- Question:
Am I required to report wages and pay taxes to the Unemployment Tax program?
Answer: Yes, if
you:
- paid $1,500 in wages within a calendar quarter,
- have employed one person for any portion of a day in 20 different weeks
during the calendar year, or
- are liable for federal unemployment tax (FUTA) because of employment
in another state.
- Question:
If I have domestic employees in my home, am I required to report wages and pay taxes to the Unemployment Tax program?
Answer: Yes, if
you have paid $1,000 in cash wages to domestic employees within a calendar quarter.
- Question: What
is the tax rate for new employers?
Answer: The initial
tax rate is 2.7% (.0270) and remains in effect for 10 calendar quarters, at which time the account will receive
a computed tax rate.
- Question: What
factors determine how my tax rate is calculated?
Answer: The main
factor determining your tax rate is the ratio of benefits charged to your account to your reported taxable payroll
for the previous three years.
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- Question: What
are the minimum and maximum tax rates allowed by law?
Answer: The minimum
tax rate allowed by law is 0.1% (.0010). The maximum tax rate allowed by law is 5.4% (.0540).
- Question: What
is the taxable wage base in Florida?
Answer: Unemployment
taxes must be paid on the first $7,000 of wages paid to each employee per year.
- Question: If
I pay no wages within a quarter, must I still file a quarterly report?
Answer: Yes, as
long as your account remains in active status.
- Question:
If no tax is due on the wages paid within a quarter, must I still file a quarterly tax and wage report?
Answer: Yes, you
must still file an Employer's Quarterly Report (UCT-6) and report wages paid to each employee even if no tax is
due.
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- Question: When
are quarterly reports due?
Answer: The Unemployment
Tax Employer's Quarterly Report must be submitted by the end of the month following the calendar quarter for which
the report is due:
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CALENDAR QUARTER
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REPORT MUST BE
POSTMARKED NO LATER THAN
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January 1 - March 31
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April 30
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April 1 - June 30
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July 31
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July 1 - September 30
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October 31
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October 1 - December 31
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January 31
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- Question: How
do I make corrections to a report that has already been submitted?
Answer: Call the
Taxpayer Services Center at 800-482-8293 and request Form UCT-8A or send the details of the correction
to:
Florida Department of Revenue
5050 W. Tennessee Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0100
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- Question:
Can I make corrections to a previous quarterly report on my current quarterly report?
Answer: No, all
corrections must be submitted on Form UCT-8A or in writing in a separate piece of correspondence.
- Question:
If I have employees in Florida, must I report these wages to Florida even though my business headquarters is located
in another state?
Answer: Wages
should be reported to the state in which the majority of the services are performed. If you need help in determining
to which state wages should be reported, call the Taxpayer Services Center at 800-482-8293.
- Question: If
I am the only employee, must I pay taxes on my own wages?
Answer: Yes, if
the business is a corporation. No, if you are a sole proprietor.
- Question:
How do I know if 401K wages are taxable?
Answer: If the
worker has the option to take the money as wages, they are taxable.
- Question: Are
cafeteria plan wages taxable?
Answer: If they
are taxable under federal law, then they are taxable under the Florida Unemployment Compensation law.
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- Question:
What wages are taxable?
Answer: "Wages"
means all remuneration for employment, including commissions, bonuses, back pay awards and the cash value of all
remuneration paid in any medium other than cash.
- Commissions - All commissions are considered wages with the exception of real estate agents, insurance agents, and barbers paid solely by commission. If they are paid by salary only or by salary and commission, both are taxable and the exemption does not apply.
- Bonuses.
- Back pay awards.
- Cash value of all remuneration paid in any medium other than cash.
- Corporate Officers' wages - Compensation other than dividends upon shares
of stock and board of director fees is presumed payment for services performed and therefore taxable.
- Wages of shareholder-employee of Subchapter S corporation - Also, all
or part of the distribution of income paid to a shareholder-employee who is active in the business and performing
services for the business is considered wages.
- Dividends paid to an employee of a Subchapter S corporation.
- Tips, if received while performing services which constitute employment
and are included in a written statement furnished to the employer, pursuant to S.6053(a) of the Internal Revenue
Service code.
- Cash value of vacation facilities, club memberships, and tickets to events.
- Financial planning assistance and retirement counseling fees.
- Non-qualified stock bonus incentive plan contributions made by the employer.
- Awards, gifts and prizes over $25.
- Interest from below market interest rate loans.
- Excess employee discounts.
- Cash value of meals and lodgings not for the employer's convenience.
- Cash value of prepaid group legal services.
- Golden parachute payments.
- After death payments for wages earned through death.
- Wages in the form of insurance coverage plans (paid to insurance agents).
- Cash value of automobile for personal use.
- Cash value of air transportation for personal use.
- Wages paid to the children of corporate officers and/or wages paid to
the children of corporate employees are taxable, regardless of the age of the child.
- Wages paid for services performed by the children of sole proprietors
or partners are taxable if the child is 21 years of age or older.
- Wages paid for temporary or part-time work.
- Wages paid for services performed outside the United States (except in
Canada) by a citizen of the U. S. in the employ of an American employer, should be reported as employment if the
employer's business or employee's residence is in the U. S.
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- Question:
What types of employment are not covered for Unemployment Tax program purposes?
Answer: Several
types of employment are not covered for unemployment tax purposes and the workers performing these types of employment
are not considered in determining an employer's liability. Some of these exemptions include:
- Services by a sole proprietor or a partner.
- Services by employees of a church or convention or association of churches
or of organizations operated for religious purposes and which are operated, supervised, controlled, or principally
supported by a church, convention, or association of churches.
- Services of a duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister of a
church, in the exercise of the ministry or by a member of a religious order, in the exercise of duties required
by such an order.
- Services for a school, college, or university, by a student enrolled
and attending classes there.
- Services by certain students working for credit on a program combining
academic instruction with work experience, such as CBE (Cooperative Business Education) or DCT (Diversified Cooperative
Training) students.
- Services performed for a son, daughter, or spouse, or by children under
the age of 21 for their father or mother. When the employing unit is a partnership, an exempt relationship must
exist to all partners or there is not an exemption. This exemption does not apply to corporations.
- Services performed by insurance agents, real estate agents, or barbers
when paid solely by commission.
- Services performed on a fishing vessel that weighs ten net tons or less.
- Services performed as a student nurse in the employ of a hospital or
a nurses' training school, by an intern in the employ of a hospital, or by a hospital patient.
- Services in a rehabilitation facility for the mentally handicapped, or
physically handicapped or injured, by persons receiving such rehabilitative service.
- Services by persons under age 18 in the delivery or distribution of newspapers.
- Services performed by nonresident aliens, who are temporarily present
in the United States as non-immigrants under subparagraph (F) or (J) of Section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act.
- Services performed by aliens in agricultural labor, who have entered
the United States pursuant to SS 214(c) and 101(a)(15)(H) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
- Services performed for the government by elected officials; by members of the legislature; by members of the judiciary; by those serving on a temporary basis in cases of fire, storm, snow, earthquake, flood, or similar emergencies; or by those serving in an advisory capacity.
- Services by direct sellers who are contracted to sell or solicit consumer
goods to homes or any place other than a permanent retail establishment and whose substantial remuneration is directly related to sales.
- Services performed by speech, occupational, and physical therapists that are non-salaried and working following a written contract with a home health agency as defined in Section 440.462
of the Florida Statutes.
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