Original P.A.Y. case practice
Read a focused case, trace the source facts, correct the fictional register and explain the reporting decision. Then try the independent case without a guided walkthrough.
Explore the cases ↓Public case outlines
Browse the outlines without signing in. All four current free profiles can use the practice tools; newsletter and promotional email stay optional.
Earnings and tax bases · 2026
One separately identified 2026 supplemental wage; eligible 22% FIT method, covered employee below both SS and Additional Medicare thresholds; no state/local/deductions in this narrow case.
gross-ups
Earnings and tax bases · 2026
Eligible separately identified supplemental wages; narrow federal withholding calculation, not a universal bonus tax.
bonuses
Earnings and time · 2026
A promised attendance/service-hours incentive expressly included in the regular rate; no blanket treatment of every retention award.
retention bonuses · overtime
Earnings and time · 2026
The case specifically has no clawback, CBA, hours/quantity/quality condition; do not generalize its FLSA result to all sign-on awards.
sign-on bonuses
Earnings and tax bases · 2026
2026 same-employer covered wages; no successor/predecessor or common-paymaster exception.
Social Security wage caps
Earnings and time · 2026
Federal nonexempt example: all 45 hours in one workweek; no state daily overtime or other remuneration.
shift differentials · overtime
Earnings and time · 2026
Full cash wage/no tip-credit case; 20 hours, separately reported cash tips and distributed service charge. No state tip-credit or tip-pool engine.
tips · overtime
Time capture · 2026
Actual elapsed-time example at the 2026 U.S. fall-back transition; fixed UTC offsets supplied, no location inference.
time-zone changes
Time capture · 2026
Approved documentary correction with no rounding policy or automatic meal deduction.
missing clock-ins/outs
California pay · 2026
Covered nonexempt California worker; applicable wage order and violations already reviewed. No waiver, industry exception or dispute in these supplied facts.
California meal/rest break rules
California pay · 2026
Illustrative calculation after willfulness/no-good-faith-dispute and daily-rate facts have been expressly established; not a live entitlement determination.
California waiting-time penalties
California pay · 2026
Ordinary California discharge with supplied earned wages/vacation; no special-industry exception, disputed commission or proposed deduction.
final pay
State and local · 2026
Supplied reviewed workday-allocation worksheet; training withholding rates are fictional worksheet assumptions, not tax tables for a real state.
multi-state
State and local · 2026
New Jersey resident working in Pennsylvania; valid current REV-419 and employer arrangements supplied; no Philadelphia case.
state reciprocity · local taxes
State and local · 2026
Ordinary Act 32 Pennsylvania resident/worksite outside Philadelphia; supplied rates, no temporary-site/LST special case.
local taxes
State and local · 2026
Assigned NY primary office; services performed there and at an out-of-state home; no bona-fide employer office or employer-necessity exception in supplied facts.
New York convenience-of-employer sourcing
Corrections · 2026
Current-year completed payroll; reviewed facts establish PA work/residence/primary office and no NYwork/NY assigned office. Historical NY withholding remains held pending authorized state correction/refund.
wrong-state prior-earnings correction and reprocessing
Corrections · 2026
Previously filed W-2; only state/local data changes; federal wages/taxes remain correct. No actual amendment is submitted.
wrong-state prior-earnings correction and reprocessing · year-end corrections
Quarter and year end · 2026
2026 ordinary Form 941 employer, no 944 notice, adjustments, credits, tips, Additional Medicare or cap-crossing workers in the supplied quarter.
Form 941 · quarterly filings · tax funding reports
Quarter and year end · 2026
2026 ordinaryemployee with supplied qualifying Section 125 and traditional/Roth elections; all covered wages below cap; no other exclusions.
W-2 · yearly filings · 401(k) · Roth · medical · dental · vision
Quarter and year end · 2026
2026 vetted U.S. sole-proprietor service provider, direct business payments, no corporate/card/third-party settlement exception or backup withholding.
1099 · yearly filings
Earnings and time · 2026
Nonexempt one-workweek example, commission entirely earned in this workweek; straight-time pay already covers every hour; no state daily overtime or other pay.
commissions · multiple earning batches · overtime
Payroll incident response · 2026
Four reviewed covered nonexempt workers; only federal overtime applies. Required payday passed; responsible reviewer requires prompt approved corrective payment, not blanket next-cycle delay.
employee-reported payroll errors · cohort investigation · correction payment timing
Payroll incident response · 2026
Supplied after-tax voluntary deductions only; actual refund timing/authorization and vendor recovery need responsible review.
employee-reported payroll errors · cohort investigation · deduction corrections · next-cycle prevention
Holiday calendars and gross-pay classification · 2026
2026 Veterans Day calendar plus an explicitly supplied fictional private-company holiday plan; salary exemption is supplied reviewed evidence, not inferred.
holiday pay · office hourly · exempt salary · actual versus observed date
Holiday calendars and gross-pay classification · 2026
2026 Independence Day actual date and office/salary-only observed calendar context; this warehouse/production employee books HOL8 on actual worked July4, with no determination of off-day eligibility.
Saturday holiday · warehouse · production · unworked HOL versus overtime
Holiday calendars and gross-pay classification · 2026
2026 fictional company Sunday holiday plus actual 2026 Veterans Day; two separate full Monday–Sunday weeks, no 2027 tax/calendar facts and no federal or bank closure claim for the fictional Sunday.
Sunday holiday · observed Monday · two separate workweeks · no overtime averaging
Benefits, retirement and orders · 2026
2026 federal employee elective-deferral exercise; no IRA, catch-up or total-plan limit calculation.
401(k) · Roth · shared elective-deferral limit
Benefits, retirement and orders · 2026
2026 case-specific Roth catch-up classification; not household AGI or a mandate on all deferrals.
401(k) · Roth catch-up · prior-year wages
Benefits, retirement and orders · 2026
General plan-loan limits applied only to the supplied administrator-approved facts; no loan origination.
401(k) loan · loan repayment · shared limits
Benefits, retirement and orders · 2026
Qualified federal premium salary reductions only; not a rule that every health-related deduction is pretax.
medical · dental · vision · Section 125
Benefits, retirement and orders · 2026
2026 federal qualified transportation example; excludes employer deduction and state-law issues.
commuter · parking · taxable fringe
Benefits, retirement and orders · 2026
Ordinary qualifying employee group-term life only; noncash wages are distinct from cash net.
imputed income · group-term life · noncash pay
Benefits, retirement and orders · 2026
Document-dependent health exclusion with supplied approved federal eligibility/FMV facts; no live eligibility adjudication.
medical · domestic partner · imputed income
Benefits, retirement and orders · 2026
2026 optional federal mileage-rate/approved-policy case; not a deduction or expense-approval engine.
mileage · accountable plan · effective dates
Benefits, retirement and orders · 2026
Reviewed immigration/residency facts only; FIT amounts supplied, not calculated by a universal student rate.
F-1 · J-1 · M-1 · Q-1 · FICA · income withholding
Benefits, retirement and orders · 2026
2026 federal withholding-certificate exercises with supplied approved status/workpaper; no treaty eligibility determination.
W-4 exemption · NRA · Form 8233 · FICA
Benefits, retirement and orders · 2026
Case-specific approved NQDC memos; no blanket 409A compliance or tax-timing calculator.
NQDC · 409 A · FICA timing
Benefits, retirement and orders · 2026
Award-document judgment plus a separately supplied approved timing scenario; no automatic equity taxation.
phantom stock · NQDC · document review
Benefits, retirement and orders · 2026
Federal ordinary-creditor examples with explicit jurisdiction assumptions; no universal order priority or state-law engine.
garnishment · CCPA · disposable earnings
Benefits, retirement and orders · 2026
Given fictional IWOs/family/arrears facts and approved state allocation; not a determination of a real support order.
child support · CCPA · priority · allocation
Benefits, retirement and orders · 2026
Specific fictional levy packages and supplied 2026 table examples; document conflicts require authorized review.
tax lien · tax levy · child-support priority · Publication 1494
Benefits, retirement and orders · 2026
Two specific 2026 cash-severance packets, with approved supplemental withholding and plan-specific eligibility facts; no general severance entitlement or state-law determination.
severance · supplemental wages · retirement eligibility
Benefits, retirement and orders · 2026
Ordinary civilian 2026 relocation only; the two statutory exception categories are expressly outside these fictional facts.
relocation · moving expenses · 2026 exceptions
Benefits, retirement and orders · 2026
Reviewed U.S. withholding and social-insurance classifications supplied as case facts; no treaty interpretation, foreign-country engine, annual exclusion computation or foreign tax calculation.
expatriate · Form 673 · totalization · certificate of coverage · shadow payroll
Benefits, retirement and orders · 2026
Hourly earned wages plus supplied plan/authorization facts; no exempt-salary proration, state final-pay deadline, benefit entitlement or statutory notice engine.
midperiod termination · recurring pay · coverage end · benefit deductions
Benefits, retirement and orders · 2026
California earned-vacation example contrasted with an unresolved non-California packet; no generic all-state payout or final-pay-deadline conclusion.
vested vacation · PTO payout · California · jurisdiction review
Benefits, retirement and orders · 2026
Covered 2026 New York PFL workers and an expressly unresolved out-of-state worker; no blanket headquarters-based coverage or benefit eligibility decision.
New York PFL · annual contribution cap · work localization
Benefits, retirement and orders · 2026
Two reviewed state-SDI 2026 payroll packets only; voluntary-plan rates, coverage exceptions and actual benefit eligibility are not calculated.
California SDI · PFL funding · uncapped wages · voluntary plan
Benefits, retirement and orders · 2026
2026 state-plan funding examples with supplied covered-employment, headcount and grant facts; not an all-state paid-leave calculator.
Oregon Paid Leave · employee employer shares · wage base · small employer · equivalent plan
Benefits, retirement and orders · 2026
Specific fictional Academy plan and supplied under 50 employee facts;2026 limits only. No catch-up, universal plan formula or statutory tax engine.
fictional plan · bonus eligibility · traditional Roth · employer match
Benefits, retirement and orders · 2026
Specific fictional Academy plan and supplied under 50 employee facts;2026 limits only. No catch-up, universal plan formula or statutory tax engine.
annual limit · zero deferral · per-pay match · no true-up
Benefits, retirement and orders · 2026
Specific fictional Academy plan and supplied under 50 employee facts;2026 limits only. No catch-up, universal plan formula or statutory tax engine.
crossing annual limit · allocation order · actual deferral · employer match
Benefits, retirement and orders · 2026
Specific fictional Academy plan and supplied under 50 employee facts;2026 limits only. No catch-up, universal plan formula or statutory tax engine.
exact annual boundary · shared employee ceiling · employer match
Earnings and tax bases · 2026
One 2026 ordinary covered employee with a 2020-or-later Form W-4, Single/MFS, Step 2 unchecked and Steps 3 and 4 zero; weekly regular cash wages and an approved quarterly noncash recognition packet. Source-approved aggregate FIT method only; no state/local tax, deductions, cap or Additional Medicare crossover, gross-up, visa/treaty/exemption, termination or special accounting. This case does not enable the editable Sandbox frequency override.
noncash benefits · withholding methods · quarterly recognition
Your free-account workbench
Choose a case above to begin. Finish its guided practice before opening that case’s independent attempt. Progress is separate for each case and mode.
Choose a case. A current free-profile check happens before practice records load.
Create account / sign inCheck saved progress first. An explicit retry uses the same case, mode, revision and request reference. It does not create another change.
This case and mode
Reset starts this case and mode again. Completing guided practice keeps its independent attempt unlocked. No employer or vendor system changes.
Keep the source, decision and result together. Use the full-cycle simulator to practice the handoff between those decisions.
Official program research · checked November 2, 2026
Use covered work location, employer size, applicable exclusions, plan enrollment and effective dates. Contributions, benefit eligibility and job protection are separate questions. This directory links 13 active 2026 jurisdictions and Maryland’s future program; it does not establish that another location has no requirement.
| Jurisdiction | Official program | 2026 contribution status | What to review |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA | California State Disability Insurance / Paid Family Leave | State SDI contributions active throughout 2026. | Confirm actual California-covered employment, exclusions and state-SDI versus voluntary-plan enrollment. PFL insurance benefits do not themselves establish job protection. |
| NY | New York Paid Family Leave | Insurance contributions active in 2026; employee-funded unless employer elects to pay. | Review actual employment localization, carrier/policy, exclusions/waivers and any public-employer election. New York headquarters does not establish every worker's coverage. Disability insurance is separate. |
| NJ | New Jersey Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance | TDI/FLI contributions active in 2026; their funding differs. | Review New Jersey employment, public-employer exceptions, actual employer TDI rate and compliant private-plan coverage. Do not confuse a benefit award with job-protection eligibility. |
| RI | Rhode Island Temporary Disability / Temporary Caregiver Insurance | Employee TDI/TCI funding active in 2026. | Review covered Rhode Island wages and exclusions; the page specifically excludes workers aged 14–15. Do not add a second TCI contribution automatically. |
| CT | Connecticut Paid Leave | Employee contributions active in 2026; no employer match in the public program. | Review covered employer/work, public-sector/school rules and approved private plan. The authority must approve a private plan; sole proprietors/self-employed may opt in. |
| MA | Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave | Employer/employee contributions active in 2026. | Review covered-individual count, wage cap, employer share and approved private/self-insured exemption. Current page also announces 2027 contribution-structure changes; those are not 2026 payroll instructions. |
| WA | Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave | Employer/employee premiums active in 2026. | Review Washington-covered employment, employer-size exception below 50, elective coverage and approved voluntary plan. WA Cares is separate and must not inherit the Paid Leave cap. Rounding/remittance may differ from estimates. |
| OR | Paid Leave Oregon | Employee and applicable large-employer contributions active in 2026. | Review localized Oregon employment, previous-year nationwide headcount, small-employer/grant exception and approved equivalent plan. Per-employer wage cap; self-employed rules differ. |
| CO | Colorado Family and Medical Leave Insurance | Employer/employee premiums active in 2026; began 2023. | Review localized work, small-employer share exemption, local-government participation and approved private plan; standard split is not a claim every employer owes that share. |
| DE | Delaware Paid Leave | Contributions began January 1, 2025 and continue in 2026. | Review Delaware localization, employer-size coverage:9 or fewer generally exempt;10–24 parental only;25+full coverage, plus statutory exceptions/private plan. This directory does not supply component premium rates. |
| ME | Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave | Premium contributions began January 1, 2025 and continue in 2026. | Review Maine work, employer-size calculation, wage cap and approved private-plan substitution; approved private plans still have reporting obligations. |
| MN | Minnesota Paid Leave | Premium contributions began January 1, 2026. | Review localized Minnesota employment, equivalent plan and both small-employer tests:30 or fewer in each basis-period quarter plus average wage threshold. The program rounds the Social Security cap to 185000 for 2026; do not substitute 184500. |
| DC | District of Columbia Paid Family Leave | Employer-funded payroll tax active in 2026; no employee paycheck deduction. | Review covered private-sector DC work; do not apply solely by employee residence/company headquarters. Use current benefit rules, not old handbook rates/durations. |
| MD | Maryland Family and Medical Leave Insurance (future program) | No 2026 FAMLI contributions: scheduled start January 1, 2027. | Future planning only for 2026. Review Maryland-localized employment, actual public/private plan and future employer-size rules before 2027; announced 2027 rates are not 2026 rates. |
Use the dated New York, California and Oregon exercises above to practice different caps and funding rules. Do not copy their rates into another state or year.