Frequently asked questions about Wave's payroll feature

This FAQ reviews the top questions about running payroll. Select your country below to learn more about Wave's payroll subscription.

United States

Canada

United States

How much does Wave's payroll subscription cost?

If you’re in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin, you’ll get access to automatic payroll tax payments and filing on top of all payroll support and services. Your monthly subscription is $40 per month plus $6 for every active employee and $6 per contractor paid.

If you’re not in these states, Wave will still keep track of what you owe, and how to pay your quarterly taxes. For all payroll services, you’ll pay $20 per month, plus $6 for every active employee and $6 per contractor paid.

Learn more about pricing.

What is tax service?

Behind your account is a team of payroll tax specialists who keep you covered and compliant with your payroll taxes. This team will pay and file your federal and state taxes on your behalf for businesses in AZ, CA, FL, GA, IL, IN, MN, NC, NY, TN, TX, VA, WA, and WI. Learn more about automatic payroll tax payments and filings.

How do you do my tax calculations?

Wave has a robust tax engine embedded into its payroll platform that calculates your state, federal and local/district taxes automatically. Complete your tax profile to ensure your calculations are up to date.

Does Wave offer workers' compensation?

Wave partners with Next Insurance to provide easy and affordable workers compensation insurance to support you and your team when you need it most. When applying for coverage through Wave, Next will notify Wave once you’ve activated your coverage, and you’ll see workers comp marked as Active on your dashboard. All payments are handled directly with Next Insurance.

I’m switching to Wave from another payroll provider. How do I import my previous payroll history?

You can import your payroll history to Wave. Do it during payroll setup, or later under settings. Learn how in Enter payroll history.

Can I pay myself with Wave?

If your business is incorporated and you need to add yourself to payroll, you can add yourself as an employee. This will allow you to track cash flow and generate a W-2 at the end of the year.

Wave recommends speaking with your accountant to understand the tax implications of paying yourself as an employee.

Can I pay contractors?

You can pay contractors with Wave. Wave will also generate 1099 forms at the end of the year for you to distribute to the contractors you have paid.

Can I contribute to a retirement account?

You can add to and deduct from an employee’s pay using several different available benefits and deductions, including a 401k contribution.

How can my employees view their pay stubs?

Invite your employees to Wave to view their pay stubs, as well as access their tax forms and update their bank account information.

Where can I find information about payroll billing?

Information on payroll billing can be found by scrolling down to the FAQ section in Cancel or reactivate your payroll account.

How do the payroll transaction descriptions appear on my and my employee’s bank statements?

Your monthly payroll fee description on your bank statement will contain WAVE PAYROLL FEES.

The description of the payroll withdrawal on your bank statement usually contains WAVE PAYROLL in some format. Your bank determines the exact format.

The description for the payroll deposit on your employee’s bank statement usually contains WAVE PAYROLL in some format. The employee’s bank determines the exact format, so the description may differ between employee statements.

Can I change the billing description of payroll transactions?

Wave is unable to make changes to payroll billing descriptors.

Canada

How much does Wave's payroll subscription cost?

Your monthly subscription cost is $25 per month plus $6 for every active employee and contractor paid. Learn more about pricing.

Canadian employers get access to automatic tax remittances in addition to regular payroll support and services.

How do you do my tax calculations?

Wave has a robust tax engine embedded into its payroll platform that calculates your CRA remittances taxes automatically. Complete your tax profile to ensure your calculations are up to date.

I’m switching to Wave from another payroll provider. How do I import my previous payroll history?

You can import your payroll history to Wave. Do it during payroll setup, or later under settings. Learn how in Enter payroll history.

Can I pay myself with Wave?

If your business is incorporated and you need to pay yourself through payroll, you can add yourself as an employee. This will allow you to track cash flow and generate a T4 at the end of the year.

Wave recommends speaking with your accountant to understand the tax implications of paying yourself as an employee.

Can I pay contractors?

You can pay contractors with Wave. Wave will also generate T4A forms at the end of the year for you to distribute to the contractors you have paid.

How can my employees view their pay stubs?

Invite your employees to Wave to view their pay stubs, as well as access their tax forms and update their bank account information.

Where can I find information about payroll billing?

Information on payroll billing can be found by scrolling down to the FAQ section in Cancel or reactivate your payroll account.

How do the payroll transaction descriptions appear on my and my employee’s bank statements?

Your monthly payroll fee description on your bank statement will contain WAVE PAYROLL FEES.

The description of the payroll withdrawal on your bank statement usually contains WAVE PAYROLL in some format. Your bank determines the exact format.

The description for the payroll deposit on your employee’s bank statement usually contains WAVE PAYROLL in some format. The employee’s bank determines the exact format, so the description may differ between employee statements.

Can I change the billing description of payroll transactions?

Wave is unable to make changes to payroll billing descriptors.

Is payroll available in Quebec?

Wave's payroll feature doesn’t support businesses or employees located in Quebec at this time. In Canada, Wave only remits to the Canada Revenue Agency while employers in Quebec must remit to Revenu Quebec instead of the Canada Revenue Agency.