Missouri’s new hire reporting requirements obligate every employer doing business in the state to report each newly hired employee within 20 calendar days of the hire date. The report goes to the Missouri Department of Revenue, which feeds the data into the State Directory of New Hires. The rule comes from RSMo 285.300 and applies regardless of your company’s size or whether the worker is full-time, part-time, or seasonal.
Who Has to Report and Who Gets Reported
Federal law borrows the Internal Revenue Code’s withholding definitions for new hire reporting, so if you pay wages and withhold taxes in Missouri, you are an employer for this purpose. That includes private businesses, government offices, and labor organizations.
The workers you must report are those who meet the IRC’s definition of employee, which generally means anyone who receives a W-2. Independent contractors who get a 1099 are not covered by the mandatory reporting rule. Missouri’s reporting portal will accept voluntary contractor reports, and some employers submit them to get ahead of potential child support withholding, but you are not required to.
The only categorical exemption applies to federal and state intelligence or counterintelligence personnel whose agency head determines that reporting could endanger the employee or compromise a mission.
What Information You Must Include
RSMo 285.304 sets the minimum data for every report:
- The employee’s full legal name, current residential address, and Social Security number
- The date of hire (the date services for pay were first performed)
- Your business name, address, and Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN)
If you submit a form other than the federal W-4, Missouri also wants the date the employee signed the W-4 or the hire date as defined in RSMo 285.300.
Most employers simply send a copy of the completed federal W-4 or the Missouri MO W-4 with the employer’s name, FEIN, and address written at the top. A printed list containing all the required fields also works, provided it uses at least a 10-point font and shows employer information at the top.
How to Submit the Report
You have three options.
The fastest is the online portal at missouriemployer.dss.mo.gov, where you enter the data directly and receive immediate confirmation.
For paper submissions, mail the W-4, MO W-4, or printed list to:
Missouri Department of Revenue
PO Box 3340
Jefferson City, MO 65105-3340
You can also fax reports to 1-877-573-6172. Whichever method you choose, make sure the form is legible and every required field is complete. If you catch a mistake after the fact, send a corrected report through the same channel you used originally.
The 20-Day Deadline
The clock starts on the hire date, and Missouri defines that as whichever of these events happens first: the date the employee signs the W-4 (or equivalent), the first date the employee reports to work, or the first date the employee performs labor or services. If you let a new hire start before the paperwork is finished, the deadline runs from the day they started working, not the day you got around to the W-4.
Employers who file electronically or through magnetic media get an alternative schedule. Instead of a hard 20-day window on each individual hire, you may batch reports into two monthly transmissions spaced no fewer than 12 and no more than 16 days apart.
Rehires and Temporary Workers
Not every returning worker triggers a fresh report. Under federal law, a newly hired employee includes someone who previously worked for you but has been separated for at least 60 consecutive days. Missouri’s practical test is tied to the W-4: if the returning employee has to fill out a new one, submit a new hire report.
For temp workers, the staffing agency that pays the wages is the one responsible for reporting. A temp only needs to be reported once per engagement, unless a break in service requires a new W-4 before the worker can resume.
If You Have Employees in More Than One State
Multi-state employers get a choice. You can report each new hire to the state where that employee works and follow each state’s rules, or you can designate a single state and report all new hires there electronically.
If you pick the single-state option, RSMo 285.300 requires you to notify the Secretary of Health and Human Services of your designation. You can register online through the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement, or mail or fax a registration form to HHS. Multi-state reports must be electronic, must flag themselves as multi-state filings, and must include one extra data element: the state in which each employee was hired.
Penalties for Not Reporting
RSMo 285.302 sets the penalties. An employer who intentionally fails to submit the required information commits an infraction and faces a fine of up to $25 for each unreported employee. If the failure results from a conspiracy between the employer and the employee to avoid reporting or to file a false or incomplete report, the fine climbs to $350 per occurrence.
The fines apply per employee and per instance, so an audit that turns up several missed hires can add up fast.