The journey at a glance
Stages of the journey
1
A bill or piece of legislation appears on the Tax Radar
The journey begins before anything is confirmed. When our research team identifies a bill or piece of legislation that could affect payroll, it appears on the Tax Radar under Bills & Legislation. At this point it’s an idea we’re watching, not a confirmed change.Bills and legislation move through two statuses here:
- Progressing — the legislation is actively moving through the legislative process but has not yet been enacted (introduced, in committee, or awaiting further action).
- Passed — the legislation has been approved and is now law or awaiting implementation. Symmetry then evaluates the impact on our products.
2
The change is tracked as an upcoming tax or form update
Once we anticipate an actual change to a tax, rate, wage base, or form, it’s tracked on the Tax Radar as a Tax Update or Form. While the details are still being finalized, the update moves through these statuses:
- Researching — Symmetry is actively researching the change to determine scope and whether it impacts our products.
- Awaiting Agency Release — a change is anticipated, but the available information is incomplete and we’re waiting on the agency for more detail.
- Legislation Passed — legislation has passed and the agency is finalizing details (employer guide, calculation logic, a new form version, and so on).
3
Requirements are confirmed—and the change is added to Symmetry Guides
When the jurisdiction confirms the details—the tax rate, wage base, contribution limit, or form version—the Tax Radar status becomes Requirements Confirmed, and the Tax Notification Listing is updated with the anticipated product release version for the change.At the point of confirmation, the confirmed data is also reflected in Symmetry Guides, the real-time compliance hub built on the same tax research database that powers Symmetry’s payroll tax products. This is where you can see the confirmed rate and effective-date details before they’re calculable in the engine.You don’t have to check for this yourself. Guides can tell you automatically as soon as the confirmed data publishes:
- Email notifications — a Tax Updates email listing the records that changed, grouped by country with the jurisdiction shown for each. Controlled by the Compliance updates toggle in Guides Settings, which is on by default.
- Webhooks — a JSON notification delivered to your own server the moment Symmetry publishes a new tax or rate, with no manual step on your side. Available to all Guides clients, up to five endpoints per account.
4
The change is added to the calculation products
Once the confirmed data is in Guides, the change is built into the Symmetry Tax Engine, Symmetry Payroll Point, and Calculators by Symmetry. A change that affects a withholding form is also implemented in Symmetry Payroll Forms.We typically implement a change in advance of its effective date so it’s ready to calculate correctly the moment it takes effect. The exception is a retroactive change—for example, when a jurisdiction publishes a rate change after the effective date—which is implemented as soon as the confirmed details reach our engineering team.
5
The change is published in our release notes
When the change ships in a product release, it’s documented in our release notes, tied to the release version that was anticipated back at the confirmation stage. Release notes are the record that a change is live in the product.
Where to track a change at each stage
Tax Radar
See what’s coming—bills and legislation we’re watching, and anticipated tax and form updates with their status and expected release version. A Canadian Tax Radar is also available.
Symmetry Tax Engine
Calculate withholding using the implemented change, typically available ahead of the effective date.
Release Notes
Confirm when a change shipped and in which release version.
Licensed clients can access the full history of past, present, and future tax changes in Symmetry Guides.