Enhancements Made to the Unemployment Insurance Tax Lien Registry and Debtor’s Corner

South Carolina Employers are Reminded of the Importance of Paying Taxes

Columbia, S.C. – The S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW) is pleased to announce enhancements implemented to its online Tax Lien Registry and Debtor’s Corner. Our agency launched its online tax lien registry in the summer of 2021 to provide a single, searchable repository of the outstanding liens DEW has filed for unpaid unemployment insurance (UI) taxes. Shortly thereafter, DEW launched the Debtor’s Corner, which is a list of significant debtors based on lien amounts. With a few clicks, employers and the public are able to see outstanding tax liens by an individual’s name, business name, location, etc.

“The purposes of the Tax Lien Registry and Debtor’s Corner have always been to promote full transparency with the public and remind employers how important it is to pay UI taxes,” stated S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce Executive Director Dan Ellzey. “In order for our agency to continue to provide critical unemployment benefits to those who have lost their jobs, we need to continue to recoup outstanding debts owed to our state’s UI Trust Fund. The enhancements made to the online registry and Debtor’s Corner make it even easier now for individuals and employers to find unpaid balances.”

In response to feedback from the public, we have further improved the Tax Lien Registry by adding the ability to add the last four digits of an individual social security number to a search and by providing additional explanatory text. The Debtor’s Corner has also been upgraded by adding all outstanding liens a single debtor may have into a single debt amount for a simpler result.

We currently have 500 South Carolina businesses listed in our Debtor’s Corner. Employers like S B Phillips Company Inc., which currently owes millions of dollars in unpaid taxes, are hurting taxpayers and any future claimants who worked for them. Despite our agency’s multiple attempts to collect the unpaid taxes and doing our due diligence to correct this transgression, employers like those on the list negatively affect the most vulnerable individuals in our state and need to be reminded that they cannot get away with taking advantage of the UI system.

The Tax Lien Registry can be found at uitax.dew.sc.gov/LienRegistry/#/registry.

The Debtor’s Corner can be found at uitax.dew.sc.gov/LienRegistry/#/registry/debtors-corner.

As a reminder, employers can log into their State UI Tax System (SUITS) account to see their current UI tax balance, set up a payment plan, or satisfy the full lien from the convenience of their computer. For more information, please email communications@dew.sc.gov with any press inquiries or interview requests.