Reporting unemployment for an employee that worked in multiple states
- Knowledge Assistant
How do I split an employee's wages between multiple states for quarterly wage reporting?
How do I run ICESA (unemployment) for a specific period of time?
I have an employee that worked remotely from another state for the Summer. How do I report the right wages to each state for unemployment taxes?
I have an employee that lives in one state, but works in another. Which state do I report unemployment to?
Payroll
State Reporting
Unemployment Reporting
Quarterly Wage Reporting
Instructional
Unemployment wages must be reported to one state per employee to avoid duplicate coverage, or no coverage at all when an employee works for one employer in more than one state.
Generally speaking, you report to the state the employee actually performed the work in.
All states agreed in the early days of the UI program on how to determine which state would cover a multi-state employee and all use a series of tests from the U.S. Department of Labor to determine the correct state to report the wages to.
Example: https://cdle.colorado.gov/wages-in-multiple-states
If you need assistance determining the correct state to report to for a multi-state employee, refer to your state unemployment guidelines. The recommendation is to start with a Google search along the lines of, "(enter your state name) unemployment multi state".
You can also use the Contact list below to reach out for assistance.
Contacts for State Unemployment Insurance Tax Information and Assistance: https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/agencies.asp
Comparison of State Unemployment Insurance Laws (Reference "Localization of Work"): https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/pdf/uilawcompar/2022/complete.pdf
DOL Localization of Work Provisions: https://oui.doleta.gov/dmstree/uipl/uipl2k4/uipl_2004a1.htm