Native US payroll
US payroll — federal and state, included.
Federal income tax driven by the employee's W-4, FICA and FUTA — plus native state tax for eight launch states including California, New York, Texas and Florida. State tax is not a paid add-on.
Mellow is launching in the United Kingdom first — United States is coming soon. We already calculate United States payroll correctly, but we can't file it for you yet, so we're not opening United States signups until we can.
- ✓ Federal + 8 states included
- ✓ W-4 drives withholding
- ✓ FICA wage base + Additional Medicare
United States payroll
What United States payroll actually has to do
The tax authority is IRS. Currency is USD. Federal + state income tax and FICA computed accurately — your Form 941 and state withholding figures prepared on every pay run.
- Federal income tax
- All seven federal brackets (10% to 37%), with the right standard deduction for single, married filing jointly and head of household — driven directly by Form W-4.
- FICA
- Social Security at 6.2% employee + 6.2% employer up to the wage base, and Medicare at 1.45% each — with the 0.9% Additional Medicare surcharge above $200,000.
- FUTA
- Federal unemployment tax at 6% on the first $7,000 of wages — typically 0.6% after the standard state credit.
- State income tax — 8 launch states
- California, New York, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Washington, Massachusetts and New Jersey. Graduated brackets, flat rates, or no state tax — applied correctly per state, plus New York City's additional resident tax.
- W-4 driven withholding
- The employee's filing status, allowances and additional withholding from Form W-4 drive federal withholding automatically.
United States payroll — questions answered
Quick, honest answers — also exposed as structured data so AI search engines can read them.
- Which US states does Mellow support?
- Eight launch states: California, New York, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Washington, Massachusetts and New Jersey. They cover the majority of US private-sector employment. More states are added by configuration.
- Does Mellow file Form 941 with the IRS?
- Mellow calculates Form 941 and prepares the data for filing. You submit through the IRS e-file portal — Mellow does not file directly on your behalf.
- How is the Additional Medicare 0.9% surcharge handled?
- It is applied automatically once an employee's year-to-date wages exceed the $200,000 threshold, in line with IRS rules.
- Does Mellow handle state disability insurance (SDI)?
- Yes — California SDI is calculated automatically. New York's additional New York City resident tax is also included for NYC employees.
- Is W-4 handled?
- Yes — every employee's Form W-4 drives their federal withholding (filing status, dependents, other adjustments, additional withholding amount).
Payroll, country by country
Mellow runs native payroll in six countries from one platform — the UK today, the rest coming soon.
Run United States payroll on Mellow
The full HR platform — payroll included — from $5 per employee per month. United States signups open once we can file for you; Mellow is live in the UK today.