Information supplied by employers on quarterly reports is used to determine annual rates. Employers who have not furnished wage information necessary for computation of their experience rate by September 1 of each year will be assigned a Delinquency Rate equal to 125% of the maximum experience rate possible for the coming year.

Wage reports provide the basis for possible benefit claim awards. Inaccurate and untimely reports will create additional reporting for the employer, delays in benefit payments and increased costs associated with report and benefit processing.

Even though the quarterly Report of Wages and the quarterly Contribution Report are printed and mailed as one document, Ohio law defined them as two separate reports until January 1, 2002. Therefore, if both reports were submitted late, two penalties (forfeitures) were assessed, one for each report. Because the processing time frames for the Report of Wages and the Contribution Report were different, forfeitures were not assessed at the same time and separate notices (debit memoranda) were mailed out for each forfeiture. As of January 01, 2002, the two reports are now considered one for filing purposes.

For quarters ending prior to January 1, 2002, the forfeiture for not filing the quarterly Report of Wages and/or the quarterly Contribution Report when due was twenty-five one-hundredths of one percent (.25 percent) of the total wages reported. The minimum penalty for failing to file one of the quarterly reports when due was $30 and the maximum was $500.

Beginning with the first calendar quarter of 2002, a single penalty (forfeiture) will be assessed for not filing a complete quarterly Contribution and Wage Report when due. The forfeiture will amount to twenty-five one-hundredths of one percent (.25 percent) of the total wages reported. The minimum penalty for failure to file a quarterly report when due is $50 and the maximum is $1000.

Employers are urged to file the quarterly reports when due, even if the taxes cannot be paid. Although the unpaid taxes will accrue interest, the forfeitures can be avoided when reports are filed timely. Interest will accrue on the unpaid taxes as well as any unpaid forfeitures at the annual rate of 14%, compounded monthly.

Under certain circumstances a waiver of forfeiture may be granted for the untimely filing of the quarterly report if a written request is submitted within four years of when the forfeiture was assessed. Interest may also be waived if the employer submits a written request for waiver and meets other statutory requirements within 30 days of the interest assessment.