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UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE TAX
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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?

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.

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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!

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Mail a diskette to: