Business Update December 2011
Western Washington collections now centralized
If you have an outstanding balance with the Employment Security Department and are located in Western Washington, collection services for your account are now handled by the Seattle office. Employers in Eastern Washington are not affected by the change.We consolidated all Western Washington collections activity (including establishing and maintaining deferred-payment contracts) in a single location to improve efficiency and lower costs.
Services not related to collections continue to be provided by the other five Western Washington district tax offices: Bellevue, Bellingham, Lynnwood, South Sound and Vancouver. Employers formerly served by the Seattle office will now work with the Bellevue, Lynnwood or South Sound offices, depending on location. For a list of all district tax offices, please visit www.esd.wa.gov/tax-offices.
What if you can't pay your taxes?
If you can’t afford to pay your quarterly taxes, you still must file your quarterly tax-and-wage report with your employees’ full names, Social Security numbers, gross wages and hours worked. Failing to file complete information could result in higher taxes and penalties for you and delayed benefits for your workers who become unemployed.By filing on time, you can avoid the $25 penalty for a late report – even if you don’t include payment – and you can assist former employees who may need unemployment benefits.
After you file your report, contact us for payment assistance. Staff in your district tax office can offer strategies to help you meet your quarterly obligation, even if you owe past-due taxes. For example, they can set up a deferred-payment contract that allows you to make monthly payments until your taxes are paid. To locate your district tax office, please visit www.esd.wa.gov/tax-offices.
January 15 deadline to exempt corporate officers
Corporations that meet certain criteria can exempt corporate officers from unemployment insurance. The deadline to file a written exemption request for 2012 is Jan. 15, 2012.If we approve your exemption request, your corporate officers will not be eligible for benefits if they lose their jobs, and you will not be required to report them or pay state unemployment taxes on them. However, you must pay full federal unemployment-insurance taxes (FUTA) on them. The exemption stays in effect as long as the officers remain eligible for exemption.
For more information about corporate officer exemption or coverage, please visit www.esd.wa.gov/corporate-officers.
Avoid these common filing mistakes
Entering zero hours workedYou are not allowed to enter zero hours worked for employees who are compensated on a salary basis. Report the actual hours worked for the quarter. If you don’t keep records of actual hours worked, report 40 hours per week for each full-time salaried employee. To read the law about how to report hours, please visit http://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac and enter 192-310-040 in the search box.
Reporting corporate officers incorrectly
You must report your corporate officers as employees and pay state unemployment taxes on their wages each quarter unless we approved your request to opt them out of unemployment-insurance coverage.
Filing an incomplete report
To avoid the penalty for an incomplete report, be sure to provide complete wage information for your employees, which includes their full names, Social Security numbers, gross wages and hours worked.
Free Microsoft courses extended through October 2012
If your employees use Microsoft software to conduct business, here’s a deal you can’t beat.Employment Security extended its contract with Microsoft to make the company’s entire suite of online courses available for free to Washington residents through October 2012. The offer is open to anyone of working age – both the employed and unemployed.
Businesses can use the free training to improve the computer skills of one employee, or even hundreds of employees.
Registration is handled through local WorkSource centers. Visit www.wa.gov/esd/e-learning to learn more or to request access codes. To contact your WorkSource center, visit www.go2worksource.com and click the “WorkSource Offices” tab to view locations.
Planning to buy or sell a business
Your unemployment-insurance taxes could be affected if your business acquires all or part of another business, or if you sell all or part of your business. The transfer creates a “predecessor-successor” relationship. Debt owed by the former employer (predecessor) may be collected from the new employer (successor).Both the seller and purchaser must notify us of the assets transferred within 30 days. Include your name and contact information, Employment Security account number, and information about the transfer (including the percentage of operating assets transferred).
To read the law about predecessors and successors, please visit http://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac and enter 192-350 in the search box.
Training and workshop schedule
For a current training and workshop schedule, please visit www.esd.wa.gov/uitax/workshops.php.Date | Topic | City | Contact |
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2012 tax rates
2012 tax rates will drop by an average of 13 percent. Read more in our Unemployment Insurance fact sheet PDF (101KB).Sign up for email updates
Stayed informed about unemployment-insurance topics. Visit www.esd.wa.gov/uitax and click "Sign up for email updates."Report electronically
See your options at www.esd.wa.gov/file-taxes.Technical support for Internet tax filers
Call 800-565-4660 or email UIFTsupport@esd.wa.gov.Benefits information
For questions related to specific benefit claims, call 877-504-5607.Contact us
Staff at your district tax office can answer many of your tax questions, including specific questions about your account. For contact information, visit www.esd.wa.gov/tax-offices.Online tax tools for businesses
The Employer Account Management Services (EAMS) offers you a quick and easy way to manage your Employment Security account. You can use its tools to file and pay your unemployment taxes online. For details, visit www.esd.wa.gov/file-taxes.Report fraud
Let us know if you suspect that a business is not paying its unemployment taxes properly or if a worker is collecting benefits he or she is not entitled to.Call the employer and claimant fraud hotline at 866-266-1987 or email undergroundeconomy@esd.wa.gov.
