SUTA Tax Rate

We all have to chip in a little to support our social safety nets. You may THINK you’re against “welfare” but chances are you’ve actually received it just in a way that wasn’t actually named “welfare”. That goes for big business as well, they sure like to denounce everything in sight, often the very things they themselves utilize, but alas that’s politics. The SUTA tax rates demand one’s attention. The acronym stands for State Unemployment Tax Authority. It’s a payroll tax that each state has where employers regularly divvy out the funds.

Different states have different SUTA rates so you’ll need to look up the information concerning the state in which you do business. They get reported on businesses’ quarterly tax returns along with FUTA taxes. Part of states having different rates means that it’s actually calculated using different rules. For instance, some states  automatically require a certain rate from new businesses until they “prove” themselves or whatever, and most states have rules concerning the amounts of employee salaries.

It is vitally important to report your SUTA taxes on time and accurately lest you face the fierce penalties of the IRS. Calculating and reporting SUTA taxes back in the day used to be a task of laboring pencils and calculators in a way that brings to mind green visors and pots of coffee. These days however, there are technologies like Quickbooks which allow for a total and comprehensive all-in-one payroll tax calculator.

The laws change, tax rates change, and businesses hire accountants for the very reason that trying to complete all of the chores involved with business by yourself can be distracting and inefficient. Many businesses have made the switch to Quickbooks in recent years because it frees up loads of your time where as before you would be tasked with the labor of calculating these things on paper and keeping up with current laws and rates. Quickbooks eliminates the need for paper and an abundance of research. In addition to those things it will allow you set up direct deposit for your employees.

So just remember that the SUTA tax rate varies state by state and some businesses even pick up and move to find more lenient pastures.