Current through August 30, 2024
(a) Contributions
by employers and employees become due as a tax liability is accrued. A tax
liability begins accruing on the day the employer pays wages as defined in
AS
23.20.530. Contributions shall be paid to the
department for each calendar quarter on or before the last day of that month
which follows the calendar quarter for which contributions have accrued. Each
quarterly payment shall include employer and employee contributions with
respect to wages paid during the calendar quarter.
(b) Reporting of remuneration in excess of
the tax base is required as follows:
(1) all
covered wages paid by an employer to an employee during a calendar year must be
reported to the division on the quarterly contribution report and wage
schedule, and any covered wages paid in excess of the tax base during one
calendar year must be segregated from the total wages reported for contribution
payment purposes each quarter;
(2)
if an employer pays wages to an employee for service performed in another state
and the wages were subject to tax under that state's unemployment compensation
law, and later the employee is transferred to Alaska and continues his
employment with the employer in Alaska, the taxable wages paid in the other
state must be credited to the employer and combined with the wages paid in
Alaska during the same calendar year in arriving at the tax base
limitation;
(3) if an entire
organization, trade, or business of an employer, or a distinct portion of it is
acquired, the remuneration paid to an employee by the predecessor in the
calendar year in which acquisition occurs will be combined with remuneration
paid to the employee by the successor in the same calendar year to determine
the tax base limitation.
(c) The first contribution payment shall be
paid on or before the last day of the month following the calendar quarter in
which an employing unit becomes an employer.
(d) An employer subject to AS 23.20 shall
(1) file the regular quarterly contribution
report with the division even if contributions have not accrued with respect to
a particular quarter; and
(2) for
that quarter, indicate on the report that wages were not paid during the
quarter.
(e) Upon
written application filed by an employer by the date on which a contribution
report and wage schedule or a contribution payment is due, the director may,
for good cause, extend the time for filing the report or paying the
contributions. If an extension for paying contributions or submitting a wage
schedule is granted by the director, a penalty will not be assessed against the
employer during the period of extension. However, interest will accrue on the
unpaid contributions at the rate prescribed in
AS
23.20.185.
(g) An employer shall file a contribution
report and wage schedule required under
AS
23.20.190 on or before the same date on which
a contribution is due under
AS
23.20.165 and (a) of this section. The
department will assess a penalty in accordance with
AS
23.20.190 for failure to file the report on
the date it is due, unless the employer establishes a reasonable cause for the
failure. Reasonable cause may include one or more of the following:
(1) the report was mailed to the department
in sufficient time to reach the department on or before the date the report was
due, but
(A) was addressed or delivered to the
wrong state or federal agency; or
(B) through no fault of the employer, the
department did not receive the report on or before the due date;
(2) the due date falls on a
Saturday, Sunday, or state holiday, and the department receives the report on
the next state working day;
(3) the
failure to file the report on or before the due date is directly attributable
to the erroneous information that the department gave the employer;
(4) the failure to file the report on or
before the due date was caused by the death or serious illness of the employer
or a member of the employer's immediate family, or by the death or serious
illness of the individual in the employer's business responsible for the
preparation and filing of the report; if the employer is a corporation, or if a
fiduciary files the report, the death or serious illness must be of the
individual having sole authority to execute or sign the report, or of a member
of that individual's immediate family; the employer shall furnish proof of the
death or serious illness upon request by the director;
(5) the failure to file the report on or
before the due date was caused by the unexpected and unavoidable absence of the
employer from the place of business during the time in which the report is
routinely prepared and filed; if the employer is a corporation, or if a
fiduciary files the report, the absence must be of the individual having sole
authority to execute or sign the report; the employer shall furnish proof of
the reason for the unexpected or unavoidable absence upon request by the
director;
(6) the failure to file
the report on or before the due date was due to the destruction of the
employer's place of business or business records by fire or other natural
disaster;
(7) the failure to file
the report on or before the due date was caused by failure of the department to
furnish the employer with a means of filing a timely application;
(8) the employ is liable under AS 23.20 for
the first time, the failure to file the report on or before the due date was
due to the employer's lack of knowledge of the reporting requirements under AS
23.20 and this chapter, and the department does not find evidence that the
employer's failure was due to a willful intent to violate AS 23.20 or this
chapter.
(h) An employer
shall furnish a statement to each employee showing deductions made from the
employee's wages for employee contributions. The employer shall give the
employee the statement within 30 days after the end of the calendar year for
which the deductions were made, or within 30 days after the termination of the
employee's service, whichever is earlier. The statement must contain the
(1) employer's name, address, and
identification number, exactly as they appear on the employer's contribution
report;
(2) employee's name and
social security number;
(3) gross
wages paid to the employee during the year; and
(4) amount of employee contributions
deducted.
Authority:AS
23.20.045
AS 23.20.165
AS
23.20.190
