Michigan’s quarterly wage and tax report is due to the Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) by the 25th of the month after each calendar quarter ends, filed electronically through the Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM). You owe a report every quarter you hold an active account, even when payroll was zero, and the penalties for a missed or sloppy filing stack together quickly.
The Four Quarterly Deadlines
Each report covers a three-month period and is due on the 25th of the following month. If the 25th lands on a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.
- First quarter (January–March): April 25
- Second quarter (April–June): July 25
- Third quarter (July–September): October 25
- Fourth quarter (October–December): January 25
File every quarter, including quarters in which you paid no wages. 1State of Michigan. LEO – Submit Reports and Payments
What the Report Must Contain
Each quarterly report lists every employee’s name, Social Security number, and gross wages paid during the quarter, along with your business name, address, and both federal and state employer identification numbers. 2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 421.13 – Contributions of Employer; Rate; Obligation
You report total gross wages for each employee even after that worker’s year-to-date wages pass the taxable wage base; contributions simply stop accruing on the excess.
Filing Through MiWAM
All employers must file electronically through MiWAM, regardless of size. The only out is written approval from the UIA director for additional time based on economic hardship, which requires showing that electronic filing would be burdensome. 2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 421.13 – Contributions of Employer; Rate; Obligation
Test your MiWAM login well before each deadline. Locked accounts and forgotten passwords cause more missed filings than genuine payroll problems. MiWAM is also how the UIA sends notices, so an unmonitored account can mean a correction request or penalty notice goes unseen until the window to respond has closed.
Taxable Wage Base
Michigan unemployment contributions apply only to wages up to a capped amount per employee per year. For 2026, the standard taxable wage base is $9,000 per employee. Employers classified as delinquent pay on wages up to $9,500. 3State of Michigan. LEO – Michigan Employer Advisor: January 2026
Penalties When Filings Are Late or Wrong
Several penalties can land on the same quarter, and the UIA applies them automatically.
Late Tax Report
A tax report filed after its due date carries a penalty of 10% of the taxes owed on that report, with a minimum of $5 and a maximum of $25 per report. 4State of Michigan. LEO – Fact Sheet 153 – Penalties
Late, Missing, or Uncorrected Wage Report
Separate from the tax penalty, a $50 wage penalty applies when a quarterly report is filed late, when the UIA has to estimate a missing report, or when a timely report contains errors that remain uncorrected 14 days after the UIA sends notice. If the report is still outstanding after that first quarter, an additional $250 wage penalty is added for each subsequent quarter it stays unfiled. 5State of Michigan. LEO – Fact Sheet 159 – Notice of Error in Reported Wages/Taxes
Interest on Unpaid Contributions
Contributions not paid by the due date accrue interest at 1% per month, calculated daily until the balance plus interest is paid in full. Total interest is capped at 50% of the original unpaid amount. 6Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 421.15
How the Numbers Stack
Say you owe $2,000 for Q1 and don’t pay until October, roughly six months late. The 1% monthly interest adds about $120, plus the $25 late tax report cap, plus a $50 wage penalty. Miss two quarters in a row and the wage penalties alone climb to $300. Persistent non-filing can also trigger an audit, which tends to surface additional discrepancies and more liability.
Fixing Errors After You File
The UIA reviews filed reports and mails a Notice of Error when it finds problems. You have 14 days from the mail date of that notice to submit a corrected report. Correct it inside that window and the UIA waives the administrative fine for the mistake. 2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 421.13 – Contributions of Employer; Rate; Obligation
The simplest way to submit a correction is directly through MiWAM. If you use the file-upload method instead, submit a complete replacement report containing all correct data from the original filing alongside the corrections, not just the changed entries. 5State of Michigan. LEO – Fact Sheet 159 – Notice of Error in Reported Wages/Taxes
Miss the 14-day window and the $50 wage penalty applies, with any resulting tax underpayment accruing the standard 1% monthly interest. A correction notice doesn’t resolve itself; sitting on it is the expensive choice.
If You Disagree With a UIA Determination
You can protest a determination about tax liability, employer status, or a penalty within 30 days of its mail date. The UIA reviews protests internally and issues a redetermination. 7State of Michigan. LEO – Protests and Appeals
If the redetermination doesn’t resolve the dispute, you have another 30 days from its mail date to appeal. Appeals are heard by an Administrative Law Judge independent of the UIA, with UIA staff potentially participating. Both sides present evidence, and the ALJ issues a written decision. An ALJ decision on employer contributions can be appealed to the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Commission (successor to the Michigan Compensation Appellate Commission as of 2019), with further review available in circuit court. In some cases, the employer and UIA can stipulate to skip the commission and go straight to circuit court. 8Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 421.38
Records to Keep
Michigan’s Employment Security Act requires every employer to maintain wage and employment records and to produce reports as the UIA prescribes. 2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 421.13 – Contributions of Employer; Rate; Obligation At a minimum, keep gross wages paid to each employee, pay periods, hours worked, and dates of employment.
The statute leaves the specific retention period to UIA rules; keeping records for at least seven years aligns with the schedule used by Michigan government employers and gives a comfortable margin for audits or disputes. Make sure your payroll system can generate quarterly summaries that match the fields on the wage report, and reconcile the two before each deadline. That one check catches most of the errors the UIA would otherwise find for you.