An initial determination can be issued for a variety of things, including unpaid unemployment insurance taxes, interest, and penalties. The determination may be appealed within 21 days by following the directions on the reverse side of the initial determination.

If the transaction code on the initial determination is 210, the contribution report was received without full payment.

If the transaction code on the initial determination is 450 or 460, your amount due has been estimated. You must complete a contribution and wage report and submit it with your payment to the address listed on the notice.

Employers who do not pay wages during a quarter must still file their quarterly contribution/wage report by mail or by calling (608) 261-4571. If a report is not filed we may estimate your payroll.

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Division of Unemployment Insurance considers a tax "delinquent" if the report and payment are not received by the assigned due date. Once this has occurred the assessment is subject to collection action.

When a payment is delinquent, interest accrues on the unpaid tax at a rate of 1% per month. Penalties could also be assessed. All delinquent liabilities are subject to legal action.

To avoid legal collection action, it is important that the debtor pay the liability immediately or arrange installment payments.

Legal collection actions available to the Department include, but are not limited to:

• Tax Warrants issued
• Levies
• Seizures of property, sale at sheriff’s auction
• Denial of Lottery license
• Individuals may be held liable for corporate liabilities.

Employers are responsible for any penalties which may arise from their or their representative failure to file timely wage and contribution reports.

Effective Prior to October 1, 2006

A late wage report penalty is assessed when the detailed wage report is received after the quarterly due date. The penalty is $25 for employers with 100 or less employees, and $75 for employers with more than 100 employees. This is represented on the initial determination by a 227 code. To prevent this penalty, all reports and payments must be postmarked by the quarterly due date.

A non-filing penalty is assessed when the detailed wage report is not received for the quarter due. The penalty is $25 and is represented on the initial determination by a 228 code. To prevent this penalty, each employer must furnish a report containing the wages for every employee by the quarterly due date.

A bad media penalty is assessed when the detailed wage report is submitted using an unapproved method to file the wage report. The penalty is $10 per employee reported and is represented on the initial determination by a 229 code. To prevent this penalty, employers with 100 or more employees in a quarter must file using Internet (File Tax and Wage Reports), Magnetic Media, or the bulletin board. See Frequently Asked Questions about Wage Reporting.

Employer Agents who file contribution reports for 25 or more employers must file the reports using an electronic medium approved by the Department. The penalty is $25 per contribution report filed on paper.

Effective with contribution/wage reports due October 31, 2006

A contribution report penalty is assessed when an individual employer submits the contribution report using an unapproved method to file the tax report. The penalty is $25 per report for employers with 75 or more employees and is represented on the initial determination by a 230 code. The threshold decreases to 50 or more employees effective with reports due Oct. 31, 2007. To prevent this penalty, an individual employer with 75 or more employees in a quarter must file the contribution report using the Internet (File Tax and Wage Reports).

A bad media penalty is assessed when the detailed wage report is submitted using an unapproved method to file the wage report. The penalty is $10 per employee reported and is represented on the initial determination by a 229 code. To prevent this penalty, employers with 75 or more employees in a quarter must file using Internet (File Tax and Wage Reports), Magnetic Media, or the bulletin board. The threshold decreases to 50 or more employees effective with reports due Oct. 31, 2007. See Frequently Asked Questions about Wage Reporting.

New law requires that employer agents file all quarterly wage reports using the internet or an electronic medium and format approved by the Department regardless of the number of employees reported. When agents prepare the quarterly wage reports in an incorrect format, $10 penalty per employee may be charged to either the employer or the agent that prepared the report.

For all contribution reports prepared by employer agents that represent 1-24 employers regardless of number of employees each employer has, new law requires use of the internet (File Tax and Wage Reports). Failure to file properly may result in a penalty of $25 per employer.

Requirements for Employers Preparing and Filing Their Own Reports

Number of Employees	CONTRIBUTION REPORT	WAGE REPORT
1-49	Paper, File Tax and Wage Reports or an electronic medium and format approved by the Department	Paper, File Tax and Wage Reports or an electronic medium and format approved by the Department
50 or more	File Tax and Wage Reports	File Tax and Wage Reports or an electronic medium and format approved by the Department
Penalties for employers of 50 or more	$25 per report	$10 per employee

Requirements for Reports Prepared by Agents and Filed either by the Agent or the Employer

Number of Employers Agent Represents	CONTRIBUTION REPORT	WAGE REPORT
24 or less employers	File Tax and Wage Reports	File Tax and Wage Reports or an electronic medium and format approved by the Department
More than 25 employers	File Tax and Wage Reports or an electronic medium and format approved by the Department	File Tax and Wage Reports or an electronic medium and format approved by the Department
Penalties for improper filing by the agent or employer	$25 per employer	$10 per employee

The late wage report and the non-filing wage report penalties remain unchanged.

Interest at the rate of 1% per month on tax due or 12% per year is charged on the balance of tax due.

All expenses associated with any legal collection actions taken by the Department will be added to the amount due. Some examples of expenses are lien fees, certified mailing fees, and other collection related costs.

If you have received a notice from the Department with an address indicated for mailing payments, please use that address along with the remittance document. Please add your account number to the check to ensure proper posting to your accounts.

Payments may also be mailed to:
Unemployment Insurance
P.O. Box 8914
Madison, WI 53708-8914

At this time we do not accept credit card payments, however, you can make payments on line. Go to Electronic Payment Options for Employers. dwd.wisconsin.gov/uitax/eft/

If you cannot pay the full amount due with your contribution and wage report, file the completed Contribution/Wage Report on time and pay as much as possible.

Contact us at (608) 266-9700 to request an installment agreement to pay your tax balance.

As long as you honor the terms of the installment agreement (make installment payments and timely file and pay all subsequent liabilities), the Department will not take other collection action. However, the Department may file a tax warrant even though you are honoring the terms of your agreement if your agreement extends past a four month period.

Yes, you can have monthly payments automatically withdrawn from your checking or savings account. Go to Electronic Payment Options for Employers. dwd.wisconsin.gov/uitax/eft/

A levy is an administrative action taken by Unemployment Insurance to collect delinquent unemployment insurance debt, when a person has not taken steps to voluntarily resolve their debt. The purpose of the levy is to seize any property in the hands of a third party. The property to be recovered may be all real and personal property, including but not limited to wages, salary, commission, and bonus or otherwise, bank accounts, rents, insurance proceeds, contract payments and retirement accounts.

Unemployment Insurance will be entitled to receive up to the amount indicated on the levy notice.

How long will this levy stay in place?

The levy remains in effect until paid in full or released. A levy can be a single action against the debtor, or continuous until the debt is paid in full, or an action based on time limits.

How can you levy a joint account?

If the person with the debt has access to the account, all amounts in the account are generally available for levy.

The debt is based on estimates. I know the actual amount is less. Can anything be done?

If actual reports are filed, adjustments may be made to the estimates ultimately reducing the levy amount. We will make every effort to determine your actual liability and amend the levy if you owe less than the estimates if reports are received within a reasonable time frame.

A tax warrant acts as a lien against real and personal property you own in the county in which it is filed. The warrant is filed with the Clerk of Court and is a public record of the amount you owe. It could affect your ability to obtain credit or sell real estate. There are fees associated with filing a warrant. The cost of filing and satisfying the warrant will be added to the delinquent tax account at the time the warrant is filed. Currently the cost is $10.

The partial release removes our lien only from the specific piece of real estate or personal property that was sold. A partial release may be issued when an asset is sold and it is clear that the proceeds from the sale are insufficient to satisfy prior judgments and our warrant. The Department of Workforce Development, Unemployment Insurance must agree to a partial release of warrant.

Approximately 30 days from receipt of full payment, we will issue a satisfaction and notify the Clerk of Court to record the satisfaction. A copy of the satisfaction is sent to the debtor.

Credit bureaus periodically search public records to look for tax warrants and warrant satisfactions. Occasionally, warrant satisfactions are missed by the credit bureaus.

If your credit bureau report shows an open tax warrant in error, we will send you a copy of the satisfaction. It will be necessary for you to submit your information to the credit bureau and request them to correct their records.

Wisconsin Unemployment Insurance
P.O. Box 8914
Madison, WI 53708-8901

At this time we are unable to provide account information on this website. We are exploring ways to provide this information in a secure and interactive format. To find your current balance due, please contact us at 608 266-9700.

Written inquiries:
Unemployment Insurance
Tax Collections
PO Box 7945
Madison WI 53707-7945

Telephone inquiries:
608/266-9700

Email inquiries
uitaxcoll@dwd.wisconsin.gov

(Please include your name, phone number, and email address in the body of the message.)