Everything employers need to know about paying Wyoming unemployment insurance taxes.
If your small company employs people in Wyoming, you must pay the Wyoming unemployment insurance (UI) levy. The UI tax pays for unemployment insurance programs for qualifying workers. In Wyoming, one of the key taxes that employers must pay is the state unemployment insurance levy. Wyoming, unlike most other states, does not have state withholding taxes. Other essential employer taxes that are not mentioned here include federal unemployment insurance and withholding taxes.
Varied states have different UI tax policies and rates. The fundamental regulations for Wyoming’s UI tax are as follows.
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Become a member of the Department of Workforce Services.
Before doing business or commencing work in Wyoming, your small company must register with the Unemployment Insurance Division (the Division) of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services (DWS). You may register either online or via paper. You will be assigned a UI account number after you have registered.
Use the Wyoming Business Registration System to register online. Use Form WY035WC, Joint Business Registration Form, to register on paper. Blank forms may be downloaded from the DWS website’s Forms & Documents area. There is no cost to register your company with DWS.
You must have a federal employer identification number to open a Wyoming UI tax account (EIN). You may get an EIN by visiting irs.gov. In most cases, if you apply online, you will obtain your EIN very instantly. If you do not have an EIN upon submitting your registration, keep that field blank and provide your EIN to DWS as soon as you obtain it.
Unemployment Insurance Tax Liability Regulations
Unlike other states, Wyoming does not have a minimum wage requirement for an employer to be responsible for UI tax. Instead, it is expected that ordinary employers will be held accountable merely because they employ someone. Typical for-profit employers, on the other hand, are responsible for FUTA taxes under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) if, during the current or prior calendar year, they either:
paid salaries of $1,500 or more in each calendar quarter, or had one or more workers at any time in each of twenty calendar weeks.
Different restrictions apply to agricultural laborers, domestic (in-home) workers, and employees of certain (but not all) non-profit organizations, which are not included here.
One piece of good news is that state UI tax payments are often deductible from FUTA taxes.
Wage Structure and Tax Rates
Each employee’s salaries are subject to UI tax up to a certain yearly limit. Every year, Wyoming’s taxable wage base increases or decreases (typically increases). It has risen practically every year since 2003. The yearly increments have ranged from $300 to $2,000 in value. Recently, the pay base has surpassed $25,000.
The state unemployment insurance tax rate for new employers is subject to vary from year to year. Your Wyoming UI tax rate as a new employer will be determined by the kind of company you’re in—or, more formally, the “industry” you’re in. The particulars are tricky. However, in layman’s terms:
The North American Business Classification System (NAICS) is used to classify industries, and the state will compute your rate based on the NAICS average UI tax rate for your industry.
The NAICS was developed by the federal government to categorize and analyze information for various types of enterprises. Wyoming, on the other hand, assigns a UI tax rate to new employers based on the average tax rate for each of these types of firms. The DWS maintains a website with limited information regarding NAICS classes.
Based on a “experience rating,” established employers are liable to a lower or higher rate than new firms. This includes, among other things, whether your company has ever had workers file claims for state unemployment benefits.
Check the Unemployment Taxable Pay Base table on the DWS website for current and historical wage base information. Check the list of tax rate papers in the main Unemployment Insurance area of the DWS website for current and historical tax rate information.
Submit UI Tax Reports and Payments Quarterly
UI tax reports and payments are required in Wyoming on the last day of the month after the end of each calendar quarter.
The due date will be the next business day if the final day of the month after the end of the quarter is a holiday or weekend.
You have the option of filing your reports and payments online or on paper. Use Wyoming Internet Reporting for Employers to file online (WIRE). Use Form WYO 056, Quarterly Report, and Form WYO 078, Employee Wage Listings to submit on paper. Blank forms may be downloaded from the DWS website’s Forms & Documents area.
Make a Public Notice (Poster)
You must display a notification (poster) about state unemployment claims in a visible location for all workers. The poster explains the basics of filing an unemployment claim. From the main Unemployment Insurance area of the DWS website, you may download a notice that satisfies all legal criteria.
Employees should not be misclassified as independent contractors.
Employers that hire independent contractors rather than employees are exempt from the UI tax. It is critical, however, that you should not misclassify an employee as an independent contractor. If you misclassify an employee, you may face penalties or fines.
Using Payroll Service Providers
You may decide that it is easier to delegate payroll obligations, including UI taxes, to an outside payroll agency. If this is the case, bear in mind that your company, or even you personally, may be held directly liable for errors made by an outside payroll firm.
Further Information
This page simply covers the most fundamental aspects of Wyoming UI taxes. Check the IRS and DWS websites for the most up-to-date information to avoid any fines. Employers have additional duties not discussed in this article, such as federal UI and withholding taxes, mandated reporting of new hiring, and required preservation of employee data, in addition to state UI tax.