Maryland Unemployment Insurance Announces New Procedures for Employer Contribution Reports

BALTIMORE, MD (August 27, 2012) – The Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (DLLR) Division of Unemployment Insurance (UI) recently announced new procedures for employer contribution reports. Employers in Maryland are required to report their payroll and pay unemployment insurance taxes on their Quarterly Contribution Report. As a cost-saving and environmentally friendly initiative, UI no longer mails paper Quarterly Contribution Reports to employers who file their report electronically or use a payroll service. The new procedure is now in effect commencing with the 2012 third quarter reports. DLLR mailed a postcard to all employers in late August notifying them of the new procedures. The Division of Unemployment Insurance will continue to mail a hard copy Quarterly Contribution Report to employers who file the report by paper.

“Our goal is to eliminate paper filing of the quarterly UI tax return altogether,” said Julie Ellen Squire, Assistant Secretary for the Division of Unemployment Insurance. “We’re streamlining the unemployment insurance reporting process forMarylandbusinesses, while we’re doing our part to be as green as possible.”

The UI Contributions Division estimates that 35 percent of employers file the report by paper and 65 percent of employers use a payroll service or file electronically. By mailing the Contribution Report to only the employers who file the report by paper, DLLR can reduce the number of paper mailings to about 50,000 employers each quarter. This will be a considerable cost saving initiative.

Employers who file the report by paper are encouraged to use the Web Tax Application via the Internet. The electronic filing method is an easier and safer way to submit the report. The electronic submission of this form will eventually be mandatory for all employers.

In the future, DLLR anticipates that other contribution forms like the Benefit Charge Statement and the Tax Rate Notice will follow a similar process. An e-mail alert or another notification method will be developed before the elimination of the mailing of these paper reports.