Senior Specialist, Payroll Tax (Hybrid)

Westat•Bethesda, MD

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

Westat is seeking a Payroll Tax Specialist with an excellent technical grasp who can drive department controls with a focus on customer support. This role serves as a key liaison between employees, Human Resources, Accounting, and external payroll providers to resolve payroll tax issues, manage tax compliance, and support payroll help desk processes. This position is responsible for federal, state, and local tax applications and reconciliations. The ideal candidate possesses strong payroll tax expertise, analytical skills, customer service capabilities, and experience working within outsourced payroll environments. This position has a hybrid work arrangement working from our Bethesda, Maryland office 2 days per week.

Requirements

Typically requires a Bachelor's Degree in a business or finance discipline preferred
3+ years of payroll tax experience, preferably in a multi-state environment
Understanding of federal, state, and local payroll tax regulations
Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis.

Nice To Haves

Strong experience with third party payroll systems like Dayforce/Ceridian
Experience using help desk or ticket management systems such as ServiceNow

Responsibilities

Monitor legislative and regulatory changes impacting payroll tax compliance
Partner with payroll vendors to ensure tax updates are implemented accurately and timely
Support audit requests, payroll tax discrepancies, notices, penalties, and agency inquiries
Generate, review, reconcile payroll tax reports, including quarter end and year end activities
Assist in preparing all necessary tax applications/filings as required
Proactively collaborate with HR team
Maintains employee confidence and protects payroll operations
Provide payroll support/customer service to employees through ticketing system, phone, and email