First Employee
“I use a Professional Employer Organization to handle my HR, if the PEO fails to remit my payroll taxes, does the IRS hold my business responsible?”
When a business uses a PEO for payroll and HR, the IRS often looks at the underlying facts to determine where responsibility still sits, including how the arrangement is structured, whose EIN is used, and whether payroll deposits and filings were actually made. In many cases, the issue also turns on the service agreement, the reporting records, and any notices or correspondence the business received. If the PEO fails to remit taxes, the IRS may still examine the employer’s role and control over wages, records, and filings when assessing liability or penalties. Working through the specifics with a CPA is the cleanest way to land on the right move.
In your 90-minute session, the KGOB advisor handling it will:
- Read your exact situation and tell you, in plain English, what’s actually going on.
- Lay out your options and the trade-offs — no jargon, no judgment.
- Give you a clear next step you can act on, whether that’s with us or on your own.
“Should I pay someone as a 1099 contractor or an employee for tax purposes?”
“How do I know if I should hire someone as a contractor or employee for taxes?”
“I am hiring my first worker, should they be 1099 or W-2 for tax reasons?”
“What changes on my taxes if I use a 1099 contractor instead of an employee?”
This page is a prompt to start a conversation, not tax or legal advice, and states no tax-law specifics as fact. A consult session does not by itself create an ongoing engagement. We do not promise specific outcomes or savings. Kohari Gonzalez Oneyear & Brown PLLC — Charlotte, NC.
Back to the full library