Payroll Tax Specialist

Who We Are
BankUnited (NYSE: BKU) is a national bank headquartered in Miami Lakes, Florida with banking centers in Florida, the New York metropolitan area, Dallas and Atlanta. BankUnited has two subsidiaries, Pinnacle Public Finance headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona and Bridge Funding Group headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland. We pride ourselves on our entrepreneurial and collaborative culture encompassing the best minds, the brightest talent and the boldest decision makers.
BankUnited is honored to announce that we have been included on the Newsweek and Statista America's Most Trusted Companies Award List!
BankUnited has been recognized by Newsweek for two outstanding awards in 2023 as one of America's Greatest Workplaces and as one of America's Greatest Workplaces for Job Starters , which acknowledges our commitment to creating an exceptional workplace.
Our Culture
At BankUnited, we foster a diverse and inclusive environment where all employees have the opportunity to advance, grow and achieve their goals. Our rally cry is to GO FOR MORE™, a call to action to go above and beyond to provide the best customer experience to every client and to GO FOR MORE in your career.
Why BankUnited
Working for BankUnited offers you exciting challenges and opportunities to advance your professional development, while empowering you to deliver and be your best. We are happy to report the average tenure according to LinkedIn insights is 8.3 years. We strive to provide a competitive benefits plan to our employees and are proud to have been nationally ranked #1 as one of the 2023 Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America by Springbuk and awarded HEALTHIEST EMPLOYER by the South Florida Business Journal since 2020.
As a company, we believe we are only as successful as our people and are committed to providing training and innovative resources that prepare you to reach your full potential. That's why in addition to tuition reimbursement, we provide our employees with exciting career coaching, courses and training through our own GO FOR MORE™ Academy and mentoring opportunities through our iCARE™ (Inclusive Community of Advocacy, Respect and Equality) program.
At BankUnited, we strive to provide our employees with a work life balance. Specifically, retail branches operate 5 days a week Monday - Friday, excluding evening and/or weekend hours. For many of our positions, we offer a hybrid work environment, as well as a remote work environment for designated positions.
If you thrive in a fast-paced collaborative work environment, Apply Now and start your journey with BankUnited today!
Job Description
SUMMARY: The Payroll Tax Specialist ensures accurate and compliant payroll tax filings and equity compensation reporting. This role manages tax processing for payroll and equity awards like RSUs and PSUs, resolves discrepancies and collaborates with internal teams to ensure timely and error-free submissions.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties and special projects may be assigned.

• Review and update new hires to ensure that their profile is active by their start date.
• Keep up to date with current developments affecting government reporting and payroll taxes.
• Conduct research and analysis on payroll tax issues and work with the IRS, State and Local agencies to ensure proper resolution of discrepancies and compliance.
• Correspond with IRS, State and Local agencies in the normal course of business to ensure issue resolutions.
• Assist with multi-state payroll tax registration, setup and filings to ensure smooth payroll operations and accurate tax reporting.
• Perform monthly payroll tax audit to ensure employee records are accurate and reporting to correct state.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state and local payroll tax laws and regulations, including timely of payroll taxes.
• Respond to employee inquiries related to payroll taxes and tax forms.
• Monitor changes in payroll tax rates and ensure the payroll system is updated accordingly.
• Perform audit and reconciliation of executive compensation including stock options, incentive pay and deferred compensation.
• Process Positive Pay.
• Provide support for internal and external audits.
• Assist for preparing annual W-2s. Includes auditing of employee balances, configuration, and understanding of taxability for various earnings/deductions to ensure proper reporting.
• Produce accurate and effective information using ADP queries and reporting tools.
• Work in conjunction with the accounting department to investigate and resolve payroll tax discrepancies through reconciliation of payroll tax accounts, tax payments and flings.
• Calculate and verify the number of shares vesting on each vesting date according to the closing stock price.
• Work with payroll and accounting teams to ensure vested shares are properly accounted for and included in employee compensation.
• Ensure that appropriate taxes are withheld on vested shares and that tax obligations are accurately reflected in payroll and tax reports.
• Support special projects, system processing and testing, and other business needs as needed.
• Adheres to and complies with applicable, federal and state laws, regulations and guidance, including those related to anti-money laundering (i.e. Bank Secrecy Act, US PATRIOT Act, etc.).
• Adheres to Bank policies and procedures and completes required training.
• Identifies and reports suspicious activity.

EDUCATION
Bachelor's Degree in Accounting or Finance, generally plus 4 years of progressively responsible experience in payroll tax reporting with a large, multi-state entity required. May accept alternate suitable combination of education, experience or training.
EXPERIENCE

• Experience with ADP preferred.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS

• CPP certification preferred.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Ability to conduct tax research using internet and other published sources.
• General knowledge of state and local tax laws and regulations, as well as basic understanding of GAAP.
• Great communication skills (oral and written); communicate effectively with regulatory agencies, tax reviewers, state and local auditors, independent auditors, lawyers, support peers, end users, and all levels of corporate management.
• Strong interpersonal skills; participate in a team environment and build strong working relationships.
• Strong project management skills; time management skills; multi-task and prioritize workloads; demonstrated analytical capabilities; effectively identify and resolve problems in high visibility, high stress situations; ability to understand and interpret tax laws and regulations and then apply them to company operations.