QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
General Employer Information
Q. As an employer, what are my responsibilities to the Department?
A. Each calendar quarter, all employers, other than domestic employers, subject to the provisions of the Unemployment Compensation Law are required to file the “Employer’s Quarterly Report” (Form NJ-927) and “Employer Report of Wages Paid” (Form WR-30). Both the forms NJ-927 and WR-30 must be submitted for the quarters ending March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31 of each year. Reports and tax contributions due must be filed by no later than the 30th day of the month immediately following the quarter. The due dates for reports and tax contributions are April 30, July 30, October 30 and January 30. Domestic employers who employ only household workers will file Forms WR-30 and NJ-927H on an annual basis. For details about the “Exceptions, “ please refer to Chapter 1, Section 3 and Section 4.
Q. Who is an employer for purposes of New Jersey unemployment and disability benefits?
A. An employer is an individual, partnership, corporation or other entity for whom an individual performs personal services for remuneration. Please refer to Chapter I, Section 3 for more detailed information.
Q. How do I file the required quarterly reports and make the payments?
A. Each employer is required to file Form NJ-927 and Form WR-30 quarterly. The “Employer’s Quarterly Report” (Form NJ-927) and the “Employer’s Report of Wages Paid” (Form WR-30) must be filed electronically. You may file the forms online here or by Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) technology. More InformationNo employer will receive pre-printed reports. Payments must be made by Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT), credit card or E-check.
Q. I am an experience-rated employer. How much will I pay in UI, WF/SWF contributions?
A. You will pay from 0.6% to 6.4% on the first $30,300 earned by each employee in 2012. For more information, see Chapter 1, Section 5.
Q. What specific information is required from employers on the wage report?
A. For each employee you must report:
(1) The employee’s Social Security number
(2) The employee’s name
(3) The employee’s gross wages paid during the quarter, and
(4) The number of base weeks earned by the employee during the quarter.
Q. What is meant by the term “gross wages” as it applies to the NJ-927 and WR-30?
A. Gross wages means every form of remuneration paid to employees either directly or indirectly, including salaries (sick leave pay, vacation pay, holiday pay, back pay awards), commissions and bonuses and the cash value of all compensation in any medium other than cash as actually paid or otherwise distributed to the employee during the reported quarter. Remuneration also includes payments in kind for personal services such as meals, board and lodging received by a worker from his employing unit in addition to or in lieu of (rather than as a deduction from) money wages.
Q. What is a “base week”?
A. A base week is any calendar week (Sunday through Saturday) in the quarter during which the employee has earned a specific dollar amount or more in remuneration. The base week amount is equal to 20 times the state hourly minimum wage ($145 in 2012).The base week is determined on the basis of earnings, regardless of the actual payment date. Payments made to employees for vacation, sick or other paid leave are to be reported as wages paid during the quarter. Therefore, all base weeks are credited when the leave is actually taken, which may or may not occur within the same quarter as the payment.
Q. How do commissions or bonuses affect the calculation of base weeks?
A. Commissions and/or bonuses are reported as part of wages for the quarter when they are actually paid. These earnings may be used in the “base week” calculations if (1) the payment can be directly attributable to earnings of a specific calendar week, or weeks, and (2) such additional earnings would increase the existing earnings for the calendar week above the minimum amount required for a “base week.”
Q. Do I have to file these reports if I had no employees in a quarter?
A. Yes. If you are subject to the New Jersey Unemployment Compensation Law, you must file both the NJ-927 and WR-30 indicating no wages paid.
Q. How can I amend wage data (WR-30) that was previously submitted incorrectly?
A. To amend wage data (WR-30 report), you must file electronically either online here or by Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP). More Information about SFTP.
You can view instructions for amending the WR-30 report by choosing “Help” at the bottom of each page of the online report.
Amended reports are subject to penalties for non-reporting, late reporting, or incorrect reporting.
