How to Fill Out and Submit Form UC-5A: Indiana Quarterly Wage Report

Indiana Form UC-5A is the Quarterly Wage and Employment Report (State Form 54256) that Indiana employers file with the Department of Workforce Development each quarter to list every employee’s gross wages. It travels with the summary Form UC-5, which calculates what you owe for unemployment insurance. Most employers file both through the Uplink Employer Self-Service portal; a paper option exists. The report is due the last day of the month after the quarter closes, and it is required even if you paid no wages that quarter.

What to Gather Before You Start

Have these ready before you open the form or log into Uplink:

Your SUTA account number from DWD and the Federal Employer Identification Number that will appear on each employee’s W-2 or 1099. If your business operates under more than one FEIN, you need a separate UC-5A page for each.
The quarter (1 through 4) and the calendar year you are reporting.
Each employee’s Social Security number or ITIN, full legal name, start date, and the ZIP code where they physically perform work.
A Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code for each worker’s job. DWD can help you identify the right code if you have the job title or a duty description.
Gross wages paid to each employee during the quarter, including bonuses, commissions, and tips. Report the gross amount, not the taxable portion.

Report every worker who was paid for services during the quarter, including anyone who left partway through. If you paid no wages at all, you still file: complete the employer sections and enter zero for total payroll.¹

Employer Information: Sections A Through F

The top of the form is employer-level data that applies to the whole report.

Section A. The quarter number and the calendar year.
Section B. Total number of workers reported across all pages.
Section C. Total payroll paid during the quarter across all pages. Enter zero for a no-wages report.
Section D. A valid employer contact name and phone number.
Section E. Your SUTA account number and the FEIN for this group of employees. Start a new page if a second FEIN applies.
Section F. The current page number and the total number of pages.

Sections B and C are running totals, so fill those in on page one after you finish entering every employee.¹

Employee Rows: Sections G Through R

Each row represents one worker.

G – SSN. The employee’s Social Security number or ITIN. Disclosure is mandatory under IC 4-1-8-1, and the form cannot be processed without it.
H, I, J – Name. Last name, first name, middle initial. Leave the middle initial blank if the worker has none.
K – Start Date. The date the worker began working for your business. For a worker who separated and returned, use the new hire reporting rules to pick the right date.
L – SOC Code. The Standard Occupational Classification code for the job. Contact DWD if you need help.
M – Work Location ZIP. Where the employee actually performs the work, even if that differs from your mailing address.
N – Employment Type. The two-digit seasonal code if DWD has approved your business for seasonal status; otherwise FT for full-time or PT for part-time.
O – Gross Wages. Total wages paid to this employee during the quarter that are subject to unemployment insurance. Gross amount, not the taxable portion.
P, Q, R – Monthly Activity. For each of the three months in the quarter, enter Y if the worker was active during the payroll period that contains the 12th of the month, or N if not.

The monthly activity fields feed DWD’s statewide employment counts. Getting them wrong will not change your tax bill, but it can trigger an adequacy error.¹

How UC-5A Fits With Form UC-5

The UC-5A is the detail, one line per employee. Form UC-5 is the summary that totals your payroll, taxable wages, and the contribution you owe. The individual wages on the UC-5A should add up to the aggregate on the UC-5. Filing through Uplink does that math for you; on paper, you have to reconcile the two yourself before submitting.

Filing Through Uplink

Most employers submit the UC-5A electronically through the Uplink Employer Self-Service portal. Log in, choose the quarterly report option, and go to the wage reporting screen. How you enter data depends on headcount:

50 or fewer employees. Type each worker in directly, or upload a file.
More than 50 employees. File upload only. DWD does not allow manual entry at that size.

Accepted formats are Comma Separated Values (.CSV) and ASCII. Uploads run through validation that flags three categories of problems:

Upload errors. Critical problems that block the submission.
Adequacy errors. Missing required fields. The report can still submit, but DWD will follow up, and uncorrected adequacy errors carry a $25 penalty.
Warnings. Incomplete fields that do not carry a penalty.

Review the calculated contribution against your own payroll numbers before finalizing. Successful submission produces a confirmation receipt with a transaction number; keep it as proof of timely filing. Payments go through the portal by e-check or credit card.²³

Quarterly Deadlines

Due dates follow the same pattern every year, the last day of the month after the quarter closes:

Q1 (January–March): April 30
Q2 (April–June): July 31
Q3 (July–September): October 31
Q4 (October–December): January 31

DWD does not extend grace periods for technical difficulties, so leave lead time. If cash flow is tight, you can file the report early and pay closer to the deadline, since the late-payment clock starts when payment is late, not when the report goes in.²

Penalties for Late or Incomplete Filings

The consequences stack, so one quarter can be hit from several directions:

Late payment: 10% penalty on the unpaid contribution, plus 1% interest.
Missing report: $25 for each required report not filed.
Inadequate report: $25 for each report missing required information.

If reports and payments remain delinquent past the computation date, DWD adds 2 percentage points to your contribution rate. For a new employer starting at 2.5%, that nearly doubles the rate. The surcharge-adjusted rate is capped at 12%.²

Gross Wages vs. the Taxable Wage Base

Indiana’s taxable wage base is $9,500 per employee per calendar year. You only owe contributions on the first $9,500 each worker earns from your business in the year; anything above that is exempt.⁴ On the UC-5A itself, Section O still gets gross wages. The system applies the $9,500 cap when it calculates what you actually owe.

Rates themselves vary by employer. Most new employers pay 2.5% for their first four calendar years. Construction employers pay the lesser of 4.0% or the statewide construction average. Government employers start at 1.6% unless they elect reimbursable status. After the initial period, your rate adjusts based on claims history.⁵

Who Belongs on the Report

Only employees go on the UC-5A. Independent contractors do not. Indiana applies its own ABC test, and a worker is a contractor only if all three conditions are met:

A. The worker is essentially free from your direction and control, including your right to control how the work is done.
B. The services are outside your company’s usual course of business.
C. The worker is independently established in the same trade or business as the services performed for you.

Fail any one prong and the worker must be reported as an employee. Misclassification is a frequent audit trigger and can lead to back-assessments for unpaid contributions.²

Fixing a Mistake After You File

If you spot a wrong Social Security number, a misreported wage figure, or an employee left off the report, go back into Uplink and amend the quarterly report for the affected period. Fix problems quickly: uncorrected adequacy errors carry the $25 penalty, and bad wage data can disrupt a former employee’s unemployment claim later. If a correction leaves you with an overpayment, DWD can apply the credit to a future quarter.

1
Indiana Department of Workforce Development. State Form 54256 – Quarterly Wage and Employment Report
2
Indiana Department of Workforce Development. ESS Wage Reporting Guide
3
Indiana Department of Workforce Development. Employer Self Service
4
Indiana Department of Workforce Development. ESS Enhancement FAQ
5
Indiana Department of Workforce Development. New Employer Premium Rate