Guidelines and setup for Michigan Form UIA-1028 Employer’s Quarterly Wage/Tax Report

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In 2012, Michigan Form UIA-1028 replaced Michigan Forms UIA-1020, UIA-1020R, and UIA-1017. (UIA is Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Agency.) This topic covers some important considerations regarding Form UIA-1028.

  • The due date is the 25th of the month following the end of the quarter.
  • The form must be filed even if there is no payroll for the month.
  • Michigan requires that employers file Form UIA-1028 electronically. Therefore, Accounting CS does not offer a Paper filing method for the form.
  • The number of all full-time employees is determined based on entering the payroll period and check date on the payroll check or selecting the Calculate month 1-3 employee count on payroll tax forms based on active employee status in the Payroll Information tab in Setup > Clients.  For more information, review Employee count examples for 94x and state unemployment (SUTA) forms.
  • The SUTA rate for Michigan is now split into two client-specific rates: Base/Contribution Rate, and Obligation Assessment Rate. These two portions need to be specified in the Additional Information dialog (accessed from the Payroll Taxes tab of the Setup > Clients screen. The rates are calculated separately on the form and then combined into a total amount due. Both of these rates are available from Form UIA 1771, issued by the state.
  • The Base Rate (Contribution Rate on literature) is rounded to the nearest dollar amount (.00 - .49 rounding down, .50 and above rounding up). This Contribution rate is actually a combined rate of three components, but it is expressed and applied as a single rate and then rounded to the dollar.
  • The Obligation Assessment (OA) Rate is not rounded to the dollar; it is simply rounded to the nearest cent. This tax actually replaced the FUTA penalty (that was calculated and added as a lump sum percentage at year-end) earlier, but this fact becomes more apparent with the separation of the amount on the Form UIA-1028. Under the current schedule, it should take about 10 years (through 2021) to pay of this debt (bond obligation) to the federal government.
    More information is available at www.michigan.gov/documents/uia/146_-_Bonding_Obligation_Assessment_2012_376282_7.pdf.
  • Because we cannot round the quarterly Base SUTA rate to the dollar during payroll check entry, there will likely be a discrepancy for the Base Rate between the UIA-1028 and our regular reports (Payroll Tax Summary, Depository Totals, etc.). Our internal reports are based on checks and/or earnings amount totals flowing from those checks.
  • Amounts for interest or penalty charges (including late fees and non-reporting fees) are also NOT rounded to the nearest dollar. Because Michigan uses the “current interest rate” to calculate penalty and interest, and because they promote their “penalty and interest calculator” on their web site, Accounting CS does not provide any calculation for penalty and interest in MI.
  1. Choose Setup > Clients, click the Payroll Taxes tab, and then click the  Ellipsis button Ellipsis button for the UI base rate.
    1. The SUTA rate for Michigan is split into two client-specific rates: Base/Contribution (Base) Rate, and Obligation Assessment (OA) Rate. These two portions need to be specified here. They are calculated separately on the form and then combined into a total amount due. Both of these rates are available from Form UIA 1771, which is issued to the client by the State.
    2. The Reimbursable Employer checkbox can be marked only if the Base SUTA rate is zero. (If the Base rate is zero, the OA rate should also be zero. (For more information, see  www.michigan.gov/documents/uia/146_-_Bonding_Obligation_Assessment_2012_376282_7.pdf . If the rates are zero, the employer is treated as reimbursable for any overpayments and is not required to pay.
  2. Choose Setup > Clients and click the Payroll Taxes tab. In the Forms section, scroll down to the Michigan grid.
    1. For Form UIA-1028, set the filing method to Internet or Internet with payment.
    2. Click the Additional Information button:
      • Payment apportionment checkbox. Marking this checkbox allows for the first quarter’s liability payment to be apportioned into 4 equal payments submitted with each quarterly form. Marking this checkbox and entering the year before editing or processing the first quarter form UIA-1028 will cause this to calculate correctly for each quarter of that year. This checkbox will flow to Page 2 Section 3 of the UIA-1028 form. The first quarter Tax Due amount will divide the full Amount due by 4 and enter that into the Amount Enclosed field; that same amount will then be added to the Amount Enclosed box for quarters 2 through 4. (This same process of editing or processing the first-quarter UIA-1028 form will also auto-fill and/or override any “Apportionment amount” field number previously entered in this same MI Additional Information screen. The “Payment apportionment” box should only be marked for clients meeting the following criteria: 25 or fewer employees AND for whom 50% or more of the previous year’s taxes were due in the first quarter.)
      • For E-Enrollment: The Enrolled for e-Filing checkbox should be marked only if this client’s Internet/Magnetic Media enrollment file has already been created and uploaded through the MiWAM (Michigan Web Account Manager) web site (via another application, not Accounting CS). Checking this box prevents the client from displaying in the Actions >  Enroll > Michigan Electronic Filing dialog. Once an enrollment file has been created from within Accounting CS, the application automatically marks the Enrolled for e-filing checkbox.
  3. Edit or preview the Michigan payroll tax forms in the Actions > Process Payroll Tax Forms screen.
    1. Choose Actions > Edit Payroll Tax Forms. Select Reconciliation from the Form type field, select MI from the Jurisdiction field, and then click the MI-UIA-1028 tab.
      • The Employer Type flows from the Payroll Taxes tab of the Setup > Clients screen. By default, the type is set to Contributing.
      • If this is an Amended return, be sure to mark the Check this box if this is an Amended report checkbox and enter the necessary explanation.
    2. Click the MI-UIA-1028(p2) tab and scroll down to Section 3.
      • You should enter an X (right-click) in the Is this the Final Report..? checkbox only if this is the final form for the client (if they are going out of business, for example). If this is the case, they will also need to submit Form UIA 1772, which is not in Accounting CS. To mark or unmark this box here, enter X OR right click in the checkbox and select either “Select” or “Clear Field Override” as needed.
      • The “I meet the requirements to apportion my payments…” entry flows from information entered in the Setup in Accounting CS section (above).
      • If there is a calculated difference between the Tax Due amount + Prior Balance amount and the resulting total Amount Enclosed, it is likely due to a current year apportionment entry. (See above.)

The process is basically the same as submitting W-2's and 1099's, and is similar to that of most other states offering SUTA file submission, with the following differences.

  1. Before an accountant is eligible to submit UIA-1028 forms on behalf of a client as a Service Provider/Third Party Administrator, he or she must create and submit an e-Enrollment (via Actions > Enroll > Michigan Electronic Filing). Becoming a Service Provider/Third Party Administrator for certain features can require signed Power of Attorney (POA) and/or other authorization from the employer, and this information must be entered into the e-Enrollment dialog for the appropriate clients before internet/magnetic media files can be created and submitted.
    • As with other Enrollment files, you can include multiple clients in a single file for upload to the MiWAM web site.
  2. As with other Internet/Magnetic files (Actions > Process Internet/Magnetic Files), you can include multiple clients in a single file for upload to the MiWAM web site. However, if the Filing method was set for a client to Internet with payment  during setup for a client (as discussed above), the application will actually create two files - file MIUIA1028.txt file for the form(s), and file MIUIA1028PMT.TXT for the payment(s).
  3. We use only the bulk processing format, intended for use uploading multiple clients in a single file. If a firm would like to upload individual clients, the same bulk filing option will need to be selected on the MiWAM site (https://miwam.unemployment.state.mi.us/), and the submission process is the same. The bulk filing option will be available in both the Employer’s (actual clients login) and the Employer Representative’s (Accountants own setup by client) portal under the “Multi-Account Services” tab. In this tab there will be an option to upload the Bulk File or Bulk Payment. This tab should be available for all logins and is not specific to the Service Provider accounts. Note: We do not support the 72 byte file format.
  • The requirement to file on-line was implemented over a four-year period.
    • Beginning in 2012, employers with more than 25 employees were encouraged to file online.
    • Beginning in 2013, employers with more than 25 employees were required to file online.
    • Beginning in 2014, employers with more than 5 employees were required to file online.
    • Beginning in 2015, all employers are required to file online.

Related Links:

www.michigan.gov/uia

Michigan Business One Stop Login

Michigan Web Account Manager MiWAM Toolkit for Employers

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