by Yasir Anwar | Jun 11, 2018 | Blog
We at Unemployment Solutions for You proudly offer our unemployment claims management services across the United States. We are a leader in our industry not only because we offer an outstanding product, but also because we have a deep knowledge-base in the many differing unemployment laws across the 50 states. Part of our mission is to also educate you about how these laws may differ from state to state because those differences can affect you directly. So, join us on our continuing series, in which we explore the differences in unemployment eligibility, tax rate ranges, base periods, and much more in each state. This month, in Your State’s Unemployment Tax Laws, we’ll be looking at Illinois, the Prairie State. Eligibility for Claimants Claimants are eligible to collect unemployment insurance if they meet the minimum requirements: Earn at least $1,600 during a recent 12-month base period Earned at least $440 outside of this base period quarter in which earnings were highest The employer must be in an applicable designation which excludes certain agricultural, domestic, railroad, and government work, as well as work done for one’s family and on commission Working more than 20 hours Unemployment must be involuntary Must be able, willing, and available to work Actively seeking employment So then, how does this affect your business? Your business’ tax rate will be affected by your business’ Experience Rate (which is calculated from the amount of UI benefits paid to former employees over the past 3 years). The more unemployment caused by the employer – the higher the rate. This is different in Canada compared to the US, and so...
by Yasir Anwar | Mar 12, 2018 | Blog
We at Unemployment Solutions for You proudly offer our unemployment claims management services across the United States. We are a leader in our industry not only because we offer an outstanding product, but also because we have a deep knowledge-base in the many differing unemployment laws across the 50 states. Part of our mission is to also educate you about how these laws may differ from state to state because those differences can affect you directly. So, join us on our continuing series, in which we explore the differences in unemployment eligibility, tax rate ranges, base periods, and much more in each state. This month, in Your State’s Unemployment Tax Laws, we’ll be looking at Texas, the Lone Star State. In Texas, unemployment claimants can be eligible for unemployment benefits if they are either unemployed or working reduced hours through no fault of their own. Examples of this include layoff, reduction of hours or wages, being fired (unrelated to misconduct), or quitting with good cause. In the event that one of your employees has been awarded unemployment benefits, they are calculated based on the taxable wages reported during the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before the effective date of the claim. The effective date is considered the Sunday of the week in which the person applied for unemployment. Of course, the question becomes: how does this affect you and your business? As we know, the UI tax is the only tax that you have active control over. Your actions and decisions with regard to your employees’ employment status can affect the severity of your tax...
by Yasir Anwar | Oct 9, 2017 | Blog
We at Unemployment Solutions for You proudly offer our unemployment claims management services across the United States. We are a leader in our industry not only because we offer an outstanding product, but also because we have a deep knowledge-base in the many differing unemployment laws across the 50 states. Part of our mission is to also educate you about how these laws may differ from state to state because they can affect you directly. So, join us on our continuing series, in which we explore the differences in unemployment eligibility, tax rate ranges, base periods, and much more in each state. This month, in Your State’s Unemployment Tax Laws, we’ll be looking at Pennsylvania, the Keystone State. The first step you should take as a new Pennsylvania business is to register with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry within 30 days of an employee performing services for which s/he would earn a wage. By establishing an unemployment insurance (UI) tax account with the state, either online or by paper, you will be on your way to lawfully complying with UI tax law. Unlike many other states, Pennsylvania does not have a minimum wage amount that must be paid before an employer becomes liable for UI taxes. By simply having an employee, your business will need to begin the UI tax process. When you are a new business and have begun to pay wages, there is a basic “new employer” contribution rate that you will be held to for your first two or three years. For non-construction employers, the basic contribution rate is 3.5% and 9.7% for construction...
by Yasir Anwar | Aug 30, 2017 | Blog
We at Unemployment Solutions for You proudly offer our unemployment claims management services across the United States. We are a leader in our industry not only because we offer an outstanding product, but also because we have a deep knowledge-base in the many differing unemployment laws across the 50 states. Part of our mission is to also educate you about how these laws may differ from state to state because they can affect you directly. So, join us on our continuing series, in which we explore the differences in unemployment eligibility, tax rate ranges, base periods, and much more in each state. This month, in Your State’s Unemployment Tax Laws, we’ll be looking at Massachusetts. For most employers in the state of Massachusetts, contributions to the unemployment insurance tax must be made if you have any employees working one or more days in each of 13 weeks during a calendar year. Alternatively, if you pay wages in excess of $1,500 in any calendar quarter, you are required to pay the UI tax. However, there are some industries that are held to different standards. Certain industries such as agriculture, domestic workers, and out-of-state employers have different criteria they must meet as outlined below. Agriculture: these employers become liable for UI contributions once total cash wages of $40,000 or more have been paid in a calendar quarter or 10 or more individuals were employed on any day in each of 20 weeks in a year. Domestic Workers: these employers become liable for UI contributions once $1,000 or more in wages has been paid in any calendar quarter. Out-of-State Employers: these employers...
by Yasir Anwar | Aug 1, 2017 | Blog
We at Unemployment Solutions for You proudly offer our unemployment claims management services across the United States. We are a leader in our industry not only because we offer an outstanding product, but also because we have a deep knowledge-base in the many differing unemployment laws across the 50 states. Part of our mission is to also educate you about how these laws may differ from state to state because they can affect you directly. So, join us on our continuing series, in which we explore the differences in unemployment eligibility, tax rate ranges, base periods, and much more in each state. This month, in Your State’s Unemployment Tax Laws, we’ll be looking at Nevada. In the state of Nevada, “employing units,” which are considered to be any individual or organization involved in a partnership, association, trust, estate, joint-stock company, insurance company, corporation, or receiver/trustee in bankruptcy, must register with the Employment Security Division (ESD) and pay taxes on wages paid in excess of $225 during any calendar quarter. If an employing unit falls under these criteria, a Taxable Wage Base amount must be multiplied by an annual unemployment tax rate to determine the amount of an employer’s UI tax liability. Nevada’s Taxable Wage Base is calculated annually to be 2/3 percent of the average annual wage for Nevada employees. These wages must be reported to the ESD each quarter for each employee under an employing unit. However, any wages paid to each employee, which exceed the Taxable Wage Base during the calendar year are not taxed. The following table details the most recent Taxable Wage Base amounts in...
by Yasir Anwar | Jun 27, 2017 | Blog
We at Unemployment Solutions for You proudly offer our unemployment claims management services across the United States. We are a leader in our industry not only because we offer an outstanding product, but also because we have a deep knowledge-base in the many differing unemployment laws across the 50 states. Part of our mission is to also educate you about how these laws may differ from state to state because they can affect you directly. So, join us on our continuing series, in which we explore the differences in unemployment eligibility, tax rate ranges, base periods, and much more in each state. This month, in Your State’s Unemployment Tax Laws, we’ll be looking at Washington. Typically, under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA), for-profit employers are liable for both state and federal unemployment insurance taxes if they have paid employees $1,500 or more in total wages in a calendar quarter or had at least one employee during any day of a week during 20 weeks in a calendar year, regardless of whether or not the weeks were consecutive. However, in the state of Washington, there is no minimum amount of wages required for employers to pay unemployment taxes each year. Instead, employers are held liable for unemployment insurance taxes simply for employing a single individual. If a claimant is found to be eligible for unemployment benefits, a Taxable Wage Base amount must be multiplied by an annual unemployment tax rate to determine the amount of an employer’s UI tax liability. First, we’ll discuss the state’s Taxable Wage Base. In Washington, the Taxable Wage Base amount changes annually based on...
