Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 300-2-2-.02 - Employer Tax and Wage Reports

(1) All liable employers are required to file tax and wage reports pursuant to these rules. Such reports shall be completed in accordance with the instructions on the forms or as prescribed for the report method or format used, listing the full first and last name, valid social security number, and amount of quarterly wages paid to each individual employee. An employer shall not report any other government issued identification number, temporary or permanent, on a tax and wage report in lieu of a valid social security number. Reporting of any government issued identification number other than a valid social security number may result in the department considering such report as not filed for purposes of the late filing penalty provided in O.C.G.A. Section 34-8-165(b).

(2) An employer who authorizes a third-party agent to handle on its behalf any aspect of compliance with the reporting and tax requirements of the law and these rules, shall be held fully responsible for any failure of the third-party agent to comply with such requirements. In addition to any penalties and fees provided by the Employment Security Law and these rules:

(a) A third-party agent who, in the discretion of the department, establishes a pattern of non-compliance with the reporting and tax requirements of the law and these rules may, after notice to the affected employer(s), have access to tax and reporting systems revoked and/or any non-compliant filings rejected in their entirety; and

(b) An employer or any third-party agent or officer of an employer who submits a fraudulent tax and wage report to the department, including knowing or intentional errors or omissions, may be subject to the criminal provisions provided in O.C.G.A. Section 34-8-256(b) and (e).

(3) Employers with domestic employment only shall file tax and wage reports with the department annually on or before January 31^st of each year for the prior calendar year. All other employers shall file reports with the department quarterly on or before the last day of the month following the end of each calendar quarter. Except for the annual reporting of wages and taxes, requirements for reporting wages by employers of domestic employment shall be the same as for all other employers.

(4) An employer receiving Form DOL-10, "Notice of Status Determination", or other physical or electronic forms that may hereafter be adopted for notice to employer of liability for taxes, shall immediately complete and file such reports, no more than ten (10) days after receipt by the employer, for all completed calendar quarters from the effective date of liability.

(5) A tax and wage report is filed on the date received by the department or, if an electronic report is not required, when placed in the mail service. When placed in the mail service, the postmark cancellation date shall control over any prior postage meter date shown on the envelope or package.

(a) A delinquent tax and wage report may result in an employer becoming ineligible for an experience-rated tax rate. Such an employer's tax rate shall be calculated in accordance with O.C.G.A. Section 34-8-155(b).

(b) As provided in Rule 300-2-3-.02, an incomplete, inaccurate, or improperly submitted tax and wage report may be considered as not filed by the department for the purposes of calculating the monetary late filing penalty provided in O.C.G.A. Section 34-8-165(b).

(6) Mandatory electronic reporting.

(a) Employers with more than twenty-five (25) employees shall submit tax and wage reports electronically in a format approved by the Commissioner.

(b) Effective January 1, 2025, employers with twenty-five (25) or fewer employees shall submit tax and wage reports electronically in a format approved by the Commissioner.

(c) If an employer or an employer's agent fails to file a report electronically when required by this rule, in the discretion of the Commissioner, either:

1. The report shall be considered as not filed for purposes of the late filing penalty provided in O.C.G.A. Section 34-8-165(3)(b) and Rule 300-2-3-.02; or

2. The department shall convert the report to the required electronic format and charge a service fee to the employer's account at a rate established by the Commissioner. The department shall notify an employer in writing of the amount of any such fee and the date payment is due. Any delinquent fee or other cost of assessment or collection may be included in tax executions along with any other payments due, or may be collected by separate tax executions. In the discretion of the Commissioner, the service fee may be waived.

(7) Correction, addition, and adjustment to reports.

(a) Any corrections, additions, or adjustments to the regular report filed for any quarter should be reported on Form DOL-3C "Add New Wages and/or Correct Reported Wages", including the reason for the adjustment to the original report, or electronically as directed by the department. Taxes on any additional wages shall be calculated at the tax rate in effect during the quarter in which the wages were paid.

(b) Penalties may be assessed to an employer for submission of an inaccurate or incomplete report, as provided in Rule 300-2-3-.02, regardless of whether the report was submitted directly by the employer or by an agent of the employer.

(c) The service fee to convert a report to electronic format provided in subparagraph (4)(c) of this rule may be assessed for each employee whose information is added, adjusted, or corrected by a supplemental or corrected report.

(8) All wages paid an employee in insured employment shall be reported for the quarter in which payment was actually made to the employee. When payment has been made by check, the remuneration shall be reported for the quarter in which the employee's paycheck is dated. In the event the remuneration is paid in cash, or any medium other than cash or check, the remuneration shall be reported for the quarter in which the cash or benefit was received by the employee.

(9) An employer that has no employment in a calendar quarter, shall, within the prescribed time, either electronically file a report showing no wages, as directed by the department, or shall write across the face of the report "No Employment" and shall date, sign, and mail the report to the department.

(10) Required reporting of additional wage data.

(a) Whenever additional wage information is needed by the department to determine regular or alternative base period wages, each employer shall report such additional wage information as may be requested by the department. Employers shall report the additional wage information by the date designated by the department in its request.

(b) A report of additional wage data made in response to a department request under subparagraph (a) is not a substitute for quarterly tax and wage reports required under paragraph (1) above or for annual reports required of employers with domestic employment only. A report of additional wage data made in response to a department request under subparagraph (a) shall not relieve the employer from properly reporting all wage information with the appropriate quarterly or annual report, when such report is due.

(c) Whenever additional wage information requested by the department under subparagraph (a) of this paragraph is not received by the department within the time required, the department may use documentary information supplied by the benefit claimant (cash receipts, wage check stubs, and Internal Revenue Service tax forms 1099 or W-2) to determine base period wages.

(11) Reporting for administrative assessment.

(a) All provisions of these regulations with respect to taxes, contributions, penalty, interest and costs shall apply with equal force and effect to the administrative assessment specified in O.C.G.A. Section 34-8-180, et seq. Tax and wage reports shall include all information with respect to administrative assessments. This information shall be reported on the same form, by the same method, or in the same format, and shall be submitted at the same time, as all other information in an employer's tax and wage report.

(b) All wages as described above in these rules shall be applied against the employer's rate of contribution as well as the administrative assessment.

(c) Administrative assessments which are not paid when due shall be collected in the same manner as that provided in the Employment Security Law for the collection of contributions, taxes, penalties, interest, costs and reimbursements in lieu of contributions. Any amount due as an assessment may be included in tax executions along with other such payments due, or may be collected by separate tax executions.

(d) Any assessment which becomes delinquent, regardless of whether other funds are due from the respective employer, shall bear interest at the rate provided for delinquent contributions in O.C.G.A. Section 34-8-166.

(e) Any delinquent assessment shall become the personal debt of the person required under the provisions of O.C.G.A. Section 34-8-167 to file returns or to pay assessments provided under O.C.G.A. Section 34-8-180, et seq.

Notes

Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 300-2-2-.02

O.C.G.A. §§ 34-2-6(a)(4), 34-8-70(b), 34-8-150(a), 34-8-165(a), 34-8-180(b), 34-8-183.

Original Rule entitled "Hazardous Materials Overhead" adopted. F. and eff. May 18, 1965. Amended: Rule renumbered as 300-3-2-.02 and Rule 300-1-2-.02, entitled "Reports," renumbered as 300-2-2-.02. F. May 20, 1966; eff. June 8, 1966. Repealed: New Rule entitled "Employer Tax and Wage Reports" adopted. F. Oct. 16, 1974; eff. Nov. 5, 1974. Amended: F. Nov. 4, 1976; eff. Nov. 24, 1976. Repealed: New Rule of same title adopted. F. June 29, 1979; eff. July 19, 1979. Repealed: New Rule of same title adopted. F. Oct. 24, 1983; eff. Nov. 13, 1983. Amended: F. Jan. 9, 1989; eff. Jan. 29, 1989. Repealed: New Rule of same title adopted. F. Aug. 28, 1992; eff. Sept. 17, 1992. Amended: F. June 25, 1998; eff. July 15, 1998. Amended: F. Dec. 10, 2002; eff. Jan. 1, 2003, as specified by the Agency. Amended: F. Jan. 24, 2020; eff. Feb. 13, 2020. Amended: F. Oct. 29, 2024; eff. Nov. 18, 2024.