Each employer is required to submit a Wage Report to the SCDEW four times a year. The quarterly wage report includes the individual employee’s Social Security Number; Last Name, First Name, Middle Initial; Quarterly Gross Wages; and Hours Worked. System will create the Quarterly Wage Summary with the total gross wages paid in the quarter, total taxable wages paid in the quarter, and total excess wages paid in the quarter. The difference between total gross wages and taxable wages is excess wages. Employers are only liable to pay UI taxes on wages paid to an individual employee up to the taxable wage base. Employers do not have to pay UI taxes on excess wages.
What is in the report?
The Wage Report includes the individual employee’s Social Security Number; Last Name, First Name, Middle Initial; Quarterly Gross Wages; and Hours Worked; the number of employees on the payroll on the 12th of each month in the quarter. This information is used by the United States Department of Labor to calculate national employment data. SUITS calculates the contributions due by multiplying the employer’s UI tax rate times the total taxable wages paid in the quarter and includes interest and penalties for past due reports and/or payments.
Who is required to file a report?
All South Carolina employers (contributory and reimbursable*) with UI accounts are required to file quarterly Wage Reports.
The Wage Report must be filed each quarter even if no wages are paid in a quarter, as long as the employer’s UI account remains active.
Agents, also known as third-party administrators (TPA), can file Wage Reports for employers as long as the employer has authorized the agent take on the Wage Report responsibilities during the quarter for which the agent is filing.
When is the report due?
Employers are required to file a Wage Report each quarter. The report is due by the end of the month following the close of the quarter. For example, a first quarter report (for the months of Jan, Feb, and March) is due by the end of April.
Failure to file the quarterly Wage Report on time results in a 10% penalty of UI tax amount with a minimum of $25 and maximum of $1,000. Interest will accrue as of the day after the quarter due date and the penalty is charged after the delinquent report notice due date.
*Contributory employers proactively contribute UI taxes to the UI Fund. Reimbursable employers reimburse the UI Fund for any UI benefits paid out. Only governmental and non-profit employers can be reimbursable employers.
What are the different filing methods?
This document details all of the Wage Report filing methods an employer or agent may do using the Employer and Agent Portals. They are:
•Uploading a file
•Manual data entry
•Copying a previous report’s data
•Filing zero wages
Can an employer amend a report?
An employer can amend a previously filed Wage Report. The effect of amending a report is the payment due for that quarter, and all quarters filed after the amended wage report, must be recalculated. In other words, if an employer files a report for the first and second quarter of 2016, and then goes back and amends the report for the 1st quarter of 2016, the system will recalculate the contributions due, penalties, interest, and /or credit amount for the 1st quarter and the 2nd quarter.