Employers can avoid penalties by filing unemployment taxes online - July 26, 2006

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Media contact: Hilary Young, 360-902-9454

Audio: http://fortress.wa.gov/esd/portal/info/newsroom/audiofiles/audio/

OLYMPIA – Employers can reduce the risk of penalties by filing unemployment taxes electronically, according to the Employment Security Department (ESD).

For the first quarter of 2006, only 45 employers who filed electronically received a penalty for submitting an incomplete report. By contrast, 580 employers who filed on paper forms were penalized for missing information or incorrect formatting. 

The most common errors were failing to report a Social Security number or hours worked for every employee and failing to use the correct form. 

“Electronic filing really simplifies the process for employers and helps to reduce penalties,” said Annette Copeland, head of ESD’s unemployment-insurance program. 

She noted that the software highlights errors and missing information. It also eliminates the need to deal with paper forms, so there is no risk of improper formatting. In addition, users can save time and reduce their risk of data-entry errors by importing data from their existing software, rather than re-keying employee information.

ESD offers free options for electronic filing. UIFastTax is downloaded from the Internet and saves reports to the user’s hard-drive for future reference. UIWebTax, an interactive Internet application, also is available. Both allow users to file online.

UIFastTax is particularly well-suited to accountants because it allows them to report for multiple businesses, according to Copeland.

“To make it even easier, employers can call our hotline if they need help with their online filing,” said Copeland. That toll-free number is 800-565-4660.

Regardless of how each business chooses to file its required reports, all of them can pay unemployment taxes online with ePay. They enter banking information and the date they want the payment debited from the account. A confirmation is sent via e-mail when payment is received.

Businesses can select their filing method and pay taxes online at www.efile.go2ui.com. All data are submitted over a secure Internet connection.  

Unemployment taxes must be filed and paid on a quarterly basis. Taxes for the second quarter of 2006 are due by July 31.