How your tax rate is determined
| Important |
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There are two major components of state unemployment taxes, an experience-rated tax based on an average of the employer's layoff history over the past four fiscal years and a social-cost tax based on costs from the previous year that can't be attributed to a specific employer. Please see the Unemployment Insurance Taxes Fact Sheet for more information.
For 2012, the average UI tax rate is 2.12%. Qualified tax rates range from as low as .14% to as high as 5.82%. Under recent legislation, delinquent employers will also receive a range of delinquent tax rates. The lowest of delinquent tax rates for experienced employers in 2012 is .92%, the highest is 7.85%.
The average rate in recent years is:
| Year | Average Tax Rate |
|---|---|
| 2004 | 2.81% |
| 2005 | 2.78% |
| 2006 | 2.38% |
| 2007 | 1.97% |
| 2008 | 1.82% |
| 2009 | 1.64% |
| 2010 | 2.39% |
| 2011 | 2.44% |
We send you your tax rate in December of each year for the following year. That is your rate for the entire year.
2012 tax rates
These forms will help you understand your 2012 tax rates.2012 tax rate chart (PDF, 114KB)
Archive tax rates
Archived tax rate charts2011 (PDF, 47.4KB)
2005-2010 (PDF, 194KB)
Calculate your tax rate
You can use our online calculators to figure out your tax rate. These calculators will work if you have your taxable wages and benefit charges for the last four years. This calculator will determine 2012 tax rate only.2012 tax rate calculator (XLS, 3.04MB)
New employers
If you are a new employer or haven't been in business long enough, you won't have enough "experience" to get your own tax rate. Instead, you will be assigned a rate based on your industry. For 2012, new employers will pay 100 percent of the average rate for all businesses in their respective industries.Delinquent tax rate
You must send all past-due taxes and/or late reports to us by September 30 to avoid a delinquent rate for the following year.If you owe taxes and cannot make full payment, contact your district tax office to set up a payment plan. If your payment plan is approved before September 30, you will receive your earned tax rate for the following year, rather than the delinquent rate.
