Final answer:
The total payroll costs to the company for the specified pay period, including net pay, income tax withholdings, and FICA withholdings, but excluding unemployment taxes, are $168,160 (Option C).
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is asking about the total payroll costs to Star Valley Company for a specific pay period, excluding unemployment taxes, given information about net pay and withholding amounts for income tax and FICA. Since the company distributes $138,500 as net pay, and the withholdings for income tax and FICA are $20,600 and $9,060, respectively, we need to sum these amounts to get the total payroll costs.
To calculate the total payroll costs, we add the net pay distributed to employees ($138,500), the income tax withheld ($20,600), and the FICA withholdings ($9,060), which results in a total of $168,160. Therefore, the correct answer to the question is: C. $168,160.
It's important to note that the total payroll cost to the company includes all forms of employee compensation, taxes, and withholdings. This amount reflects the total financial expense incurred by the company for its workforce during the specified pay period.