Annual Payroll

Payroll includes all forms of compensation such as salaries, wages, commissions, dismissal pay, bonuses, vacation allowances, sick-leave pay, and employee contributions to qualified pension plans paid during the year to all employees and reported on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 941 as taxable Medicare Wages and tips (even if not subject to income or FICA tax). Excluded are commissions paid to independent (nonemployee) agents, such as real estate agents. For corporations, payroll includes amounts paid to officers and executives; for unincorporated businesses, it does not include profit or other compensation of proprietors or partners. Payroll is reported before deductions for social security, income tax, insurance, union dues, etc. This definition of payroll is the same as that used by the IRS on Form 941.