Electronic Filing Requirement and Taxable Wage Base Increase
Two important changes are on the horizon for the Ohio Unemployment Insurance program. Here are the details regarding the upcoming Mandatory Electronic Filing Requirement and the Temporary Taxable Wage Base Increase:
Quarterly Reports Must be Filed Online
Most employers and third-party administrators already file their quarterly state unemployment tax reports online. Those that don’t must begin doing so with the first quarter 2018 reports, which are due by April 30, 2018.
The reports can be filed either through the Employer Resource Information Center (ERIC) at eric.ohio.gov or the Ohio Business Gateway at business.ohio.gov. ERIC allows employers and third-party administrators to manage all their business related to unemployment contributions online, including registering new businesses, filing quarterly reports and making tax payments. The Gateway allows Ohio employers to pay their unemployment contributions, as well as other state taxes, online.
Taxable Wage Base to Increase Temporarily in 2018 and 2019
In December 2016, legislation was passed to help ensure the future solvency of the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. This legislation increases the taxable wage base for the 2018 and 2019 calendar years from $9,000 to $9,500. This means effective first quarter 2018 employers will pay state unemployment taxes on the first $9,500 in actual (not prorated) wages paid to each of their covered employees. Payments for the first quarter of 2018 will be due April 30th.
We hope this information has been helpful to you. Should you have any questions, please contact us.