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Filing Tips and Reminders for Employers
General
1. What form should I use?
2. How do I complete image readable forms?
NYS-1 Coupons
3. Do I have to enter a last payroll date on an NYS-1?
4. When do I enter a date on Line B?
5. How do I report Unemployment Insurance payments on a NYS-1 coupon?
Quarterly Returns
6. How do I claim the reimbursement option for Unemployment Insurance?
7. How do I report employee wage and withholding information on NYS-45 Part C?
8. How do I report NYS-1 changes?
9. How do I claim a Withholding Tax refund or credit?
10. What if I have no payroll for this quarter?
11. How do I show that I am going out of business?
12. Do I need to fill in line 21, Total Payment Due?
13. Do I need to make out separate checks for Unemployment Insurance and Withholding Tax?
14. Where should I mail the returns to?
 
General Information
 
1. What form to use?
 
You must use Tax Department generated or Tax Department approved forms for all filings.  These forms have been designed to be processed using imaging and data recognition technology.  Use of unapproved forms will affect return processing time and accuracy and may result in notices or assessments being generated.

 
• Use Form NYS-1 to report and pay amounts of $700 or more withheld during a quarter.
 
• Use Form NYS-45 to report and pay unemployment insurance contributions, tax withheld and, if you have five or less employees to report, wage reporting after the end of the quarter.
 
• Use Form NYS-45-ATT to report employee wage reporting and, for the fourth quarter, annual employee wage and tax information.
 
• Use Form NYS-45-CC to report construction activity by employees.
 
• Use Form NYS-45-X to amend information reported on a previously filed quarterly combined return.

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2. How to complete image readable forms?
 
Data entries on forms should be made in the areas provided.   Each character should be written neatly, one character per box without extending outside of the box.  To facilitate data recognition, entries should look as much like this sample as possible:
  Numbers.gif (1226 bytes)

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NYS-1 Coupons
 
3. Last payroll date on NYS-1?  Be sure to enter the Last Payroll Date covered by the return in the boxes on line A of the NYS-1 coupon.  These dates are necessary to reconcile your quarterly return (NYS-45).   Failure to enter a last payroll date will result in a notice being generated and may delay processing of refund or credit requests.

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4. Date on line B?   Do not enter a date on line B unless you have permanently ceased paying wages (e.g., you have gone out of business).  Entries in line B cause your account to be inactivated on our database.

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5. Unemployment insurance payments?   Do not include any payment of unemployment insurance on or with your NYS-1 coupon.  All payment received with an NYS-1 coupon will be credited to your withholding tax account and cannot be applied to an unemployment insurance liability.

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Quarterly Returns
 
6. Reimbursement option for unemployment insurance?    Non-profit and governmental employers who have elected the reimbursement option are not required to complete lines 2 through 11 of Part A of Form NYS-45. Only line 1, Total remuneration paid this quarter is required in Part A.  All other applicable parts of the return must be completed.

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7. Reporting employee wage and withholding information on NYS-45, Part C?   Employers reporting five or fewer employees may make all of their entries in Part C of Form NYS-45.   Employers with more than five employees should report all of their employees on Form NYS-45-ATT or magnetic media and make no entries in Part C of Form NYS-45.   Employers reporting five or fewer employees in Part C of Form NYS-45 should not file Form NYS-45-ATT with the same five or fewer employees.

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8. NYS-1 changes?   Any corrections or additions to last payroll dates or liability information submitted on NYS-1's during the quarter should be reported in Part D - NYS-1 Corrections/Additions on the back of Form NYS-45.  Failure to complete Part D will make it more difficult to reconcile your account and may delay processing of refund or credit requests.

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9. Claiming WT refund/credit?   If you are claiming a refund or credit because you overstated and overpaid a liability reported on an NYS-1 filed during the quarter, you must correct the information reported on that NYS-1 by completing Part D - NYS-1 Corrections/Additions on the NYS-45.

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10. No payroll?   If you are required to file a quarterly combined return for a quarter in which you had no payroll (a liable employer who does not have seasonal filer status), you must enter zeroes (0.00) on lines 1 through 3 and 12 through 15 of Form NYS-45.  Do not file a blank return or one with notations written on the return such as "No payroll," "None," or "No employees."  Returns without zeroes on the appropriate lines may not get processed and you may be considered delinquent in filing.

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11. Going out of business?   You must report the date you ceased paying wages and information regarding the sale or transfer of your business on lines 23 and 24 on the back of Form NYS-45.  If you fail to complete this information, you may receive delinquency notices.

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12. Total payment?    Be sure to complete line 9, Total UI amounts due; line 19, Total WT amount due; and line 21, Total payment due.  Without this information, your payment may not be allocated correctly between unemployment insurance and withholding tax and you may be issued a bill for an underpaid liability.

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13. Payment?  Remit payment with one check; separate checks for unemployment insurance and withholding tax are not required.  Make one check payable to NYS Employment Taxes for the amount shown on line 21, Total payment due.

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14. Where to mail returns?   All returns should be mailed to the addresses shown on the forms, in the instructions or on the mailing labels supplied.  If you do not have any of these addresses, please mail Forms NYS-1 to NYS Tax Department, Processing Unit, PO Box 4111, Binghamton  NY, 13902-4111 and quarterly returns (including magnetic media) to NYS Employment Taxes, PO Box 4119, Binghamton, NY 13902-4119.  Do not mail any withholding tax coupons or quarterly combined returns directly to the Unemployment Insurance Division of the Department of Labor or to the Tax Department offices in Albany. 

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Last Modified: December 30, 2008