NYS Department of Labor employer unemployment insurance rates - how much am I paying per employee?
I'm trying to figure out my unemployment insurance costs as a small business owner in NY. I have 8 employees and I'm getting conflicting information about how much unemployment insurance for employers actually costs. Some sources say it's a percentage of wages, others mention different rates based on experience. Can anyone break down what I should expect to pay to NYS Department of Labor for unemployment insurance? I need to budget for next year and want to make sure I'm calculating this correctly.
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Lucy Lam
NY unemployment insurance rates for employers are based on your experience rating and the taxable wage base. For 2024, the taxable wage base is $12,300 per employee. New employers start at 4.1% rate, but it can range from 0.6% to 9.9% depending on your claim history. So for each employee making over $12,300, you'd pay between $73.80 and $1,217.70 annually in SUI taxes.
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LordCommander
•Thanks! So if I have no claims history yet, I'd be paying around $504 per employee per year? That's actually not as bad as I thought it would be.
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Aidan Hudson
dont forget about the FUTA tax too thats federal unemployment insurance. its like 0.6% on first $7000 of wages if you pay your state taxes on time
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Lucy Lam
•Good point! FUTA is separate from the NYS Department of Labor unemployment insurance. You're right it's 0.6% on the first $7,000 if you get the credit for timely state payments.
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Zoe Wang
Your rate will change each year based on your experience rating. If you have employees who file unemployment claims, your rate goes up. If you don't have claims, it gradually goes down. NYS Department of Labor sends you a rate notice each year usually in December. Keep good records of any separations and make sure you respond to any requests for information about former employees' claims.
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LordCommander
•What happens if an employee quits versus gets fired? Does that affect my rate differently?
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Zoe Wang
•Generally if someone quits voluntarily or is fired for misconduct, they won't get benefits and it won't impact your rate. But if you lay someone off or fire them without cause, they'll likely get benefits which could increase your rate over time.
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Connor Richards
I've been dealing with NYS Department of Labor on employer issues for months and their phone system is impossible! If you need to talk to someone about your account or rates, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually gets you through to a real person. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Saved me hours of trying to call.
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Grace Durand
•Interesting, never heard of that before. Does it actually work for employer accounts or just claimants?
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Connor Richards
•Works for both! I used it to get through about my quarterly filing questions and it connected me to the employer services line.
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Steven Adams
make sure youre filing your quarterly reports on time too or they hit you with penalties. learned that the hard way last year
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Harper Collins
As someone who just started a small business in NY, this is really helpful information! I'm wondering about the quarterly reporting process - when exactly are those due dates throughout the year? And is there a minimum number of employees you need before you have to start paying into the unemployment insurance system? I want to make sure I'm compliant from day one.
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