Sr. Payroll Tax Analyst

Senior Payroll Tax Analyst

As a Senior Payroll Tax Analyst, you will serve as a subject matter expert in payroll tax compliance, partnering across Payroll, HRIS, and Finance to ensure accurate tax setup, reporting, and filings. You will be responsible for end-to-end payroll tax compliance, including Workday system calculations, employee tax jurisdiction maintenance, location maintenance, weekly audits, financial reporting, tax deposits and filings, and business registration by entity. This senior-level role is responsible for mitigating risk through proactive audits, system validation, and management of vendor and agency relationships.

Successful candidates are passionate and enthusiastic about helping others, eager to learn new skills, and are detail oriented. They enjoy problem solving in a fast-paced environment based in our Atlanta Support Center.

Responsibilities

Payroll Tax Compliance & Risk Management

• Own end-to-end payroll tax compliance, including jurisdiction setup, taxability determination, and regulatory adherence across all Inspire entities
• Identify and implement corrective actions to minimize risk, including validation of tax jurisdiction setup at both company and employee level
• Ensure accurate employee and company tax setup across all federal, state, and local jurisdictions

Tax Operations & Filings

• Collaborate with third-party vendors to ensure payroll tax deposits are accurate, complete, and timely to agencies
• Validate payroll tax calculations and ensure alignment across Workday HRIS and TPA applications, confirming correct rates are applied on all calculations
• Manage submission of the tax interface file to TPA (periodic, monthly, quarterly, and annual) and reconciliation/validation to Payroll and General Ledger
• Lead annual W-2 audit and validation process, including processing all W-2c corrections as needed
• Complete Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting as required

Systems & Data Integrity

• Maintain and audit tax configurations within Workday, including tax rates, jurisdiction codes, and location maintenance
• Verify and apply tax updates and changes within Workday prior to final production of paychecks
• Reconcile payroll tax data to General Ledger and financial reporting requirements, including journal entries for cash and tax liability accounts

Agency & Vendor Management

• Manage all agency notices, inquiries, and audits in coordination with the TPA
• Complete business applications and registrations for new jurisdictions as required
• Act as key liaison between Payroll, Finance, and external partners on all tax-related matters

Analytics, Reporting & Process Improvement

• Partner with other departments to ensure all payroll wage and tax financial reporting is provided in a timely manner in support of filing and reporting requirements
• Produce and analyze payroll tax reports to support compliance and audit readiness
• Lead standardized processes, documentation, and continuous improvement initiatives
• Create ad hoc reports as requested for research projects and special initiatives

Leadership & Support

• Serve as escalation point and subject matter expert for payroll tax matters across the organization
• Support training and development of payroll team members and new hires
• Coordinate team-building activities and knowledge-sharing sessions
• Drive a high standard of accuracy, customer service, and confidentiality
• Complete ad hoc projects and other duties as assigned by payroll leadership

Education and Experience Qualifications

• High school diploma required; undergraduate degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, or related field preferred
• 5+ years of payroll experience with a strong payroll tax focus required
• Experience with Workday or comparable HRIS required; experience with ADP SmartCompliance or equivalent TPA preferred

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Advanced understanding of multi-state payroll tax regulations
• Strong analytical, reconciliation, and problem-solving skills
• Intermediate to advanced Microsoft Excel (VLOOKUP, PivotTables)
• Strong organizational skills with great attention to detail
• Excellent interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and meet critical deadlines
• Ability to work in a highly structured team environment
• Maintain strict adherence to outlined procedures and confidentiality

Inspire is a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,000 Arby's, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin', Jimmy John's, and SONIC restaurants worldwide. We're made up of some of the world's most iconic restaurant brands, but we're much more than just a restaurant company. We're a team of hundreds of thousands who individually and collectively are changing the way people eat, drink, and gather around the table. We know that food is much more than a staple—it's an experience. At Inspire, that's our purpose: to ignite and nourish flavorful experiences.