UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE TAX
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Frequently Asked Questions—By Employers
Which employers are required to pay unemployment
insurance taxes?
What is the beginning unemployment insurance tax rate for a new business in
Colorado?
What happens if an employer avoids paying the correct amount of unemployment
insurance taxes, and what is State Unemployment Tax Act (SUTA) dumping?
Are corporations liable to pay unemployment insurance taxes on corporate
officers' wages?
What methods of filing tax-and-wage reports are available?
What is an employee-leasing company's liability regarding unemployment insurance
taxes?
What is the status of the State Unemployment Program E-government Resource
(SUPER) System?
Frequently Asked Questions—ABOUT Appeals
If I appeal a decision, do I need an attorney?
I did not receive the appeal hearing notice and did not attend the hearing. What
should I do now?
For more information
about the appeals process, read Publication AS-52,
The Appeals Process, or call UI Appeals at 303-318-9299 (Denver-metro
area) or 1-800-405-2338 (outside Denver-metro area).
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS—BY EMPLOYERS
Which employers are required to pay
unemployment insurance taxes?
Any business that paid
wages of at least $1500 in a calendar quarter during the prior or current
calendar year.
- or -
Any business that employed
at least one person for any part of a day in 20 weeks during the prior or
current calendar year.
Domestic employers,
nonprofit corporations, and agricultural employers have different liability
criteria based on amount of wages paid and the number of employees.
Contact UI Operations for more information on
the different liability criteria.
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What is the beginning unemployment
insurance tax rate for a new business in Colorado?
The unemployment insurance
(UI) tax rate is made up of a base tax rate, an annually computed surtax rate,
and a solvency tax surcharge rate. For calendar year 2007, the beginning base
tax rate is 0.0170, the surtax rate is 0.0022, and the solvency surcharge rate
is 0.0060, resulting in a combined rate of 0.0252. The UI tax rate is applied to
the first $10,000 of each employee's annual earnings.
Employers in
construction-related industries may be subject to a different base tax rate.
Contact UI Operations
for more information on beginning base rates for employers in
construction-related industries.
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Are corporations liable to pay
unemployment insurance taxes on corporate officers' wages?
Yes. Corporate officers
are considered to be employees of the corporation and their wages are taxable.
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What methods
of filing tax-and-wage reports are available?
If you have fewer than 80 employees,
Internet wage reporting is recommended. Please click on the
following link to file on the Internet:
https://secure.cdle.state.co.us/wagetax/.
If you have 80 or more employees, file
transfer protocol (FTP) or diskette wage reporting is recommended.
Click here for
information about submitting quarterly worker-wage data via FTP!
- or -
Mail a diskette to:
Colorado Department of Labor and
Employment
UI Operations
P. O. Box 8789
Denver, Co 80201-8789
Please contact us if you have any questions:
Unemp.Wage@state.co.us
303-318-9018 (Denver-metro area)
1-800-480-8299 (outside Denver-metro area)
Curtis: Ext. 83209
Terry: Ext. 83207
John: Ext. 83262
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS—ABOUT APPEALS
If I appeal a decision, do I need an attorney?
You are not required to
have an attorney to participate in the appeal hearing, which is an
administrative proceeding. The majority of parties do not have an attorney
representing them. However, only you can decide whether you need an attorney.
The UI Program does not provide an attorney for hearings.
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I did not receive the appeal hearing
notice and did not attend the hearing. What should I do now?
If you do not participate
in the hearing as the nonappealing party, the hearing officer holds the
hearing as scheduled if the appealing party participates. The hearing officer
then issues a written decision based upon the testimony and evidence provided by
the appealing party. UI Appeals mails you a copy of the hearing officer’s
decision. If you do not agree with the decision, follow the appeal instructions
found at the end of the hearing officer’s decision.
If you do not participate
in the hearing as the appealing party, the hearing officer dismisses the
hearing regardless of whether the nonappealing party attends the hearing; the
deputy’s decision remains in effect. The hearing officer issues Form AS-7a,
Notice of Dismissal for Failure to Participate, and you (the appellant) have 15
calendar days, from the date of the dismissal notice, to appeal the dismissal.
Your appeal must include an explanation or reason for your failure to
participate in your hearing. If you establish good cause, UI Appeals reschedules
the hearing and notifies all interested parties of the new hearing date and
time.For more information about the appeals process, read
Publication AS-52,
The Appeals
Process, or call UI Appeals at 303-318-9299
(Denver-metro area) or 1-800-405-2338 (outside Denver-metro area).
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MORE
QUESTIONS?
Mail
UI
Operations
P.O. Box 8789
Denver, CO
80201-8789
E-mail
unemp.tax@state.co.us
Telephone
303-318-9100 (Denver-metro area)
1-800-480-8299
(outside Denver-metro area)
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