Vision Payroll

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recently signed into law S-1813, which reduces the unemployment tax rates that employers would have otherwise had to pay during the 2011 rate year (July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011). During the 2010 rate year (July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010), rates for employers in New Jersey were determined based on the rates in column B of the tax table. Without the passage of S-1813, employers would have had their rates for 2011 determined by column E of the tax table. Additionally, a 10% surcharge would have applied to all employers. Under S-1813, rates in 2011 will be determined by reference to column C of the tax table.

Additionally, the new law establishes three levels of misconduct, (misconduct, severe misconduct, and gross misconduct), which either prohibit payment of unemployment benefits or extend the waiting period before benefits can be paid.

Finally, the bill creates an Unemployment Insurance Fund Task Force to study and assess, among other things, the current unemployment crisis and recommend how the state can restore the trust fund to solvency in a way that balances the interests of workers, employers and the overall economy.

Contact Vision Payroll if you have any further questions on S-1813.

This week’s question comes from Julia, a business-owner. We have employees who work in more than one state. I understand how to determine which state’s income tax to withhold, but I don’t know what to do about unemployment tax. Where do I pay unemployment tax for employees who work in more than one state? Answer: The general rule for employees who work in more than one state is that employees should be covered by only one state to prevent employers from paying tax in two or more states for the same employee. To determine which state, employers should look at four factors, in the following order:

1. Localization of Services
2. Base of Operations
3. Place of Direction or Control
4. Place of Residence

The employee is covered by the state under which that employee first qualifies using these factors. For example, if an employee is determined to be covered by a state under the Localization of Services test, the results of the remaining tests are irrelevant. Only if a determination cannot be made under the Localization of Services test does the employer consider the Base of Operations test.

Contact Vision Payroll if you have further questions.

The Massachusetts Division of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) has released the 2010 employer contribution rates for unemployment taxes. Employers may check their rate using QUEST. Rates were determined using Schedule E, the same schedule as was used in 2009. Even though the rate schedule remained the same, individual employer rates generally changed based on activity in their account during the measurement period of October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009. Since the rates were released late in the quarter, some employers may have significant overpayments or underpayments of tax because the rate differential must be applied to all subject wages for the entire first quarter.

Employers who received their rate decrease before the last payroll of the quarter will receive a credit in the last payroll of the quarter for the difference between the tax collected and the tax now due using the new rate. Employers who received their rate decrease after the last payroll of the quarter will receive a refund check for the difference between the tax collected and the tax now due using the new rate.

Employers who received their rate increase before the last payroll of the quarter will need to pay the additional tax equal to the difference between the tax collected and the tax now due using the new rate in the last payroll of the quarter. Employers who received their rate increase after the last payroll of the quarter will need to pay the additional tax equal to the difference between the tax collected and the tax now due using the new rate in an additional end-of-quarter payroll.

The adjustment in the last payroll or additional payroll should be the only adjustment required to correct the tax liability for 2010. Contact Vision Payroll if you have further questions on the 2010 employer contribution rates for unemployment taxes.

Effective February 26, 2010, Iowa Workforce Development will no longer accept magnetic media (CDs or diskettes) for filing unemployment insurance data. Any magnetic media submitted after February 26, 2010 will not be processed. The options for employers required to file quarterly reports in 2010 are the following:

1. Manual Entry – Login to your online tax account and enter your wage information.
2. File Import – Login to your online tax account and upload a comma-delimited (.csv) file with your wage information. Comma-delimited files can be created using a spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel. If you currently use this method to file quarterly reports on UITS, the format for CSV files for myIowaUI will be slightly different from what is currently required.
3. Secure File Transfer – Send your wage information electronically to a secure server; this information will include the report, wage information and payment. The XML format is based on TIGERS FSET Version 2.1.

Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on the new filing requirements for Iowa unemployment insurance quarterly data.

Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the first $2,400 of unemployment benefits received by a taxpayer during 2009 are not subject to federal income tax. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently released IR-2009-29, First $2,400 of Unemployment Benefits Tax Free for 2009, to help taxpayers understand the new rules.

“This morning we learned that a record 5.6 million people were receiving unemployment benefits in the middle of March. This underscores the need for the relief provided by [ARRA], which includes making the first $2,400 of unemployment insurance exempt from tax,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “I urge all unemployed workers to take this special tax break into account as they plan their tax withholding and quarterly estimated tax payments for the year. This change offers a helping hand to millions of Americans who are out of work and struggling to make ends meet.”

Married couples who are both collecting unemployment benefits may each claim exemption for up to $2,400 thereby allowing up to $4,800 to be received tax-free in certain circumstances.

Individuals who are working and receiving unemployment benefits should consider filing a revised Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate or its Spanish equivalent, Formulario W-4(SP), Certificado de Exención de la Retención del Empleado to reflect both the exemption from tax for some unemployment benefits as well as the reduced withholding under ARRA.

Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on the taxation of unemployment benefits under ARRA.

Roger B. Madsen, Director of the Idaho Department of Labor announced recently that the 2009 unemployment wage will increase from $32,200 to $33,200. In addition, tax rates (including the workforce rate) will range from 0.447% to 5.4% and the standard rate will be 1.566%. The special Administration Reserve Fund Tax is not in effect for 2009. Contact Vision Payroll if you have any question on Idaho unemployment rates and wage base.

Maureen T. O’Donnell, Director of the State of Illinois Department of Employment Security announced recently that the 2009 unemployment wage base has increased from $12,000 to $12,300. O’Donnell, appointed by Governor Rod R. Blagojevich in August, had served as Acting Director since March 2007. In addition, the minimum rate, the maximum rate, and the fund building rate all decreased from 0.8% to 0.6%, from 7.2% to 6.8%, and from 0.6% to 0.4%, respectively. Contact Vision Payroll if you have any question on Illinois unemployment tax rates and taxable wage base.

On or before June 30 of each year the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development must calculate an amount equal to sixty percent of Minnesota’s average annual wage, rounded to the nearest $1,000. This amount is the taxable wage base for the next taxable year. For 2009, the taxable wage base will increase from $25,000 to $26,000. Contact Vision Payroll if you have questions on the Minnesota Taxable Wage Base.

In late June, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that the eligibility criteria listed in the state law were not exclusive. Therefore, if applicants for unemployment benefits had other good reasons to quit their jobs, it was within the discretion of the Employment Security Department (ESD) to approve such applicants for benefits. In response the ESD has issued an emergency rule, under which applicants who quit due to work-related conditions might still be eligible for unemployment benefits. This “allows Employment Security to begin reviewing all voluntary-quit decisions that are not yet final. These include decisions still in process at Employment Security or under appeal at the Office of Administrative Hearing or at the Commissioner’s Review Office.” Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on this emergency ruling by the Washington ESD.

The Oregon Supreme Court recently ruled in Necanicum Investment Co. v. Employment Department, SC S055231, July 24, 2008, that directors’ fees paid to a company’s board of directors are not wages for unemployment tax purposes, since the “directors are not ‘employed by’ the corporation in the same sense as other persons who perform ‘service for an employer * * * for remuneration.’” The court noted that under Oregon law, shareholders elect the directors and “there is no employer-employee relationship between a corporation and its directors when the directors are performing the duties imposed on them by statute.” Since no employment relationship exists, payments to directors could not be considered wages for this purpose.