Have you recently or are you about to hire one or more employees in Delaware?
If so, you will need to register as an employer with the Delaware Division of Unemployment Insurance. Simply file a Form UC- 1, Report to Determine Liability, to determine liability under the unemployment compensation law.
You will also need to register with the Delaware Division of Workers' Compensation. (Employers with one or more employees are required to carry workers' compensation insurance.)
And you will need to register a withholding account with the Division of Revenue.
You can do all of these things on One Stop.
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After you Report Hiring to the state
After you file the UC-1 and register for Workers' Compensation, you will have ongoing obligations as an employer, including:
- You must maintain records for workers employed in Delaware as required by Delaware law, and the Division of Unemployment Insurance.
- If you are liable to pay into Unemployment Insurance, you will need to submit a quarterly tax payment with a quarterly tax report (form UC-8) and payroll report (form UC8-a).
- If you are a nonprofit who elects to be reimbursable with the Division of Unemployment Insurance, you will need to file a quarterly payroll report (form QPR 2).
- Late or delinquent quarterly tax payments will have penalties and interest.
- Failure to pay assessments when due, or to reimburse for benefits paid, subjects the employer to possible civil or criminal legal actions.
After you register a withholding account, you will have ongoing obligations as an employer, including:
- Every employer must pay Withholding Tax; this means you will withhold an amount of tax from your employees (determined by the Withholding Tax Computation table). Your new employees must file Federal Form W-4 or Form W-4A, and employees will elect the amount of withholding in this form. Based on that information, you as the employer will withhold an appropriate tax from the employee's compensation.
- Every year, you as the employer must supply each employee with a statement showing their total wages earned and the amount of taxes withheld on a W-2 form. Employers must mail W-2 forms to all employees by January 31st. Employers must additionally file a Reconciliation in accordance with your assigned filing frequency on a W-3 form with a duplicate of all W-2 forms to the Division of Revenue before January 31st.
- Any employer required under the provisions of §6302 of the Internal Revenue Code to deposit federal employment taxes by electronic funds transfer will be required to deposit Delaware withholding taxes by electronic funds transfer. The effective date for this requirement is one year after the employer is required to deposit the federal funds electronically.
For more information, please see the Employer Handbook from the Division of Unemployment Insurance
If an employee is injured, you will need to file a First Report of Occupational Injury or Disease within 10 days to the Office of Workers' Compensation and their insurance carrier. For more information on Workers' Compensation, please visit our Division of Industrial Affairs website.
Federal Requirements
As an employer, you should have an IRS Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate, on file for each employee. Ask all new employees to give you a signed Form W-4 when they start work. Make the form effective with the first wage payment. Visit the IRS website for more information
For more information on employer obligations, please visit the Small Business Administration's website.
