Unemployment-insurance tax news
Quick links
Use these quick links to find more informationAudits, appeals and employer tax assistance process
Social Security numbers - FAQ on reporting and Tips for employers
Employer notices about benefits
New delinquent tax rate law improves fairness (April 2010)
Failed to register penalty Q and A
Corporate officer communication outreach
Include covered corporate officers on quarterly unemployment insurance reports
Business Update - unemployment-insurance tax quarterly newsletter
Audit and tax assistance process
New information is available to learn more about what to do when an audit is being conducted and the tax assistance that's available.Social Security numbers
Two areas have been created to help employers know what is needed regarding Social Security numbers. One is Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about reporting Social Security numbers when filing. The other is about tips for employers on reporting requirements when completing I-9 employment eligibility verfications and other items.2011 tax reductions coming
The state Legislature has passed Gov. Gregoire’s tax-rate reduction proposal, which lowers unemployment insurance tax rates for most employers in Washington beginning this year.Employment Security will recalculate tax rates and send new tax-rate notices in March to replace the ones sent to employers in December.
Employers do not have to request an updated tax-rate notice; all employers will receive one in the mail.
About 90 percent of all employers (that is, those in rate classes 1 through 34) will receive tax-rate reductions. The total 2011 tax savings for employers is an estimated $300 million.
Learn more about EHB1091 (see page 35, Social tax part IV) and SB5135.
2011 legislation: tax reduction and benefit enhancements fact sheet
Employer notices about benefits
Information for employers on what to do when they receive employer notices about former employees requesting unemployment insurance benefits.New delinquent tax rate law improves fairness (April 2010)
The 2010 Legislature passed several new unemployment-insurance laws, headlined by one that improved the fairness of delinquent tax rates.HB 2789-- Allows the Employment Security Department to apply for court permission to issue subpoenas to third parties when needed during tax or benefit investigations and audits.
HB 2649-- Amends the benefit-charging statute to reference the correct voluntary-quit statutes; maintains status quo on benefit charges from non-work-related quits and for charge relief to other base-year employers when a quit results from a single employer's actions. The law also corrects minor errors in the predecessor/successor statutes.
Employment Security Department corporate officer outreach
In recent years, we have made a concerted effort to inform employers about changes in unemployment-insurance law that affect corporate officers. We have compiled a list of our outreach efforts dating back to 2007 and will continue to update it.Include covered corporate officers on quarterly unemployment insurance reports
Beginning January 1, 2009, officers of for-profit corporations who provide services in Washington are covered for unemployment insurance unless their employer requested to exempt them and Employment Security Department approved the request.Corporations must include any corporate officers who are now covered on their quarterly tax and wage reports. They must report them as employees and pay state unemployment insurance taxes on their wages each quarter. However, corporations should not report individual corporate officers who have been approved for exemption. The deadline for already registered corporations to request exemption for 2009 was January 15, 2009. New corporations may request exemption when they register with Employment Security.
If your corporation requested exemption and you are unsure if the exemption was approved, contact the Status Unit via e-mail or call at 360-902-9360.
Additional resources
- Frequently asked questions (FAQ) about exempting or reporting corporate officers. See Question 14 for additional information on how to report covered corporate officers.
- Process and forms for exempting corporate officers from unemployment-insurance coverage(effective in 2010 for corporations already registered with Employment Security).
- We are not able to process a request for exemption of corporate officers unless we have correct registration information about them. In order to provide or update registration information, submit the Update Ownership form.
- Question and answers about registration requirements for corporate officers.
- Eligibility for benefits for corporate officers
UI tax news archives
UI tax news archived articles (also known as What's New)Archives
