Unemployment benefits are financed by taxes paid by employers to the federal and state governments. The federal taxes cover most of the program’s administrative costs. The state taxes fund the actual benefits.
Unemployment benefits provide short-term income to workers who lose their jobs through no fault of their own and who are actively seeking work. To be eligible, individuals must be totally or partially unemployed, and they must have worked at least 20 weeks in covered employment and earned an average weekly wage of at least $247 during four of the last five completed calendar quarters.
Register Your Business
Ohio Revised Code (ORC) Section 4141.13 (G) requires the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to collect information from all Ohio employers to determine if they are subject to the state’s unemployment insurance laws.
To register for a UI account number and receive an immediate notification regarding your obligation, visit Eric.ohio.gov. ERIC, or the Employer Resource Information Center, is Ohio’s internet-based unemployment tax system. It’s a one-stop shop where employers and third-party administrators can manage all their business related to unemployment contributions, including registering new businesses, filing quarterly reports and making tax payments, among other transactions.
Or, if you prefer, you can register your business manually by completing form JFS 20100, "Report to Determine Liability", and mailing it to P.O. Box 182404, Columbus, Ohio 43218-2404. If you register manually, you will receive an account number and be notified of your contribution rate in four to six weeks.
For more information about doing business in Ohio, visit business.ohio.gov.
Wage Reporting Requirements
ORC Section 4141.20 and Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) Rule 4141-9-07 require all employers subject to Ohio unemployment insurance laws to file quarterly reports detailing the wages paid to each employee. Quarterly wage detail reports can be filed online at Eric.ohio.gov.
Employers are responsible for:
- Reporting their unemployment tax liability as soon as there are one or more employees in covered employment. This may be done at Eric.ohio.gov or by completing the JFS 20100, "Report to Determine Liability", and mailing it to P.O. Box 182404, Columbus, Ohio 43218-2404. If you report your liability at Eric.ohio.gov, you will receive a determination immediately. If you report your liability manually, you will receive a determination in four to six weeks.
- Maintaining true and accurate records for all employees.
The law requires all employers – both covered and non-covered – to keep true and accurate employment records for all employees, including their hours worked and wages paid, and to furnish that information to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services on request. These records must be kept for at least five years. - Providing all the information needed to administer the unemployment program.
The law requires employers to give the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services all the information it needs to properly administer the state’s unemployment program. Employers who receive information requests regarding unemployment claims must respond to them as quickly as possible or explain in writing why they are unable to do so. Employers who repeatedly fail to respond promptly and adequately to information requests can be charged for any benefits that are ultimately found to be eligible. These charges can lead to an increase in your tax rate. - Notifying the department of any change in business status.
If your business closes, you must deactivate your account online at Eric.ohio.gov or by completing a JFS 20110, "Disposition of Business", and mailing it to P.O. Box 182404, Columbus, Ohio 43218-2404. In addition, within 30 days you must file your final quarterly report detailing the wages paid to employees.
Quarterly Reporting Requirements
Four times a year, liable employers are required to file a report detailing the wages paid to their employees in the previous quarter. These reports must be filed by the following due dates. If the due date falls on a weekend, then the reports are due the next business day:
| Report Covering | Due Date |
| Jan, Feb, March | April 30 |
| April, May, June | July 31 |
| July, Aug, Sept | Oct 31 |
| Oct, Nov, Dec | Jan 31 |
The reports must include the following data for all employees:
- Employee name
- Social Security number
- Amount of wages paid
- Number of weeks worked
- Number of covered workers who worked during each month of the quarter
- Total wages paid during the quarter
The quarterly reports can be filed at Eric.ohio.gov. Employers who had no workers or paid no wages during a quarter still must complete and file the reports by the due dates.
Contribution Rates
Contribution rate determinations are mailed for the coming calendar year on or before December 1. The rate also is printed on the form JFS 20127, "Wage Detail", which is mailed to employers each quarter. To determine how much tax is due each quarter, multiply the rate by the total taxable wages you paid during the quarter.
Employers’ state unemployment tax rates are based largely on their “experience rating,” which is a measure of how much they have paid in taxes and been charged in benefits. If an employer's account is not eligible for an experience rating, it will be assigned a standard new employer rate of 2.7 percent.
Federal Withholdings
IRS Publication 15, "Employer’s Tax Guide", explains employers’ federal tax responsibilities, including their obligation to pay federal unemployment taxes. Employers that offer Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Plans, which provide severance pay to workers after layoffs or plant closings, must submit written proof that these payments are not wages and, therefore, not subject to FUTA tax.