Businesses to see savings from revised 2012 tax rates

September 27, 2012 – S.C. businesses will receive their revised 2012 unemployment insurance tax rates during the next several days, the SC Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW) announced.

Because of $77 million in state general fund appropriations, tax rates were recalculated and will save impacted businesses about 12 percent for the year compared to the original 2012 rates. The state appropriation was designed to help pay back outstanding federal loans and ease businesses’ transition to the new tax rate structure implemented in 2011.

The revised tax rate notices, which are being mailed to affected businesses, will inform employers of the new rate they should use when filing third and fourth quarter reports, due Oct. 31 and Jan. 31, 2013 respectively.

The notices will also list applicable credits businesses will receive for payments made in the first and second quarters, which total more than $32 million.

Federal law requires that any overages paid when tax rates were higher must remain as credits to be applied toward future taxes. Credits require no action on the part of the business, and can be used
against any future unemployment tax liability and do not expire.

The 2013 tax rates are on track to be released in early November.

For updates, visit http://dew.sc.gov/emp‐land.asp or contact [email protected].

DEW last month voluntarily repaid $106.5 million to the federal government for the agency’s unemployment trust fund loan bringing the outstanding balance to approximately $675.7 million. The state is scheduled to repay the entire loan by the end of 2015.