Why does HR care that I moved?

Why does your payroll department freak out when you don’t tell them you moved? 

You moved from Kansas City, MO to Kansas City, KS a few months ago -- or from Portland, OR to Portland, ME -- and your HR department came after you like you’d been putting hot sauce in the coffee machine or something.

Why? 

Are they conducting surveillance?

No. They’re trying to protect you. 

From taxes. 

Taxes are deducted based on where you live and work. 

Which, for many of us, is the living room. (At least some of the time.)

But even if you always work from the office like it's 1985...

When you move, the old taxes need to be discontinued and the new ones added. 

This is true, even if your office stays in the same place. 

Or if you work from home.

Especially if you work from home.

If you don’t fix it soon, the state is going to send you a whopper of a bill when you file your tax return.

When HR tries to fix it for you, they’re going to have to talk to Support. 

They fear talking to Support more than almost anything.

They fear talking to the state tax agency even more.

Many (most?) payroll providers don’t actually alert on this kind of change. Which means that your long-suffering payroll department doesn't discover your move until they’re innocently going through some report and see... 

YOUR HOME ADDRESS!

Their afternoon is ruined. 

It feels like their LIFE is ruined.

YOU did this to them. 

And in a few weeks, 

after they diligently work it out with the payroll provider and the tax agency, 

they might have to come back to you and tell you that they need to take more money out of your check.

Or that your tax return is going to be messed up. 

And they know you’ll get mad at them.

Or at least you’ll think that they messed up.

And that will make them sad. Because they really are working very hard. 

So please. 

Have a heart.

Let your payroll person know when you move:

📍To a different state

📍 To a different city

📍 To a different country (yes, people do this without mentioning it)

It's important.

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Are payroll hiccups causing drama and mistrust among your team? Let us be the bad guys so you don't have to be. We've had enough of these conversations that we can do it without anyone even getting mad.

(Not to mention the problems that never happen in the first place.)

Curious?

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