Payroll Tax Manager (North America)
About The Position
The Payroll Tax Manager independently leads U.S. payroll tax compliance in a complex, high-volume, multi-state and multi-entity environment, with growing support for North American payroll tax needs. The role owns tax filings, reconciliations, registrations, agency matters, vendor oversight, controls, research, and issue resolution from discovery through closure, in partnership with Payroll Operations. The manager oversees payroll tax compliance across federal, state, and local jurisdictions, including filings, remittances, reconciliations, registrations, notices, amendments, and agency account maintenance. They lead quarter-end and year-end tax activities and ensure taxable wages, deposits, general ledger activity, vendor data, agency records, and employee tax forms are accurate and supported. The role researches tax requirements, monitors legislative changes, assesses operational impacts, and maintains governance, controls, documentation, and audit evidence. The position owns payroll tax matters involving payroll and tax filing vendors, holds vendors accountable for investigation and corrective action, and escalates recurring or high-risk issues. It analyzes data across payroll, human resources, finance, tax filing, vendor, and agency systems; develops reconciliations, exception reports, dashboards, testing evidence, and control procedures; and coordinates with internal partners, vendors, and agencies to resolve issues and improve processes. The manager communicates recommendations, risks, business impacts, and resolution status in clear language, including concise updates to leadership. The role is based in Boston, Massachusetts, with a hybrid working arrangement. The advertised role is an existing vacancy.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Tax, or a related field, or equivalent relevant professional experience.
- Seven or more years of progressively responsible payroll tax experience in a complex, multi-state, multi-entity environment.
- Deep knowledge of U.S. federal, state, and local payroll tax withholding, reporting, depositing, filings, registrations, and agency resolution.
- Demonstrated ownership of quarter-end and year-end payroll tax reconciliations, filings, W-2/W-2c processes, notices, amendments, and tax vendor management.
- Ability to independently research complex tax issues, make recommendations, and drive outcomes when no documented process exists.
- Strong Excel, data analysis, documentation, control, project management, and communication skills.
Nice To Haves
- Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) designation.
- Experience with Workday, ADP GlobalView or another enterprise payroll platform, ADP SmartCompliance or another tax filing platform, or SAP payroll or payroll accounting data.
- Experience in financial services or another highly regulated industry.
- Experience supporting mergers, acquisitions, new entities, reorganizations, or new jurisdictions.
- Experience with Canadian payroll tax matters.
- Experience with artificial intelligence-assisted research, automation, or reconciliation tools.
Responsibilities
- Own U.S. payroll tax compliance across federal, state, and local jurisdictions, including filings, remittances, reconciliations, registrations, notices, amendments, and agency account maintenance.
- Lead quarter-end and year-end tax activities and ensure taxable wages, deposits, general ledger activity, vendor data, agency records, and employee tax forms are accurate and supported.
- Research payroll tax requirements, monitor law changes, determine operational impacts, and maintain governance, controls, documentation, and audit evidence.
- Work with agencies and internal partners to resolve account setup issues, missing filings, payment discrepancies, tax rates, notices, and other compliance concerns.
- Own payroll tax matters involving payroll and tax filing vendors, including filing results, exceptions, amendments, account setup, notices, open items, and service performance.
- Hold vendors accountable for timely investigation, root-cause analysis, corrective action, and documented closure; challenge incomplete responses and escalate recurring or high-risk issues.
- Analyze payroll tax data across payroll, human resources, finance, tax filing, vendor, and agency systems to identify errors, risks, trends, and control gaps.
- Build reconciliations, exception reports, dashboards, testing evidence, and control procedures to improve accuracy, visibility, and sustainability.
- Interpret complex payroll tax requirements and explain facts, risks, options, recommendations, and business impacts in plain language.
- Coordinate across Payroll, Tax, Legal, Finance, Technology, vendors, and agencies to drive decisions, resolve issues, and confirm outcomes.
- Provide leadership updates on material risks, required decisions, corrective actions, and resolution status.
- Use lessons from notices, corrections, amendments, and agency issues to strengthen processes, controls, training, and documentation.
Benefits
- Health insurance
- Dental insurance
- Mental health benefits
- Vision insurance
- Short- and long-term disability insurance
- Life and AD&D insurance
- Adoption and surrogacy benefits
- Wellness benefits
- Employee and family assistance plans
- Retirement savings plans, including pension and 401(k) plans
- Global share ownership plan with employer matching contributions
- Financial education and counseling resources
- Up to 11 paid holidays, 3 personal days, 150 hours of vacation, and 40 hours of sick time annually in the U.S., or more where required by law
- Statutory leaves of absence
- Incentive programs and performance-based incentive compensation
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
