10 most critical factors of SAP payroll: Tax reporting and auditing

We have covered 6 of the 10 most critical factors of SAP payroll in this blog post series. The next area we’ll cover is Tax reporting and auditing.

Over the years, SAP has developed many payroll reports to make tax reporting and audit simpler process. However, these monthly, quarterly, and annual rituals can consume significant amounts of time and energy from payroll departments depending on the level of understanding of what SAP provides. Hopefully, you are already aware of the following reports you can use to audit your payrolls throughout the year.

Wage Type Reporter (tcode PC00_M99_CWTR)

• Data is pulled from the RT and WPBP tables of payroll results selected
• The report has several organizational structure object options to evaluate the results
• Unfortunately, tax authority is not available for this report

Payroll Journal (tcode PC00_M10_CLJN)

• Payroll results are pulled and displayed in this this easy to use report
• Selection criteria are very limited and the underlying layout is configured
• Changes to the layout require the transport process

Cost Center Report (tcode PC00_MNA_CC_ADM)

• Managers of cost centers like this report’s availability
• Detailed payroll charges can be seen and reconciled against FICO reports
• Unfortunately, there are many HR objects not available for this report

Payroll Reconciliation Report (tcode PC00_M10_REC)

• There is a great deal of flexibility in this report, but that flexibility can be confusing
• Validation of both Tax Reporter and amounts posted to FI are great applications of this report
• Wage types can be configured as part of a Wage Type Application, which will combine the wage types in display
• Retro activity in payroll can be easily displayed and tweaked for more informative output
• The report can be run for specific types of payrolls making for easy identification of Voided checks or specific types of Off-Cycles during a period

• Finally, individuals can create and save the ALV layout of their liking

Flexible Employee Data Report (tcode S_AHR_61016362)

• You’ll see this report often used for Birthday lists
• However, it can provide a great deal of information about the employee population and make year-end validation easier
• Flexible means you get to pick up to 20 fields to display in the output

Withholding Allowances Report (tcode S_PH9_46000361)

• Provides a reconciliation between what an employee has claimed for exemptions in Infotype 0210 W-4 and what is allowed for a tax authority

Exemption Expiration Report (tcode S_PH9_46000360)

• Provides information about Infotype 0210 W-4 records that will expire

Tax Infotype Summary (tcode S_AHR_61016142)

• Provides tax infotypes information that can be sent to employees for validation

Tax Reporter (tcode PU19)

• After validating employee master data and payroll results data, running the tax reporter to validate is the next step
• If you are using a third-party for tax filing, this is a great way to validate against the data they have
• Keep in mind you’ll need to configure Tax Reporter in addition to maintaining the third-party programs and tables
• Review the Log Manager to see if any warnings or errors exist
• Compare the output of data against the Payroll Reconciliation Report

Using the reports SAP has developed and provided should allow for complete and accurate tax reporting and auditing. Understanding what and how each report works and where it fits in the overall process is very important.

Please join us for our next blog post where we’ll discuss Troubleshooting as another critical factor in SAP payroll.

Here at Integrated Consulting Group, we specialize in the design, development, and customization of SAP Human Capital Management business software for leading edge North American companies with global reach. Have any questions about SAP? Feel free to contact us via the contact page of our site, or on Twitter or LinkedIn.