FLORIDA REEMPLOYMENT TAX RATES FOR 2022 NOW AVAILABLE

Most Florida employers are required to pay Florida reemployment tax (which is the same as unemployment tax) to the State of Florida. This tax is collected on your employees’ wages and is paid quarterly to the Florida Department of Revenue using the form RT-6 (the Employers Quarterly Report).

The minimum and maximum reemployment taxes for 2022 are:

  • Minimum rate:  .1% or $7.00 per employee
  • Maximum rate:  5.4% or $378 per employee

Your company’s tax rate may be somewhere between the minimum and maximum rate, depending on how many of your former employees received reemployment benefits during the last 3 years.

Reemployment taxes are collected on just the first $7,000 of wages paid to each employee. Once you have paid taxes on the first $7,000 of an employee’s wages for that year, no additional reemployment tax will be due on that employee’s wages for the rest of the year.

Your business should have already received a notice from the Florida Department of Revenue with your 2022 reemployment tax rate. Apply this rate to the wages paid to your employees in 2022 to determine how much reemployment tax you owe each quarter. If your business did not receive a notice from the Department of Revenue, you can look up your tax rate using the following steps:

  • Go to the Department of Revenue’s Reemployment Tax Page.
  • Log in using your user ID and password. If you do not have a user ID, you can use your company’s FEIN and Reemployment Tax Account Number.
  • Click Next to continue then scroll down to view the Other Options list. Select View Tax Rates.
  • Your company’s tax rates will be displayed. Use the Save as PDF button to save a copy of the page for your records.

Employers must file a reemployment tax return (RT-6) every quarter. Returns are due by the end of the month following each calendar quarter – April 30th, July 31st, October 31st, and January 31st. The first RT-6 for 2022 is due April 30th and will be for wages paid to employees in January, February, and March 2022.

Because Florida reemployment tax is charged only on the first $7,000 of each employee’s wages, you will probably pay most of your tax due for the year in the first quarter and have very little or no tax due in the later quarters of the year. But you must file an RT-6 every quarter, even if you do not owe any tax for that quarter.

If your business has 10 or more employees, you must file these reports and pay your taxes online with the Florida Department of Revenue here.

FUBA members who have questions about their company’s reemployment taxes can call the FUBA offices at 800-262-4483 and ask for Karen or Mallory.

FREE WORKERS’ COMP WEBINARS

The State of Florida offers free webinars for employers on workers’ compensation requirements. Licensed contractors and electrical contractors can receive one hour of continuing education credit for taking the online seminar. The webinars cover: 

  • Who is required to carry workers’ comp insurance­ in Florida
  • How business owners can exempt out of workers’ comp­ in Florida
  • Contractor responsibilities for their uninsured subcontractors

Upcoming webinar dates are April 14th, May 12th, and June 9th.

All webinars are from 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm eastern time. Advanced registration is required and you can download the registration form here. To view the flyer for the webinars, click here.

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR BUSINESS RECEIVES A COMPLAINT LETTER FROM OSHA

If your business receives a complaint letter from OSHA, it means that someone (either an employee or someone from the public) has contacted OSHA about a hazard in your workplace. OSHA is required to respond to all complaints and will evaluate the complaint to determine if an on-site inspection is needed.

You may receive a letter from OSHA explaining the hazard that was reported and ask you for information. You must respond in writing within five days addressing the hazards identified in OHSA’s letter and explaining any corrective actions you have already taken or plan to take.

Your response to OSHA should:

  • Provide as much information as you can about the conditions outlined in the letter.
  • Explain what you have done or will do to address the issue.
  • Provide proof of any written company policies addressing the issue.

Avoid saying that the hazard in the complaint is prevalent in your industry because “everybody does it this way.” Even if this is true, it has no bearing on the conditions in your specific workplace.

If the hazard identified in the complaint does not actually exist at your workplace, you can dispute the complaint by providing pictures of the work area, documentation of engineering controls, or proof that you provided personal protective equipment (PPE) to employees to mitigate the hazard. If you provide employees with PPE, your response to OSHA should include the part of your written safety policy or program that explains how to correctly use the PPE.

If the complaint was from an employee, you should not try to identify which employee made the complaint. Retaliating against an employee who has reported a workplace hazard is illegal and may trigger an investigation of your workplace by OSHA.

The USF SafetyFlorida Consultation Program offers free OSHA compliance assistance to Florida businesses. To request a no-cost consultation, visit their website by clicking here or call them at 866-273-1105.