> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.symmetry.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Introduction to Payroll Point

> What Symmetry Payroll Point does, how it determines taxes from an address, what it returns, and how it differs from the Symmetry Tax Engine.

Symmetry Payroll Point (PRP) identifies and accurately determines complex state and local taxes based on an employee's work and home addresses. Give it two addresses and a date, and it tells you every tax that applies and at what rate.

## How a lookup works

To return the correct taxes and rates, Payroll Point does four things:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Validate the addresses">
    Each work and home address is normalized and validated against official postal data.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Geocode to coordinates">
    The validated address is converted to an exact latitude and longitude, aiming for rooftop accuracy.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Match against tax boundaries">
    Those coordinates are applied to 35,000 geospatial tax boundary shapefiles to determine every jurisdiction the location falls inside.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Return applicable taxes">
    Payroll Point calls the Symmetry Tax Engine and returns all applicable federal, state, local, and employer taxes and rates.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Because determination starts from coordinates rather than a ZIP code, a location can be matched to jurisdictions whose boundaries don't follow postal lines: school districts, Ohio JEDDs, Pennsylvania municipalities, and transit or development districts. See [Tax jurisdictions](/prp/core-concepts/tax-jurisdictions).

## What you get back

| Returned            | Detail                                                                                                                                                                     |
| ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Federal taxes**   | Returned on every lookup, since federal withholding does not vary by address.                                                                                              |
| **Employee taxes**  | State and local taxes the employer must withhold for the scenario, plus additional taxes that exist at either location. See [Tax results](/prp/core-concepts/tax-results). |
| **Employer taxes**  | Taxes the employer must remit, which don't affect the employee's net pay.                                                                                                  |
| **Rates**           | The rate for each tax, or the rate type where the rate depends on brackets or employer experience. See [Tax rate types](/prp/core-concepts/tax-rate-types).                |
| **Tax identifiers** | A [unique tax ID](/prp/core-concepts/unique-tax-ids) on every tax, identifying which tax it is and which jurisdiction levies it.                                           |
| **Location data**   | State, county, school district, city, and local jurisdiction names with their FIPS and GNIS codes, plus Pennsylvania PSD codes.                                            |

Multi-state scenarios are handled for you: Payroll Point evaluates [nexus](/prp/core-concepts/required-taxes), [reciprocity and nonresident certificates](/prp/core-concepts/reciprocity-and-nonresident-certificates), and courtesy withholding when an employee lives and works in different states.

## What Payroll Point is not

Payroll Point determines which taxes apply and at what rate. It does not calculate withholding amounts for a paycheck. That's the [Symmetry Tax Engine](/ste/overview/what-is-the-ste), which Payroll Point calls behind the scenes.

| You need to                                    | Reach for                                                                               |
| ---------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Know which taxes apply to an address           | Payroll Point                                                                           |
| Calculate the withholding for a pay run        | Symmetry Tax Engine                                                                     |
| Look up minimum wage rates for a work location | Payroll Point minimum wage add-on, or [Minimum Wage Finder](/mwf/overview/introduction) |

## Two ways to use it

Payroll Point is available as a Portal (browser-based UI) and an API (REST). Both use the same underlying tax engine and return the same results. The difference is how you interact with the product. See [Portal vs. API](/prp/overview/portal-vs-api) to choose.

## Where to go next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Get started" icon="flag-checkered" href="/prp/getting-started/prerequisites">
    What you need before your first lookup, then a quickstart for Portal or the API.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Required taxes" icon="list-check" href="/prp/core-concepts/required-taxes">
    Understand how Payroll Point decides which taxes are required, using residency, nexus, and courtesy withholding.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>