State Unemployment Insurance Taxable Wage Bases to Reference in 2022
March 16, 2022
The Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) mandates each state’s taxable wage base must at least equal the FUTA base of $7,000 per employee. States use different formulas to determine their taxable wage base; some adopt the FUTA wage base as law while others use a percentage of the state’s average annual wage. Then there are state unemployment insurance (UI) taxes, which are calculated by applying a certain percentage to the taxable wages paid by employers.
Business owners should be aware that since UI trust fund balances are not what they were expected to be this year and amid the ongoing economic concerns around employer taxes, some states could increase or decrease their taxable wage bases before the beginning of next year. It’s happened already this year; on February 16, West Virginia reduced its state UI wage base from $12,000 to $9,000 due to its state UI trust fund reaching a balance of $220 million.
DM Payroll Solutions assembled the below chart of state taxable wage bases for 2022 and 2021 to reference so your company’s payroll operations can comply with the 2022 wage bases. States with a changed wage base in 2022 are bolded.
| State | 2022 | 2021 | Increase or decrease |
| Alabama | $8,000 | $8,000 | |
| Alaska | $45,200 | $43,600 | 3.67% |
| Arizona | $7,000 | $7,000 | |
| Arkansas | $10,000 | $10,000 | |
| California | $7,000 | $7,000 | |
| Colorado | $17,000 | $13,600 | 25% |
| Connecticut | $15,000 | $15,000 | |
| Delaware | $14,500 | $16,500 | -12.12% |
| District of Columbia | $9,000 | $9,000 | |
| Florida | $7,000 | $7,000 | |
| Georgia | $9,500 | $9,500 | |
| Hawaii | $51,600 | $47,400 | 8.86% |
| Idaho | $46,500 | $43,000 | 8.14% |
| Illinois | $12,960 | $12,960 | |
| Indiana | $9,500 | $9,500 | |
| Iowa | $34,800 | $32,400 | 7.41% |
| Kansas | $14,000 | $14,000 | |
| Kentucky | $11,100 | $10,800 | 2.78% |
| Louisiana | $7,700 | $7,700 | |
| Maine | $12,000 | $12,000 | |
| Maryland | $8,500 | $8,500 | |
| Massachusetts | $15,000 | $15,000 | |
| Michigan | $9,500 | $9,500 | |
| Minnesota | $38,000 | $35,000 | 8.57% |
| Mississippi | $14,000 | $14,000 | |
| Missouri | $11,000 | $11,000 | |
| Montana | $38,100 | $35,300 | 7.93% |
| Nebraska* | $9,000 | $9,000 | |
| Nevada | $36,600 | $33,400 | 9.58% |
| New Hampshire | $14,000 | $14,000 | |
| New Jersey | $39,800 | $36,200 | 9.94% |
| New Mexico | $28,700 | $27,000 | 6.30% |
| New York | $12,000 | $11,800 | 1.69% |
| North Carolina | $28,000 | $26,000 | 7.69% |
| North Dakota | $38,400 | $38,500 | -0.30% |
| Ohio | $9,000 | $9,000 | |
| Oklahoma | $24,800 | $24,000 | 3.33% |
| Oregon | $47,700 | $43,800 | 8.90% |
| Pennsylvania | $10,000 | $10,000 | |
| Rhode Island** | $24,600 | $24,600 | |
| South Carolina | $14,000 | $14,000 | |
| South Dakota | $15,000 | $15,000 | |
| Tennessee | $7,000 | $7,000 | |
| Texas | $9,000 | $9,000 | |
| Utah | $41,600 | $38,900 | 6.94% |
| Vermont | $15,500 | $14,100 | 9.93% |
| Virginia | $8,000 | $8,000 | |
| Washington | $62,500 | $56,500 | 10.62% |
| West Virginia | $9,000 | $12,000 | -25% |
| Wisconsin | $14,000 | $14,000 | |
| Wyoming | $27,700 | $27,300 | 1.47% |
**Rhode Island – $26,100 for employers in the highest UI tax rate group.
If your business struggles to keep up with changes in taxable wage bases year over year, it’s time to make the switch to a payroll solution that allows you to work smarter, not harder. DM Payroll Solutions’ systems automatically updates after tax updates are announced, meaning you’ll never again have to worry about keeping up with these changes on your own. Contact us today to learn more.
Source: American Payroll Association
