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Run the Payroll Fee Auditor →Blog · Payroll Management · Veterinary
Veterinary Practices: Payroll Setup Guide (2026)
Setting up veterinary practice payroll means the standard registrations, an EIN, state withholding and unemployment accounts, new hire reporting, plus the veterinary practice specifics: pay codes for production-based DVM comp and vet tech certification pay tiers and a documented classification for DVMs and veterinary technicians. BEG: $45 per employee per month inside the payroll software you already use, live in 3 to 5 days.
Step 1: accounts and registrations
Every veterinary practice starts with an EIN, a withholding account in each state where someone works (unless that state has no wage tax), an unemployment insurance account in each of those states, and access to each state's new hire directory. New employers deposit federal employment taxes monthly during the first calendar year because there is no lookback period yet.
Step 2: classify DVMs and veterinary technicians before the first check
Licensed veterinary technicians are named in Fact Sheet #17O as technicians who are not exempt from FLSA minimum wage and overtime because their occupation does not require an advanced specialized academic degree as a standard prerequisite for entry.
Step 3: build the veterinary practice pay codes
Production-based DVM comp, vet tech certification pay tiers, multi-location group payroll and controlled substance compliance each become a pay code with its own taxability and overtime treatment. Building them before the first run is cheaper than correcting a quarter of 941s afterward.
Under the Affordable Care Act, an employer is an applicable large employer for a calendar year if it averaged at least 50 full-time employees, including full-time-equivalent employees, in the preceding calendar year; a full-time employee averages at least 30 hours of service per week or 130 hours per month. Applicable large employers must offer affordable minimum value coverage or potentially owe a payment, and must send information reports to employees and the IRS.
Step 4: set the records up to be kept
The rules behind this page, with sources
General information, not legal advice. Every rule below was read on the agency page linked next to it.
- Licensed veterinary technicians are named in Fact Sheet #17O as technicians who are not exempt from FLSA minimum wage and overtime because their occupation does not require an advanced specialized academic degree as a standard prerequisite for entry. [DOL Fact Sheet #17O]
- Under the Affordable Care Act, an employer is an applicable large employer for a calendar year if it averaged at least 50 full-time employees, including full-time-equivalent employees, in the preceding calendar year; a full-time employee averages at least 30 hours of service per week or 130 hours per month. Applicable large employers must offer affordable minimum value coverage or potentially owe a payment, and must send information reports to employees and the IRS. [IRS Employer shared responsibility provisions]
Read the full guide to how to set up payroll for a new business, and the rest of the veterinary practice payroll library.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What registrations does a new veterinary practice need before running payroll?
An EIN, a state withholding account and a state unemployment account in every state with an employee, and new hire reporting access. State registrations are the slow step and can take weeks, so they start before the first hire date.
How are DVMs and veterinary technicians classified at setup?
Licensed veterinary technicians are named in Fact Sheet #17O as technicians who are not exempt from FLSA minimum wage and overtime because their occupation does not require an advanced specialized academic degree as a standard prerequisite for entry.
What does managed payroll cost for a veterinary practice?
$45 per employee per month, all-inclusive, inside the payroll software you already use, with no monthly minimum. Production-based DVM comp, vet tech certification pay tiers and multi-location group payroll are configured at setup, not billed as add-ons.
Related Resources
Anthony leads payroll solutions at Business Executive Group, a national managed payroll firm serving businesses across industries including Veterinary Practices. BEG manages payroll at $45 PEPM, all-inclusive, with deep expertise in compliance, multi-state filing, and industry-specific payroll requirements. Get instant pricing at beghr.com.
Authoritative source: U.S. Department of Labor: Wage and Hour Division
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