place. 

We understand that you’ve got better things to do than research the paycheck rules in Oklahoma. That’s why we created this handy reference guide that summarizes key taxes and laws you’ll need to be aware of in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma state payroll taxes

Oklahoma withholding tax

The first step in withholding income tax from workers’ paychecks is to register for an account with the Oklahoma Tax Commission (OTC). You’ll use this account number on all correspondence with the OTC.

Next, have employees complete Form OK-W-4, Employee’s State Withholding Allowance Certificate, when they start working for your company. Information your employees provide on this form will help you make the withholding calculations.

With the Form OK-W-4 information and your employee’s gross pay, you’ll use either Oklahoma’s percentage formula method or the withholding tax tables to calculate the amount of tax to withhold. These calculations can get complicated if you’re doing them by hand. Instead, opt for payroll software that automates the math for you.

Paying withholding tax

Oklahoma has three payment frequencies dependent on how much tax you withhold.

Regardless of how frequently you pay, you’ll need to file quarterly wage withholding tax returns. 

Oklahoma encourages employers to make payments and submit returns electronically to avoid interest and penalties for late payments. However, filing paper returns and mailing checks to pay your tax is allowed.

Oklahoma unemployment tax

Established companies with a history of using the unemployment program pay tax rates that range from 0.3% to 7.5%.

You’ll need to pay your unemployment tax quarterly and submit a wage report online.

Other Oklahoma paycheck rules

Keep the following Oklahoma paycheck rules and laws in mind.

• New hire reporting
  • Employers need to report newly hired employees to the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission within 20 days of being hired.
• Minimum wage
  • The minimum wage in Oklahoma is whatever the minimum wage is at the federal level, which is currently $7.25 per hour.
• Overtime
  • Hourly employees who work overtime—more than 40 hours a week—must be paid at least 1 ½ times their hourly rate for the excess hours.
• Final paychecks
  • Employers must provide final wages to employees no later than the next regularly scheduled payday. 
• Workers’ Compensation insurance
  • Requirements to obtain Workers’ Compensation vary by state, this table outlines some of these requirements. If you determine that your company is required to purchase Workers’ Compensation insurance in your state, learn how to sign up for this insurance with Gusto. Sometimes, companies get a request for a workers’ comp audit—head to this article and click the workers’ comp audit reports dropdown for more information. 
• Voting leave
  • Employers must provide up to two hours to each employee (more if the employee has to travel a long distance to reach the voting location) to vote. The leave must be paid if the employee provides proof of voting.

Federal payroll taxes in Oklahoma

Oklahoma employers and employees pay various types of federal payroll taxes. You will remit four withholding taxes to the Internal Revenue Service: 

Employee-paid taxes:

• Additional Medicare tax
• Federal income tax

Employer-paid taxes:

• Federal unemployment tax

Taxes paid by the employer and employee:

• Social Security and Medicare tax

Federal income tax

Use Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate, to calculate the amount of federal income taxes to withhold from your employees’ paychecks. Employees will complete this form when hired and when they have changes that could influence the tax they may owe.

Use the information on Form W-4 along with tax tables to compute the amount of tax to withhold. To make it easier on you, payroll software can help with the math by making the calculations for you.

File the W-4 away in case of an audit. There’s no need to send the forms to the IRS.

Additional Medicare tax

Some employees may need to pay the Additional Medicare tax. If you have employees earning more than $200,000 per year, you’ll need to withhold 0.9% on the employee’s excess wages.

Social Security and Medicare tax

The Federal Insurance Contributions Act, or FICA tax, is made up of the Medicare tax and the Social Security tax. In 2022, the Social Security tax requires employers and employees to each contribute 6.2% of wages up to $147,000. The Medicare tax requires each to contribute 1.45% of all wages. See the IRS webpage for details, like maximum thresholds.

Federal unemployment tax

Like the state, the federal government also has an unemployment tax. It’s called FUTA and it’s an annual tax employers pay on the first $7,000 of each employee’s wages. The FUTA rate for 2022 is 6%, but many employers only have to pay 0.6% each year.

Filing and paying Federal payroll taxes

Depending on how much you owe, send the withheld taxes and your portion of FICA to the IRS monthly or semi-weekly. Each quarter you’ll need to do a summary report on Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return. 
For federal unemployment tax, if your tax is more than $500, you’ll pay quarterly. If your tax is less than $500 a year, pay the tax when you complete your annual summary report on Form 940, Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return.