Current through September 9, 2024
(a) For the
purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) "Administrator" means the Labor
Commissioner of the State of Connecticut, whose mailing address is 200 Folly
Brook Boulevard, Wethersfield, Connecticut 06109, or his designated
representative.
(2) "Benefit year"
means the period commencing with the beginning of the week with respect to
which an individual has filed a valid initiating claim and continuing through
the Saturday of the fifty-first week following the week in which it commenced,
provided no benefit year shall end until after the end of the third complete
calendar quarter, plus the remainder of any uncompleted calendar week which
began in such quarter, following the calendar quarter in which it
commenced.
(3) "New claim" means a
valid initiating claim for unemployment compensation filed in accordance with
Section
31-240 of
the General Statutes.
(4) "Time of
filing" means the period of time immediately following receipt of the new claim
during which the new claim is being processed by the Administrator.
(5) "Unemployment compensation" means any
compensation payable under Chapter 567 of the General Statutes, including
amounts payable by the Administrator pursuant to an agreement under any federal
law providing for compensation, assistance or allowances with respect to
unemployment.
(6) "Weekly
unemployment compensation payment" means the amount of unemployment
compensation payable to an individual with respect to a given week of
unemployment.
(b)
Advisement. The Administrator shall advise each individual filing
a new claim for unemployment compensation of the following information at the
time of filing:
(1) Unemployment compensation
is subject to federal, state and local income tax.
(2) Estimated tax payments may be required
based on the annual income and specific circumstances of the individual filing
the new claim.
(3) Information
regarding whether estimated tax payments are required is available through
certain publications of the Department of Revenue Services and the Internal
Revenue Service.
(4) The individual
may elect to have federal income tax deducted and withheld from his weekly
unemployment compensation payment at the amount specified in the federal
Internal Revenue Code.
(5) The
individual may elect to have state income tax deducted and withheld from his
weekly unemployment compensation payment at the rate of three (3)
percent.
(6) Any individual who
elects to have either federal or state income tax withheld from his weekly
unemployment compensation payment pursuant to subdivision (4) or (5) of this
subsection shall have both federal and state income taxes withheld
concurrently.
(7) Once an
individual elects to have state and federal income tax withheld from his weekly
unemployment compensation payment, he may elect to discontinue his withholding
status only one time during the rest of his benefit year.
(c)
Election. An individual
filing a new claim for unemployment compensation may elect to have federal and
state income tax withheld from his weekly unemployment compensation payment.
Such election shall be in writing and signed by the individual.
(d)
Withholding. The
Administrator shall only deduct and withhold federal and state income tax from
a weekly unemployment compensation payment after the Administrator is in
receipt of a written election, as described in subsection (c) of this
section.
(e)
Amount Withheld;
Rounding. The Administrator shall deduct and withhold federal income tax
at the amount specified in the federal Internal Revenue Code, and shall deduct
and withhold state income tax at the rate of three (3) percent. In calculating
the dollar amount of such deduction, the Administrator shall round the amount
deducted to the nearest whole dollar by:
(1)
Dropping amounts under fifty (50) cents to the next lower dollar, and
(2) Increasing amounts from fifty (50) to
ninety-nine (99) cents to the next higher dollar.
(f)
Discontinuance of Withholding
Status. The Administrator shall permit an individual who has previously
elected to have federal and state income tax withheld to discontinue such
withholding one time during the rest of his benefit year. A request to
discontinue withholding shall be in writing and signed by the individual. The
Administrator shall only discontinue withholding after a signed request to
discontinue is received.
(g)
Order of Withholding.Amounts shall be deducted and withheld from
an individual's weekly unemployment compensation payment in the following
order:
(1) Deductions and withholding to
offset unemployment compensation overpayments pursuant to Section
31-273
of the General Statutes;
(2)
Deductions for any child support obligations being withheld pursuant to Section
31-227(h)
of the General Statutes;
(3) Any other amounts required to be deducted
and withheld under Chapter 567 of the General Statutes;
(4) Amounts deducted and withheld for federal
income tax pursuant to this section;
(5) Amounts deducted and withheld for state
income tax pursuant to this section.
(h)
Limitation. Where
withholding pursuant to subdivisions (1), (2) and (3) of subsection (g) of this
section results in an amount which is less than the amount of federal and state
tax to be withheld pursuant to subsection (e) of this section, such income tax
deduction and withholding shall be limited to the extent funds are
available.
