How does the railroad industry do payroll?

Question

The railroad industry doesn't pay social security or FICA. Most accounting software packages do not accommodate this, and many people are unhappy with ADP.

Answer 1

we dont pay into or draw from social security

there is separate railroad retirement system

i dont know exactly how the accounting aspect works, cant be too difficult though.

most accounting firms are able to do railroaders' taxes with no problems.

the software has to be out there somewhere.

sorry I cant be more specific for you.

Answer 2

correct, as railroad workers, we pay RRB rather than SS.

i always go to H&R Block to have my taxes done, their software accommodates the special railroad stuff.  although sometimes their agents dont know, i always had to ask/get transferred to a more senior agent that had some previous experience with railroad stuff, as the newbie agents dont have a clue.

i would think that store-bought software like turbotax or others would accommodate it, but i never bought any of that stuff to find out, and no one else i know at my railroad does taxes themselves either, it is a bit complex, especially with travel expenses, uniforms, and stuff, and it just gets more complicated when you get transferred amongst states/provinces or buy/sell houses, deal with currency exchanges, etc.

it usually costs me about 110-150$ at h&r block to get my taxes done, due to the extra forms and stuff required.

but i could get in and out within the day, and it would save me a ton of aggravation and time.  by the time you buy the turbotax every year (and you have to keep re-buying it each year), and then the time to try to do the taxes yourself, it just didnt seem worth the risk of making an error that could cost me money or penalties later.

Answer 3

I've used Turbo Tax in my PC the last few years, and everything is in there. Even RRB for my purposes.