How to File the Alabama UC-CR-4: Due Dates, eGov Filing, and Payments

Alabama employers file the UC-CR-4 Quarterly Contribution and Wage Report online through the Alabama Department of Labor’s eGov portal, with any tax due paid by electronic funds transfer. The report is due four times a year, and every employer with an active unemployment tax account has to file, even for quarters with no payroll.

Quarterly Due Dates

The UC-CR-4 is due the last day of the month after each quarter closes:

First quarter (January–March): April 30
Second quarter (April–June): July 31
Third quarter (July–September): October 31
Fourth quarter (October–December): January 31

A quarter with no wages still requires a report. Filing a zero-wage return keeps your account in good standing; skipping the quarter because you had no payroll does not.

Who Has to File

A business becomes liable for Alabama unemployment taxes once it hits either threshold in Alabama Code Section 25-4-8: paying at least $1,500 in total wages in any calendar quarter, or employing at least one worker for any part of a day in 20 different weeks during the current or preceding calendar year.¹ Meeting either test is enough.

Domestic (household) employers become subject after paying $1,000 or more in cash wages in any calendar quarter. Agricultural employers become liable when they employ 10 or more agricultural workers in 20 different weeks, or pay $20,000 or more in agricultural wages in any quarter.² Once any test is met, the filing obligation continues for the rest of that calendar year and the whole next calendar year.

What to Have Ready Before You Log In

Pull everything together before opening the portal. You will need:³

Your Alabama UC account number and Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN).
Each employee’s full legal name and Social Security number.
Total gross wages paid to each employee during the quarter.
Year-to-date wages for each employee, so you can figure out how much of the quarter’s pay falls inside the $8,000 taxable wage base.
Employee headcount for the pay period that includes the 12th of each month in the quarter (three counts, one per month).
Bank routing and account numbers for the EFT payment.

Filing Through the eGov Portal

All UC-CR-4 filing happens at the Alabama Department of Labor’s eGov login page. If you are catching up on more than one past-due quarter, file the oldest first so excess wages calculate correctly.³

Entering Wages

Once logged in, choose “Quarterly Reporting/EFT,” then “Wage and Tax Reporting.” Enter your UC account number and FEIN, and the portal opens the wage detail page. First-time online filers key in each employee’s Social Security number, last name, first name, and gross wages for the quarter. The screen holds up to 10 employees at a time; save after each batch and keep going until every worker is entered.

If you have filed online before, the portal prefills your employees from prior quarters, sorted by Social Security number. You only enter this quarter’s gross wages and add any new hires.³ Larger employers can upload wage data in bulk using the Department’s file specification instead of keying every record by hand.⁴

Monthly Employee Counts

The next screen asks for the number of full-time and part-time employees on your payroll as of the 12th of each month in the quarter. Three numbers, one per month. The portal will not move forward without them.

Review and Submit

A summary and certification page shows your total gross wages and the calculated tax. Check it. If a figure looks wrong, use “Cancel and Return” to fix it. When the numbers are right, select “Yes” on the certification and click “Submit Wage Report.”³ Save or print the confirmation.

Paying by Electronic Funds Transfer

All employers must pay unemployment contributions by EFT under Alabama Administrative Rule 480-4-2-.17.⁵ After submitting the wage report, the portal walks you through three steps:

Pick a transfer date from the calendar. That is the date the payment pulls from your bank account.
Click the calculation button so the system applies your contribution rate to the taxable wages you reported.
Confirm and submit the payment.

Every field on the bank account page has to be filled in except the second address line, or the transaction fails.³ Verify the routing and account numbers before submitting; a single wrong digit means a failed payment and possible late-payment penalties.

Your Contribution Rate and the $8,000 Wage Base

Newly liable employers pay a default rate of 2.70%. Once you have been in the system long enough to build an experience rating based on your benefit charges relative to your taxable payroll, your rate adjusts. Experienced-employer rates run from 0.20% to 6.80%, including the 0.06% Employment Security Enhancement Assessment.⁶ The Department posts your annual rate notice in the eGov portal no later than January 31 of the year it applies.⁵ Check it before filing your first-quarter report so you are working with the right number.

Alabama taxes only the first $8,000 of wages paid to each employee per calendar year.⁷ Anything above that is excess wages and is not taxable. At the 2.70% new-employer rate, the maximum tax per employee is $216 a year. Tracking each employee’s year-to-date total against the $8,000 cap is the trickier part of the form; the portal asks you to split total gross wages from the taxable portion.

Fixing an Error on a Report You Already Filed

If you catch a mistake after submitting, such as a wrong Social Security number, wages posted to the wrong employee, or an inflated payroll figure, you can file a correction through eGov using Form UC-10-C (Statement to Correct Information).⁵ Fixing it sooner reduces the chance of problems with employees’ benefit eligibility later.

To pull a copy of a return you already filed, log in, go to “Quarterly Reporting/EFT,” and select “View/Reset Previously Entered Wage Reports.” Click “View Report” next to the quarter you want.⁸

What Happens if You File or Pay Late

A late report carries a penalty of $25 or 10% of the contributions due, whichever is greater. Unpaid contributions accrue interest at 1% per month, or any fraction of a month, from the date the tax was originally due.⁹

If you don’t file at all, the Department sends a written notice by certified mail demanding the report. You have 15 days to respond. If you don’t, the secretary prepares the report from whatever information is available, assesses the contributions, and adds penalties and interest. That assessment is final unless you appeal. The same 15-day process applies if the Department decides a filed report is incorrect, incomplete, or insufficient.⁹

How Long to Keep Records

Federal employment tax rules require employers to keep payroll records for at least four years after filing the fourth-quarter return for the year, including wage amounts and dates, employee names, addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of employment, copies of W-2s and W-4s, and records of tax deposits.¹⁰ For Alabama UC purposes, keeping your quarterly wage data, eGov confirmation numbers, and EFT payment records for the same four years gives you the paperwork to dispute an incorrect assessment if the Department or the IRS audits you.

1
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 25-4-8 – Employer
2
Alabama Department of Labor. How Do You Meet Liability for Alabama State UC Taxes?
3
Alabama Department of Labor. Internet Filing Instructions for Employers
4
Alabama Department of Labor. UC Quarterly Wage Reporting – Upload File Specifications
5
Alabama Department of Labor. eGov Login
6
Alabama Department of Labor. May an Employer Earn a Tax Rate Based Upon Its Record of Unemployment Experience?
7
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 25-4-16 – Wages
8
Alabama Department of Labor. How Do I Obtain a Copy of Previously Submitted Quarterly Contribution and Wage Reports?
9
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 25-4-134 – Procedures for Collection of Delinquent Contributions
10
Internal Revenue Service. Employment Tax Recordkeeping