- Internet Reporting
- Magnetic Media Reporting
- Paper Reporting
- Interest
- Assessments
- Garnishments
- Penalties
Methods to Report Wages and Pay Tax
*** It is required that all employers with 50 or more employees to file electronically. Filing the report by magnetic media or using UInteract will meet this requirement.***
1. Internet Reporting
Quarterly contribution and wage reports may be filed online using UInteract. After the employer enters or uploads wage data, UInteract will automatically calculate the total, excess, and taxable wages, as well as the contributions due. UInteract stores employee information from the previous quarter, so you will not have to enter it again. The employer also has the option to pay contributions due online by ACH debit or ACH credit from a checking or savings account.
Employers may start filing reports online as soon as the 15th of the last month of the quarter (March, June, September, and December.) The ACH debit or credit payment may be postdated. To use the system, the employer must have an established account with the DES.
2. Magnetic Media Reporting
By using the ICESA (Interstate Conference of Employment Security Agencies) format, users who have been approved for bulk filing can report not only the wage data magnetically, but the summary total information as well. Users who are not approved for bulk filing may also use this format, however this method will only submit the wage data, not the summary total information. The ICESA organization is now known as NASWA, National Association of State Workforce Agencies. The Missouri, Excel spreadsheet, and Social Security (MMREF) formats are also accepted. The DES will accept a CD if it meets the specifications established by the DES, found here on MODES-INF-368. Employers submitting their data on magnetic media must also submit form MODES-4260 with their CD to insure proper processing. Mail both to: Missouri Division of Employment Security, ATTN: Employer Accounts/Magnetic Media, 421 E Dunklin St., P.O. Box 59, Jefferson City, MO 65104-0059
For information about magnetic reporting, please call 573-751-2271 or 573-751-3422.
3. Paper Reporting
The Quarterly Contribution and Wage Report and instructions are available at labor.mo.gov. Fill out and mail to: Missouri Division of Employment Security, P.O. Box 888, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0888
The report is used to summarize total and taxable wages paid during the calendar quarter and to compute the amount of contributions due on the taxable wages. The beginning and ending dates of probationary employment should be included in the wage detail.
Due Dates
The report should be filed and contributions paid by the last day of the month following the end of each calendar quarter to be considered timely.
The following chart shows the due dates for all 4 quarters.
1st Quarter
(Jan, Feb, Mar)
*When the date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, the first working date following is considered timely.
- No part of the contributions due can be deducted from a worker’s pay.
- Interest is charged on delinquent contributions.
- A late filing penalty is established if the report is not filed by the last day of the month following the date the report became delinquent.
- Postmark dates are used to determine the paid and submitted dates for all correspondences received via snail mail at DES.
- Faxes are stamped automatically with a received date and time and are given that date as the submitted date.
- Reports and payment submitted online receive the date it was submitted online.
- Personally delivered or express mail delivered will be dated the day it is received in the DES office.
- The DES grants newly subject employers a 30-day extension from the date of liability notice to file reports and pay taxes.
- Any employer, for good cause, may be granted an extension of time not to exceed three months for filing a quarterly contribution and wage report or paying contributions, provided the request for an extension is made on or before the due date for filing such quarterly report.
Delinquency
An employer is delinquent when all required contribution and wage reports are not filed and/or payments are not submitted by the due date(s). Employers are notified on a monthly basis of any delinquency.
Interest
Interest accrues at a variable rate, as established by the Internal Revenue Service, on contributions that are due and unpaid after each quarterly due date.
Assessments
Failure to file contribution and wage reports or pay tax when due will result in an assessment against the employer. A certificate of assessment may be filed in the circuit court where the employer resides or has assets. Once filed, it has the effect of a judgment upon any real or personal property of the employer.
Garnishments
By law, the DES may garnish an employer's assets to satisfy a judgment, including 100% of wages or bank account balance.
Penalties
Late Report: Because it is very important for an employer to file all contribution and wage reports timely, a penalty is imposed if an employer fails to file any required report by the last day of the month following the date the report became delinquent. The penalty is 10 percent of the contributions due or $100.00, whichever is greater, for each quarterly contribution and wage report not filed timely. This penalty will continue to be imposed each month or fraction of a month the report is not filed. The maximum penalty per quarter is 20 percent of the contributions due or $200.00, whichever is greater. This penalty is applied to all delinquent reports even when the employer has no payroll to report, or no tax or interest is due, such as those for reimbursing employers and those for employers with a tax rate of zero percent.
An employer who cannot pay all the contributions due at the end of the quarter should file the report and make arrangements for payment with the DES central office collections unit or local unemployment insurance auditor.
An employer who has an appeal pending should continue to file reports to include all wages, even those wages in dispute, to avoid penalties.
Fraud or Evasion: If fraud or evasion on the part of an employer is discovered, Section 288.160 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri provides for an additional 25 percent penalty of the amount by which the state has been defrauded.
288.380 of the law states any employer who intentionally misrepresents, misstates, or fails to disclose any material fact in order to deny unemployment benefits to a worker has committed fraud. It further provides that the DES shall assess a penalty equal to 25 percent or 100 percent of the amount fraudulently denied, depending on prior offenses.
SUTA Dumping: State Unemployment Tax Act (SUTA) dumping refers to attempts by employers to pay lower state unemployment taxes than their experience rate allows. The Missouri Employment Security Law bans these practices and requires the DES to impose substantial penalties on those who knowingly engage in SUTA dumping activities.
If an individual, organization or employing unit knowingly violates or attempts to violate the Employment Security Law related to determining the assignment of a contribution rate, or knowingly advises another in a manner that results in a violation of such provision, the individual, organization, or employing unit shall be subject to the following penalties:
- If an employer, for the current year and the three rate years immediately following the current rate year, such employer’s base rate shall be the maximum base rate applicable to such type of employer, or the employer’s current base rate plus two percent, whichever is greater;
- If not an employer, such individual, organization, or employing unit shall be subject to a civil monetary penalty of not more than $5,000.
Adjustments to Previously Filed Reports
To adjust previously reported amounts or data for individual workers and the overall quarterly totals (total wages, excess wages, taxable wages, tax), an employer may file an adjustment request online or by paper.
- Online: File an adjustment request through the Division’s Internet reporting system, UInteract.
- Paper: Download and complete the Contribution and Wage Adjustment Report (MODES-4A). Mail the completed form to: Division of Employment Security, Attn: Employer Accounts Unit, P.O. Box 59, Jefferson City, MO 65104, or fax to 573-751-0861.
- Call: 573-751-1995, opt. 2.
A request for an adjustment must be post marked or faxed within three years of the due date of the quarter being adjusted.
Audit Program
The DES is a federally funded government agency. The federal government requires the DES to conduct a specific number of audits each year, and requires the DES to meet certain auditing standards and procedures.
Employing units in Missouri are subject to having their records examined by an authorized representative of the DES. Audits of employers' records are conducted periodically to verify proper reporting of workers and wages. Employing units are selected using a computer program for unemployment insurance tax audits.
