A Newsletter for Michigan Employers                              February 2022

Apportionment Program Lets Employers Spread Out First Quarter Tax Payments

UIA has an apportionment program that allows qualified employers that incur a very large amount of their tax payment during the first quarter of the year to spread their tax payment into four quarterly installments. To take advantage of the apportionment option for the first quarter 2022 tax payment due April 25, you must have:

• 25 or fewer employees by January 12, 2021.
• 50 percent or more of your total previous year’s contributions were payable with your first quarter report.

There are no penalties or interest if you participate in the apportionment program. However, you still are responsible for the taxable wages for the three remaining quarters of the year.  

To take advantage of the apportionment option, make sure that you check the appropriate box when completing your return.

Do Not Ignore Any Delayed Protest Documents That Are Sent by the UIA

UIA has been experiencing a large backlog due to the immense workload created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency is reviewing and processing previously submitted documents. As a result, you may receive a request for information —
such as Remuneration-Earned Income, separation information and/or monetary redeterminations — for claims that may be a year or more old. Please do not disregard these letters. You must respond as required to avoid non-responsive employer status.

1099-G Forms For Employees Now Available Through MiWAM

You may be getting questions from employees who have not received Form 1099-G. UIA received approval from the IRS to delay sending out the forms, which report the amount of benefits received and taxes withheld.  The 1099-Gs now have been uploaded to all MiWAM accounts and will be mailed to claimants by February 28.
We are sorry for the inconvenience. 

The UIA recently identified a problem with the production of 1099-Gs for calendar year 2021.  Implementing the changes necessary to ensure the accuracy of the tax forms will cause a delay in issuing the statements.

Make Sure Information Is Consistent on Your Wage/Tax Forms

UIA must verify reported wages in the first initial Wage/Tax report that liable employers provide on their Form 518, Michigan Business Tax Registration. The payroll date must be consistent with the reported wages of $1,000 (or $20,000 if an agriculture employer) for an account to remain active.

If there is a mismatch for the report, the employer will receive a UIA Form 6442, Action Needed for Employer Status for the following reasons:

• You filed a zero wage/tax report or wages less than the admitted payroll date in the quarter that liability occurred.
• There is no report filed by the employer during the liability quarter.

To correct the liability date, the employer must complete and return Form 6442 within 10 days to stop UIA from changing the account status to non-liable. Non-liable employers will not be able to perform the following tasks.

• File tax reports in MIWAM.
• Add a power of attorney to the account.

Handy Chart to Track Deadlines, Avoid Delinquency

To avoid employers becoming delinquent in filing required Quarterly Wage/Tax reports, the UIA makes every effort to inform employers of their tax obligation. The chart below includes all quarterly report due dates, email reminders, delinquency letters and deadlines for employers to avoid penalty and interest charges before an estimated report is calculated to your account and considered delinquent.

A larger print-ready version of the handy chart shown below is available if you go to Michigan.gov/UIA.

Subscribe to the Michigan Employer Advisor