What is unemployment tax rate for NY employers - confused about NYS Department of Labor calculations
I'm trying to understand how the unemployment tax rate works in New York. My small business got hit with a higher rate this year and I'm not sure why. The NYS Department of Labor notice mentions something about experience rating and base periods but it's all confusing. Does anyone know how they calculate these rates? I thought it was a flat percentage but apparently it changes based on your claim history. My accountant is out of town and I need to budget for next quarter.
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Ashley Simian
NY unemployment tax rates vary based on your experience rating with the NYS Department of Labor. New employers start at 4.1% but it can range from 0.6% to 9.9% depending on how many former employees filed UI claims against your account. The rate is calculated using a three-year lookback period of benefit charges versus your total payroll.
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Miguel Harvey
•That makes sense why mine went up. We had two layoffs last year and both employees filed claims. Is there any way to dispute incorrect charges on the experience rating?
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Oliver Cheng
ugh the whole system is so confusing, my rate jumped from like 2% to 6% and nobody at NYS Department of Labor could explain it properly when I called
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Taylor To
•You can request a hearing if you think there are errors in your account. I had success getting through to someone at NYS Department of Labor using Claimyr - they have a service at claimyr.com that helps you actually reach an agent. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Way better than sitting on hold for hours.
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Ella Cofer
Just want to add that the State Unemployment Tax (SUT) rate is separate from the federal FUTA rate. In NY you also have to factor in the Reemployment Service Fund which is 0.075% on top of your regular UI rate. Plus there's disability benefits tax too.
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Miguel Harvey
•Wait, there are multiple unemployment taxes? I thought it was just one rate. This is getting more complicated than I thought.
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Kevin Bell
been running my business for 15 years and these rates still surprise me every year... NYS Department of Labor should really make this stuff clearer
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