FAQ
- Q. I am opening a new business. Must I register with your department?
A. Only companies or individuals who have hired someone as an employee must register with this department.
- Q. I am a sole proprietor, and my wife works for me. Do I pay taxes on her earnings?
A. No. Wives working for their husbands or husbands working for their wives are exempt under the law. Likewise minor children (under the age of 18) working for a parent are also exempt, as are parents for their child.
- Q. I hire only independent contractors for my business. How do I know this is correct?
A. To be an independent contractor the person must be free from your direction and control, the service performed by the person is not in the usual course of your business, and the individual is customarily engaged in their own business. If the person does not meet all three of the above, they are employees.
- Q. I received a penalty for filing my tax return late. Can I have the penalty waived?
A. The law does not grant the department discretionary power to waive penalties, so the penalty must stand.
- Q. Your department administers Four taxes--unemployment, temporary disability, reemployment fund and job development. Do I pay all four taxes or is there a contribution made by the employee?
A. The employer is responsible for paying the employment security, reemployment fund and job development taxes. Temporary disability is withheld from the employee's gross earnings.
- Q. My company has both a 401K and 125 program which for federal purposes reduce the amount of taxes withheld from the employees earnings. Does the Employment Tax Section treat these programs the same as the federal tax program?
A. Yes, Under the law for the four taxes we administer, there are specific exemptions for those programs, so consequently the employee's net earnings are taxable.
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