Title 8 . Labor and Workforce Development

Chapter 85 . State Employment Training Program

Section 30. Contributions and payment

8 AAC 85.030. Contributions and payment

(a) Contributions by employers and employees become due as a tax liability is accrued. A tax liability begins accruing on the day the employer pays wages as defined in AS 23.20.530 . Contributions shall be paid to the department for each calendar quarter on or before the last day of that month which follows the calendar quarter for which contributions have accrued. Each quarterly payment shall include employer and employee contributions with respect to wages paid during the calendar quarter.

(b) Reporting of remuneration in excess of the tax base is required, subject to the following conditions:

(1) after wages up to and including the tax base have been paid in any calendar year by an employer to an employee and have been reported to the division, any additional wages paid by the employer to his employee in the calendar year must be reported on the quarterly contribution report and wage schedule; however, the amount of any wages exceeding the tax base during one calendar year must be segregated from the total wages paid for contribution payment purposes;

(2) if an employer pays wages to an employee for service performed in another state and the wages were subject to tax under that state's unemployment compensation law, and later the employee is transferred to Alaska and continues his employment with the employer in Alaska, the taxable wages paid in the other state must be credited to the employer and combined with the wages paid in Alaska during the same calendar year in arriving at the tax base limitation;

(3) if an entire organization, trade, or business of an employer, or a distinct portion of it is acquired, the remuneration paid to an employee by the predecessor in the calendar year in which acquisition occurs will be combined with remuneration paid to the employee by the successor in the same calendar year to determine the tax base limitation.

(c) The first contribution payment shall be paid on or before the last day of the month following the calendar quarter in which an employing unit becomes an employer.

(d) An employer subject to AS 23.20 shall file the regular quarterly contribution report and wage schedule with the division even if contributions have not accrued with respect to a particular quarter. For that quarter, an employer must file a report indicating that wages were not paid during the quarter in employment (as defined in AS 23.20.525 ).

(e) Upon written application filed by an employer by the date on which a contribution report and wage schedule or a contribution payment is due, the director may, for good cause, extend the time for filing the report or paying the contributions. If an extension for paying contributions or submitting a wage schedule is granted by the director, a penalty will not be assessed against the employer during the period of extension. However, interest will accrue on the unpaid contributions at the rate prescribed in AS 23.20.185 .

(f) Repealed 3/4/2006.

(g) An employer shall file a contribution report and wage schedule required under AS 23.20.190 on or before the same date on which a contribution is due under AS 23.20.165 and (a) of this section. The department will assess a penalty in accordance with AS 23.20.190 for failure to file the report on the date it is due, unless the employer establishes a reasonable cause for the failure. Reasonable cause may include one or more of the following:

(1) the report was mailed to the department in sufficient time to reach the department on or before the date the report was due, but

(A) was addressed or delivered to the wrong state or federal agency; or

(B) through no fault of the employer, the department did not receive the report on or before the due date;

(2) the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or state holiday, and the department receives the report on the next state working day;

(3) the failure to file the report on or before the due date is directly attributable to the erroneous information that the department gave the employer;

(4) the failure to file the report on or before the due date was caused by the death or serious illness of the employer or a member of the employer's immediate family, or by the death or serious illness of the individual in the employer's business responsible for the preparation and filing of the report; if the employer is a corporation, or if a fiduciary files the report, the death or serious illness must be of the individual having sole authority to execute or sign the report, or of a member of that individual's immediate family; the employer shall furnish proof of the death or serious illness upon request by the director;

(5) the failure to file the report on or before the due date was caused by the unexpected and unavoidable absence of the employer from the place of business during the time in which the report is routinely prepared and filed; if the employer is a corporation, or if a fiduciary files the report, the absence must be of the individual having sole authority to execute or sign the report; the employer shall furnish proof of the reason for the unexpected or unavoidable absence upon request by the director;

(6) the failure to file the report on or before the due date was due to the destruction of the employer's place of business or business records by fire or other natural disaster;

(7) the failure to file the report on or before the due date was caused by failure of the department to furnish the employer with a means of filing a timely application;

(8) the employ is liable under AS 23.20 for the first time, the failure to file the report on or before the due date was due to the employer's lack of knowledge of the reporting requirements under AS 23.20 and this chapter, and the department does not find evidence that the employer's failure was due to a willful intent to violate AS 23.20 or this chapter.

(h) An employer shall furnish a statement to each employee showing deductions made from the employee's wages for employee contributions. The employer shall give the employee the statement within 30 days after the end of the calendar year for which the deductions were made, or within 30 days after the termination of the employee's service, whichever is earlier. The statement must contain the

(1) employer's name, address, and identification number, exactly as they appear on the employer's contribution report;

(2) employee's name and social security number;

(3) gross wages paid to the employee during the year; and

(4) amount of employee contributions deducted.

History: Eff. 10/25/68, Register 27; am 8/20/70, Register 35; am 11/5/74, Register 52; am 11/7/80, Register 76; am 4/28/95, Register 134; am 5/23/2003, Register 166; am 3/4/2006, Register 177

Authority: AS 23.20.045

AS 23.20.165

AS 23.20.190