Key takeaway: Prepare employer accounts, worker classification, pay terms, insurance and payroll controls before the first payroll. Track Form I-9, E-Verify when required, Form W-4 and Florida new-hire reporting as separate tasks with separate deadlines.
This article is part of our guide to small-business payroll and worker classification.
Hiring creates obligations before the first paycheck is issued. A useful checklist identifies who collects the records, who submits each report and who verifies that the payroll system paid the right amount. This guide focuses on Florida business employers; household, agricultural, nonprofit and multistate arrangements need additional review.
1. Resolve classification and pay terms
A contractor agreement or a worker’s preference does not establish independent-contractor status. Federal employment-tax classification examines the actual relationship, including behavioral control, financial control and the relationship between the parties. Keep the supporting facts, not just a signed label. See the IRS common-law employee guidance.
Review wage-hour, Florida reemployment-tax and workers’ compensation coverage separately. Their definitions and exceptions can differ. Florida DOR provides reemployment-tax classification guidance; the state’s workers’ compensation definitions include distinct construction and contractor rules.
For employees, document the work location, start date, pay rate, paydays, workweek, timekeeping method, benefits and deductions. Salary alone does not establish an overtime exemption. Covered nonexempt employees generally receive at least 1.5 times their regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek; averaging two weeks is not permitted. See U.S. Department of Labor overtime guidance.
Florida’s minimum wage reaches $15 per hour on September 30, 2026. Configure the effective date and separately review tipped-worker rules, any claimed exemption and other applicable wage requirements. Keep required workplace notices current. See FloridaCommerce’s minimum-wage information.
2. Establish employer accounts and coverage
Confirm the employer’s correct legal name and EIN, applicable federal payroll-return requirements, electronic tax-payment access and state accounts. Match agency notices to the payroll configuration. Record the responsible contact for notices and the person who can approve payroll funding.
Florida reemployment-tax liability commonly begins when quarterly payroll reaches $1,500 or an employee works for any part of a day in 20 weeks during a calendar year. Other triggers and separate rules apply to agricultural, household and nonprofit employers, business acquisitions and other situations. Evaluate liability and register when required using Florida DOR’s employer rules. Reemployment tax is an employer cost, not an employee withholding.
Review workers’ compensation before coverage is required. The usual thresholds are:
- Nonconstruction: four or more employees, counting part-time employees and covered corporate officers or LLC members. Nonconstruction sole proprietors and partners generally are not employees unless they elect coverage.
- Construction: one or more employees, with specific rules for owners, subcontractors and valid exemptions.
- Agriculture: separate regular-worker and seasonal-worker tests; do not apply the ordinary four-employee rule.
Validate any owner exemption and the actual policy coverage. The Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation coverage guide explains the industry rules, including agriculture and subcontractors.
3. Complete I-9, E-Verify and withholding steps
Form I-9: identity and employment authorization
Use a currently accepted Form I-9. The employee completes Section 1 no later than the first day of work for pay, after accepting the job offer. The employer completes Section 2 within three business days after that first day. If employment will last fewer than three business days, Section 2 is due on the first day.
Let employees choose acceptable documents from the form’s lists. Review documents physically or through an authorized alternative procedure for which the employer qualifies; an uploaded image alone does not automatically satisfy the examination requirement. See the USCIS Form I-9 instructions.
Florida E-Verify requirements
Private employers with 25 or more employees must use E-Verify for new employees, generally within three business days after work for pay begins. Public agencies must use it too, and public-agency contracts impose E-Verify requirements on contractors and subcontractors. Review these contract obligations even below the private-employer threshold.
Employers required to use E-Verify must certify compliance on their first reemployment-tax return each calendar year. Florida also requires retaining copies of the supporting documentation and any official verification for at least three years. If the system is unavailable, follow the statutory documentation and alternative-verification procedure. See Florida section 448.095.
A tentative mismatch is not a final determination that someone lacks work authorization. Follow the notice and resolution process, and do not take prohibited adverse action while an employee timely contests it. See E-Verify’s mismatch instructions.
Form W-4: federal income-tax withholding
Request a signed W-4 when the employee starts. If a new employee does not furnish one in 2026, use the IRS default: Single or Married filing separately in Step 1(c), with no entries in Steps 2, 3 or 4. Apply any relevant nonresident-alien or IRS withholding instructions. A missing W-4 calls for the applicable withholding treatment, rather than indefinite withholding of earned wages. See Publication 15.
Collect payment-method authorization and benefit elections through appropriately restricted channels. Keep the I-9 process separate from payroll-tax forms and avoid broadly accessible accounting attachments containing identity documents or bank details.
This connects to Correcting a Missed Payroll Tax Deposit — see “Correcting a Missed Payroll Tax Deposit: Records and Response Steps” for the details.
4. Submit Florida new-hire and contractor reports
Ordinarily report a new or rehired employee within 20 calendar days of the first day worked for pay. For new-hire reporting, a rehire includes return after at least 60 consecutive days of separation under federal law. A return after exactly 60 days qualifies.
Employee reports identify the employee’s name, address, SSN and hire date, plus the employer’s name, address and EIN. The state also provides a specified twice-monthly electronic-transmission alternative and conditions for multistate reporting. See Florida section 409.2576.
Submit through the Florida Child Support Services for Employers reporting options, which include online reporting, electronic files and mail or fax. Retain the submission confirmation. An RT-6 wage report or completed payroll profile does not replace this report.
Independent contractors have a separate state rule
Florida requires reporting individuals paid $600 or more per calendar year for services in the course of business. Include the individual’s name, address, SSN or other applicable identifying number and first service date, along with the service recipient’s name, address and EIN.
The statute specifies reporting within 20 days after the earlier of the first payment requiring an information return under Internal Revenue Code section 6041A(a), or entering a contract providing for such payments. See section 409.2576(3)–(4). DOR’s reporting-form instructions describe the contractor timing as within 20 days of the start date or first payment. Build the reporting check into contract approval and onboarding so it is handled promptly.
Do not substitute the federal 1099 threshold for Florida’s $600 coverage rule. For 2026, the federal reporting threshold for certain service payments rose to $2,000, as explained in Publication 15. State new-hire reporting and federal annual information returns remain separate obligations.
See “Multi-Location Payroll: Tracking Worksites and Florida Reporting” for more on Multi-Location Payroll.
5. Configure and preview payroll
Set up compensation, time records, tax jurisdictions, taxable benefits, deductions, reimbursements, leave balances and approved payment details. Check garnishment and support orders, deduction limits and benefit-plan terms before entering automatic deductions.
Map gross wages to wage expense, employer taxes to employer-tax expense, and amounts withheld or owed to liability accounts. Net pay is the employee’s cash payment; it is not total wage expense. Remitting taxes already recorded as liabilities reduces those liabilities. Recording the same remittance as a new expense would duplicate costs.
Before approving the first run, compare the preview to approved hours, pay rates and elections. Confirm net pay, employer costs, funding requirements and the tax deposit dates. Keep approval evidence and a clear deadline for correcting mistakes before transmission.
If changing payroll systems
Bring over employee year-to-date wages, individual tax wage bases, withholding, employer taxes, deductions, contributions, leave balances and outstanding liabilities. Include former employees paid during the year and the current-quarter detail required by the new system.
Intuit’s QuickBooks Online Payroll pay-history instructions distinguish historical payroll information from the accounting records: entering payroll history does not itself populate the balance sheet or profit-and-loss report. Reconcile both sets of records without duplicating existing postings.
Compare previews or test calculations with the prior system. Designate one system to issue each live payment and filing; two live payroll runs can create duplicate wages, withdrawals or returns. Document the last old-system payday, first new-system payday, and responsibility for deposits, quarterly returns and year-end forms.
6. Verify the first run and maintain the calendar
| Checkpoint | Evidence to review |
|---|---|
| Employee payment | Approved register, bank settlement and any rejected or returned payments. |
| Accounting | Wage and employer-tax expense, deductions, liabilities and payroll clearing balances. |
| Tax deposits | Agency, EIN, form, tax period, effective payment date and confirmation. |
| Returns and statements | Applicable federal returns, Florida RT-6 and employee year-end forms tied to payroll totals. |
| Onboarding | Completed verification, withholding setup and Florida report confirmation. |
Federal deposits and return deadlines are separate; monthly or semiweekly deposit rules and special next-day requirements can apply independently of the pay schedule. FUTA has its own rules. Use Publication 15 and agency notices to configure the calendar and payment cutoffs.
Retain I-9s throughout employment and, after separation, until the later of three years after hire or one year after termination, under the federal retention rule. Coordinate that with Florida’s documentation rule. Federal employment-tax records generally require at least four years after the tax becomes due or is paid, whichever is later, under the employment-tax record regulation. Apply any longer relevant state, benefits, credit or dispute-related retention requirement.
For help with the accounting and tax setup, contact CPA Firm South Florida to confirm the work included in an engagement. Identify separately who handles employment-law questions, verification, payroll transmission and tax filings.
For related guidance, our article “Florida Payroll and Sales-Tax Compliance Calendar” walks through this.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I report a Florida new hire?
Use the Florida Department of Revenue Child Support Services for Employers reporting options linked above. Ordinarily report within 20 calendar days of the first day worked for pay; keep the submission confirmation.
Does Florida require reports for independent contractors?
Yes, the state rule covers individuals paid $600 or more in a calendar year for business services. Apply the state timing rules when the engagement begins; do not wait for year-end federal information returns.
Can I skip Form I-9 if I use E-Verify?
No. Complete Form I-9 and follow the applicable E-Verify process. They are separate from tax withholding and Florida new-hire reporting.
Should I issue payroll from both systems during a migration?
No. Compare previews and historical reports, then designate one system to issue each payment and tax filing. Reconcile employee pay history, tax liabilities and accounting balances before the change.