Determinations are issued if the contribution report was received without full payment.

In cases where the employer fails to file a contribution report your amount due is estimated. You must complete a contribution and wage report and submit it with your payment either on-line (File Tax and Wage Reports) or 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 internet or by mail. If a report is not filed we may estimate your payroll.

When a payment is delinquent, interest accrues on the unpaid tax at a rate of 0.75% per month starting on 08/01/2012. If the amount due is for a period prior to 07/31/2012, interest is assessed at 1% per month from the due date of the bill through July 2012 and then at 0.75% per month from August 2012 through the current date. The interest rate can change annually. Please refer to the Interest Assessment guide at http://dwd.wisconsin.gov/uitax/interestrate for additional information regarding interest rates and calculations.

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.

A late wage report penalty is assessed when the detailed wage report is received after the quarterly due date. The penalty is $50. All reports and payments must be received 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 $50. 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 $20 per employee reported. To prevent this penalty, employers with 25 or more employees in a quarter must file using an electronic medium and format approved by the Deparment (dwd.wisconsin.gov/uitax). See Frequently Asked Questions about Wage Reporting.

Employer Agents who file contribution reports for employers must file the contribution reports using an electronic medium approved by the Department. The penalty is $25 per contribution report filed on paper. In addition they must file all client wage reports electronically. The penalty is $20 per employee filed on paper.

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 reporting or who have reported 25 or more employees. To prevent this penalty, an individual employer reporting or who has reported 25 or more employees must file the contribution report using an electronic medium and format approved by the Department (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 $20 per employee reported. To prevent this penalty, employers reporting or who have reported 25 or more employees in a quarter must file using an electronic medium and format approved by the Department. (File Tax and Wage Reports). See Frequently Asked Questions about Wage Reporting.

The law also 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, a $20 penalty per employee may be charged to either the employer or the agent that prepared the report.

Requirements for Employers Preparing and Filing Their Own Reports

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

The late wage report and the non-filing wage report penalties are $50.

Employers with annual taxes due of $10,000 or more are required to pay electronically. All employer agents filing and paying on behalf of their clients are required to pay electronically (dwd.wisconsin.gov/uitax/eft/) Failure to do so will result in a penalty of $50 or 1/2 of 1% of the total taxes due, whichever is greater.

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

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.

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.

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.

Telephone inquiries:
608/266-9700

UI Tax Collections Email Inquiries

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