Glossary S - Z
S
Social Security Number (SSN): A unique identifier required for employees to complete their Form W-2 and benefit selections.
Standard Deduction: A fixed dollar amount that reduces the income on which you are taxed; it has increased for recent tax years.
S-Corporation: A corporate structure where payroll taxes apply to family members on the payroll, though savings can be found by running payments through a management company.
SUI (State Unemployment Insurance): An employer account where contributions are made to fund unemployment benefits; the balance is generally not refundable.
Sole Proprietorship: A business owned by one person, where Board of Advisors meetings can still be held for strategic guidance.
Supplemental Wages: Compensation such as bonuses or commissions that are subject to specific federal tax withholding rules.
Support Order: A legal or administrative order for the withholding of income to pay child or spousal support.
SECURE Act: Federal legislation (including SECURE 2.0) that impacts retirement plan tax credits and W-2 reporting.
Self-Employment Tax: Taxes consisting of Social Security and Medicare for individuals who work for themselves, often reported via the 1099-NEC.
Small Business: Typically defined in these sources as companies with 1-49 employees that prioritize people, credit, and payroll.
T
Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN): A generic term for numbers used by the IRS to identify taxpayers, including SSNs and EINs.
Talent Acquisition: The strategic process of finding and hiring skilled workers, often stakeholders in range-setting procedures.
Tax Withholding Estimator: An online IRS tool used to help taxpayers determine the correct amount of federal income tax to have withheld.
Trade Name: A name used for a business (also called DBA) that is different from the legal name of the owner.
Turnover: The rate at which employees leave a workforce; high turnover can significantly increase business costs.
Total Tax: The combined sum of income, self-employment, and other taxes (like Additional Medicare Tax) after credits.
Trust: A legal entity (such as a Grantor Trust) that may require a Form W-9 to establish its tax status.
Tuition: Expenses for higher education that may be tax-deductible or reported on Form 1098-T.
Transfer Opportunity: An internal opening for a job that may require publicizing pay ranges in certain jurisdictions.
Tax Liability: The total amount of tax debt owed to an agency, which is zero if a person meets specific exemption conditions.
U
Unemployment Insurance/Tax: A tax (such as FUTA) used to fund benefits for workers who have lost their jobs.
Underpayment: A situation where the tax withheld is less than the required installment, potentially leading to a penalty.
Umbrella Policy: A type of business insurance an owner might consider before hiring their first employee.
Unjustified Pay Differential: An unequal pay gap between employees that cannot be explained by education or experience.
Uncertainty: A characteristic of the early-stage phase of a business, requiring careful planning to overcome.
Unified HCM: A system that combines HR, payroll, talent, and tax into a single cloud-based solution.
Utilization (Credit): The ratio of outstanding credit card balances to credit limits; keeping this low is vital for business credit.
U.S. Person: A category including citizens and resident aliens who must use Form W-9 to provide their TIN.
Up-to-date: The requirement for financial data and legislative monitoring to remain in compliance with changing regulations.
Unmarried: A status for individuals who may file as Single or Head of Household depending on their home-maintenance costs.
V
Venture Capitalists: Investors who provide capital to early-stage businesses in exchange for a return on investment.
Vendors: Suppliers with whom a business should establish relationships to build a credit profile.
Voided Check: A document required by employers to verify bank routing and account numbers for direct deposit.
Voluntary Contributions: Extra payments made to state agencies to potentially lower an employer's unemployment tax rate.
Verification (Employment): The process of using Form I-9 to confirm a new hire’s identity and legal right to work in the U.S..
Violation: A failure to comply with tax or labor laws, which can result in thousands of dollars in fines per instance.
Value (Market): The industry-standard pay for a role, used to substantiate fair wage decisions.
Vision (Company): The long-term goal of an organization, which should be aligned with pay equity.
Voucher (Direct Deposit): A document (also called an advice number) that provides an employee with the details of an electronic pay transfer.
Variable Income: Income that changes throughout the year, which may require the "annualized income installment method" for tax calculations.
W
W-2 (Wage and Tax Statement): The annual form used to report an employee's total earnings and taxes withheld.
W-4 (Employee’s Withholding Certificate): The form completed by employees so the employer can calculate correct federal income tax.
W-9 (Request for TIN): A form used to request the taxpayer identification number of a person or entity.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance: State-mandated insurance that protects businesses and employees from financial loss due to workplace injuries.
Withholding: The act of retaining a portion of earnings for taxes, health benefits, or other deductions.
Wage Base Limit: The maximum amount of an employee's wages subject to a specific tax, such as Social Security.
Work-Life Balance: A non-monetary benefit (like flexible schedules) used to retain top talent.
Wealth: The long-term financial stability built through estate planning and family employment.
Workweek: The fixed period of time (usually 168 hours) used to calculate overtime eligibility for non-exempt workers.
Weekly Pay: A pay frequency often used in construction or manufacturing for manual labor roles.
X
The following terms are not found in the sources and are provided from general business knowledge and shorthand:
XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language): A standard for exchanging business information electronically.
X-Efficiency: The degree of efficiency maintained by firms under conditions of imperfect competition.
X-date: The date on which a dividend belongs to the seller rather than the buyer.
Xenocurrency: A currency that is traded or circulated outside of its home country.
X-mark signature: A legal mark used by an individual who cannot sign their name to execute a document.
XCD: The ISO currency code for the East Caribbean Dollar.
X-check (Cross-check): The bookkeeping process of verifying data against a second source.
X-listing (Cross-listing): Listing a company’s shares on multiple stock exchanges.
X-claims (Cross-claims): A legal claim brought by one defendant against another in the same lawsuit.
X-rate (Exchange Rate): The value of one currency for the purpose of conversion to another.
Y
Year (Calendar): The period from January 1 to December 31 used for calculating Social Security limits and W-2 reporting.
Year (Tax): The period for which federal and state income taxes are calculated and reported.
Your Online Account: A digital portal used by taxpayers to view their IRS records and payments.
Yardstick: A term often used for benchmarking or comparing internal pay ranges to the broader market.
Year-to-Date (YTD): Not explicitly defined but implied: The accumulated earnings and taxes from the start of the year to the current pay date. The following are from general business knowledge:
Yield: The earnings or return generated on an investment over time.
Yellow Knight: A company that was making a hostile takeover bid but ends up discussing a merger instead.
Yen: The official currency of Japan.
Yearling: A bond with a maturity of one year.
Yankee Bond: A bond issued by a foreign entity but denominated in U.S. dollars and sold in the U.S.
Z
Zero Out: The strategy of reducing taxable income to zero by using legitimate deductions, such as payments to family members.
ZIP Code: A required part of an employee's or entity's address for tax filing and Form W-4/W-9 completion.
Zero Tax Liability: A condition where a person had no tax due in the prior year and expects none in the current year. The following are from general business knowledge:
Zero-Based Budgeting: A method of budgeting where every expense must be justified for each new period.
Z-Score: A statistical measurement that can help predict the probability of a business going bankrupt.
Zero-Coupon Bond: A bond that does not pay periodic interest but is sold at a deep discount.
Zone of Resistance: A price level at which selling of a security is thought to be strong enough to prevent the price from rising.
Zero Liability: A guarantee that a cardholder is not responsible for unauthorized charges.
Zombie Company: A firm that is able to pay the interest on its debt but cannot repay the principal.
Zero-Sum Game: A situation in which one person’s gain is exactly balanced by another person’s loss.