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Installment Payment Agreement

Delinquency Resolution

Employers who are or may fall behind in filing their Unemployment Insurance (UI) wage reports and/or in paying their UI tax obligations should promptly contact the Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW) to address the delinquency or potential for a delinquency.

DEW staff can assist employers in filing outstanding quarterly wage reports and advise of payment options. If an employer cannot pay the balance due in full, a payment plan may be submitted for consideration. Addressing delinquencies as soon as possible can save an employer money on future tax liabilities and reduce the likelihood of the adverse consequences required by South Carolina law.

Employers having difficulty meeting their UI tax obligations should immediately contact DEW at 866-831-1724, option 2, or by accessing the State Unemployment Insurance System (SUITS) at any time to submit a request for information or apply for an installment payment agreement.

Failure to address the delinquencies will have adverse consequences such as:

Increase in UI Tax Rates

South Carolina law requires DEW to assign the Tax Class 20 rate of 5.46% to employers who fail or refuse to:

  • file all required quarterly wage reports by the time DEW sets tax rates for the following year; and/or
  • pay all contributions, interest, and/or penalties due and a state tax lien is active at the end of the quarter being assessed.

Interest and Penalties

Late Filing Interest and Penalty: Interest charges and late penalties on delinquent contributions and penalty charges on delinquent reports are separate and distinct. If you are unable to pay your quarterly taxes in full on the due date, you can avoid late report penalty charges if you file the wage report on time. An employer who fails to file its UI Quarterly Wage Report when due must pay a penalty of 10 percent of the total amount of contributions due, with a minimum of $25 and a maximum of $1,000.

Interest charges of 1 percent per month will continue to accrue on any unpaid contributions balance until it is paid in full.

Late Filing Penalty: Employers are required to electronically file quarterly UI tax and wage reports through SUITS if the employer is reporting wages for 10 or more employees. Employers whose reports are not filed electronically will be charged a penalty equal to 10 percent of the total contributions payable, with a minimum of $25 and a maximum of $1,000. Click here to access SUITS.

Contributions Late Payment Penalty: Payments of contributions, reimbursement of benefit charges, interest, and/or penalties are required to be paid on or before the last day of the month following the quarter. Failure to make timely payment will result in a penalty equal to the greater of $25 or 10 percent of the remittance amount, up to a maximum of $1,000.

DACA Late Payment Penalty: Payments of Departmental Administrative Contingency Assessment (DACA) are required to be paid on or before the last day of the month following the quarter. Failure to make timely payments will result in a penalty of $10.

Dishonored Remittance Penalty: A penalty is charged to anyone who provides a check or payment by electronic transfer to DEW that is subsequently dishonored by the financial institution upon which it is drawn. The dishonored remittance penalty is $25 per occurrence.

Delay of UI Benefits for Employees

Failure to timely file UI wage reports results in missing wage information for employees who file for UI benefits.  This results in additional work and delays for both employers and former employees.

Loss of Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA) Credit

Payment of state UI taxes when due will maximize the employer's Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA) credit on its federal tax returns. If an employer pays its state UI taxes for prior years on or before February 10th, it is entitled to a credit of 5.4 percent against the FUTA tax, which is usually 6.0 percent of the first $7,000 of each employee's annual wages. Any questions about FUTA should be addressed to the Internal Revenue Service.

Unable to pay in full? Need help paying your tax in installments?

If you cannot pay the tax due in full, you may be eligible for an Installment Payment Agreement (IPA).

You should immediately request an IPA to avoid collection action. Penalties, fees, and interest may be added to any balance not paid by the due date.

Use the SUITS Employer Self-Service Portal (ESSP) to initiate an Installment Payment Agreement request electronically. Please keep in mind that this submission is a request and there may be additional steps to confirm and complete your agreement with DEW.

After you submit your request, DEW will mail written notification (A copy of this notice will also be accessible in SUITS). It is important to open this mail because it will either:

  1. Confirm DEW has accepted your request by informing you that your agreement request has been approved.
  2. Deny your request by informing you DEW was unable to process your request. This correspondence may include:
    • The reason we were unable to process your request.
    • Instructions to contact DEW’s Employer Tax Services

Am I eligible for an Installment Payment Agreement?

DEW reviews each request for an IPA and approves or declines an IPA based upon all circumstances impacting that employer. Factors that are considered when determining whether to approve the IPA include, but are not limited to the following:

  1. Employer status.
  2. The amount of your delinquent tax contributions.
  3.  Filing of all wage reports for the most recent 16 quarters.
  4. IPA history.
  5. Levy status.; and
  6. Whether the period(s) are under criminal prosecution by DEW.

What are the parameters to establish a standard Installment Payment Agreement?

A common installment payment agreement is an agreement for an installment period of 12 months. However, DEW may approve a longer or shorter period.

What if I cannot meet the approved Installment Payment Agreement terms?

If you are financially unable to pay your delinquent debt within the approved IPA period, please contact us to discuss your options.

  • You may be asked to provide additional information such as, but not limited to:
    • Loan denial documentation.
    • Documents to validate information regarding assets and liabilities.
    • Banking documents.

Keep in mind the online application is a request and there may be additional steps to confirm your agreement with DEW. 

How do I ensure I maintain the Installment Payment Agreement?

Most IPAs will require the employer to maintain the following:

  • File all future wage reports with required information, including Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) codes and hours worked for each employee, and pay UI taxes in full. The employer must continue to stay current with all filings and payments during the entire term of the Installment Payment Agreement.
  • Provide additional information, as needed.
  • If you cannot meet these requirements when the IPA is set up, or any additional requirements thereafter, the payment plan will be in default. You will not be able to re-establish an IPA once it is in default.

If I establish and maintain an Installment Payment Agreement, what does DEW agree to do?

DEW:

  • Will remove the Tax Class 20 (5.40%) rate associated with any existing lien and assess future taxes based on the calculated or assigned rate existing prior to the issuance of the lien.
  • Will not seize or levy property: DEW will not seize or levy upon any property during the term of the agreement.
  • Will take legal action if you default: DEW must take legal action to force collection of the tax immediately, if the taxpayer defaults on any of the terms of the agreement.

Can DEW modify or terminate my Installment Payment Agreement?

Yes. Your Installment Payment Agreement may be modified or terminated if one or more of the following conditions are met:

  1. Information you provided in support of the agreement was inaccurate or incomplete.
  2. You fail to pay an installment when due or to file and pay all future reports and taxes when due.
  3. You have an installment payment returned from your financial institution for insufficient funds or other reason.
  4. You fail to provide any information requested by DEW.