How unemployment benefits affect your taxes
The process used to determine tax rates
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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 shared-cost (social) 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 2013, the estimated average unemployment tax rate is 2.19 percent. Tax rates range from as low as 0.14 percent to as high as 5.82 percent.
Employers with delinquent tax bills also may receive a range of delinquent-tax rates. The lowest delinquent-tax rate for experienced employers in 2013 is 0.95 percent, and the highest is 7.85 percent.
The average tax rate in recent years has been:
| 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% |
| 2012 | 2.02% |
We send you your tax rate in December for the following year. That is your rate for the entire year.
2013 tax rates
These forms will help you understand your 2013 tax rates.2013 tax rate chart (PDF, 66KB)
Archive tax rates
Archived tax rate charts2012 (PDF, 114 KB)
2011 (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 2013 tax rate only.2013 tax rate calculator (XLS, 3.05MB)
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 2013, new employers will pay 90 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 tax account management center 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.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked question for employersRelevant laws and rules
General tax rates (see Section 2)
