New York State Department of Labor Unemployment Insurance

You must file reporting forms even if the employer had no payroll in the quarter. Late payments of tax results in interest assessments and may increase your tax rate in future years.

Note: You may file on the next business day when the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday.

File your Quarterly Combined Withholding, Wage Reporting, and Unemployment Insurance Return (Form NYS-45), online through the Unemployment Insurance Online Services. Take advantage of the benefits of Web-filing:

• Current experience rate
• Calculate amounts due
• Instant confirmation
• Direct payment from your bank account via ACH debit
• Wage-reporting options

To get a paper copy of the quarterly return, use the NYS-45 on the Department of Taxation and Finance website or contact the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance at (518) 457-5431, before the report is due. From outside the US and Canada call (518) 485-6800. The Deparment of Taxation and Finance also has instructions for completing the NYS-45 on their website and by phone.

We base your contributions on the first $8,500 of remuneration you pay to each employee in a calendar year. Remuneration includes every form of compensation you pay to covered employees including:

• Salary
• Tips
• Cash wages
• Vacation pay
• Commissions
• The value of meals and lodging
• Bonuses
• Other types of non-cash compensation

The first $8,500 of remuneration paid to an employee can include wages paid:

• By the former employer when you acquire all or part of a business
• To an employee reported to another state during a calendar year (May only apply to an employee who transfers to New York State.)

Employers who share the services of a single employee must report and pay the tax on their share of the employee's earnings. Each is liable for taxes up to the annual taxable limit of $8,500. If the employers are financially related, they pay taxes only on the first $8,500 of total annual earnings.

You can find more information on reporting requirements in the Employer's Guide to Unemployment Insurance, Wage Reporting, and Withholding Tax, NYS-50.

You may need to amend a Quarterly Combined Withholding, Wage Reporting and Unemployment Insurance Return, (Form NYS-45), to correct an error. You must make an amendment to a report in the quarter you made the error.

Amend a prior quarter, using an Amended Quarterly Combined Withholding, Wage Reporting and Unemployment Insurance Return, (Form NYS-45x). You may also contact the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance at (518) 457-5431 for a paper copy of the form.  From outside the US and Canada call (518) 485-6800. 

For questions about amending a report, the NYS Deparment of Taxation and Finance provides instructions for the NYS-45x on their website. You may also contact the Employer Account Adjustment Section at 1-888-899-8810.  When contacting the Employer Account Adjustment Section, please have your New York State Employer Registration number available when you call.