NJ, New Jersey Unemployment Tax Rate for 2011, 2012

Unemployment Insurance is a federal-state program financed through federal and state employer payroll taxes. The New Jersey unemployment tax rate has increased from 1.7825% to 2.6825% for new employers.

If an employer pays wages to an employee totaling $1,500, or more, in any quarter in a calendar year, the employer must pay both state and federal unemployment taxes. The employer must have at least one employee during any day of a week during 20 weeks in a calendar year. It doesn’t matter if the weeks were consecutive or not.

Federal Laws State laws

Some state laws are different than the federal laws and employers need to contact their state workforce agency to learn about the exact requirements of their individual state. The money paid to state workforce agencies is used to pay to benefits of the unemployed worker.

Domestic and Agricultural Employees

Employers must pay state and federal unemployment taxes if they pay cash wages to household employees. If the workers made more than $1,000 in any calendar quarter in the current year or the year before, the employer must pay the unemployment tax due.

If an employer pays cash wages to an agricultural employee of $20,000 or more, in any calendar quarter; or, in each of 20 different calendar weeks in the current year or year before, and there was at least 1 day in which they had 10 or more employees providing service in agricultural labor then, the employer must pay unemployment taxes. The 20 weeks do not have to be consecutive. The employees do not have to be the same employees and they do not have to work the same time of day.

New Jersey Unemployment Rates

Now concerning New Jersey in particular, the rates have changed. Remember the rates for a new employer are different than the rates for an established employer. The new employer rate has increased from 1.7825% to 2.6825%. The established employer rate has increased to off-set the decrease of the health care subsidy which was decreased to 0.0000%.

Calculating Tax Rates

If you own a business and want to calculate your employees tax rates, I suggest you try the payroll tax calculator by Intuit. They offer a lot of guarantees and safeguards for your peace of mind.

Reporting and depositing payroll taxes to the appropriate agency in an accurate and timely manner is vital to your business. Late or inaccurate deposits may result in penalties and interest charges.

If you need to file a tax return or use a tax calculator, let the tax experts give you a helping hand. Nobody wants to miss a deduction and pay more than they have to. Visit TurboTax today!