The main NH unemployment tax form is the Quarterly Tax and Wage Report, filed with the New Hampshire Department of Employment Security (NHES) on the last day of the month following each calendar quarter. Before that recurring filing begins, a new employer files Form DES 100, the Employer Status Report, to open its unemployment insurance account. Both forms feed the same system: NHES uses them to set your tax rate and to determine benefit eligibility for workers who separate from your business.
Who Has to File
You become a liable New Hampshire employer, and start filing, when you hit any one of these triggers in a calendar year:
- General employers: at least one worker for some part of a day in 20 different weeks, or $1,500 or more in wages in a single quarter.
- FUTA-liable employers: liable under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act for the current or previous year with employees in New Hampshire.
- Successor employers: you acquired the business of an employer already covered.
- Household employers: $1,000 or more in wages for domestic workers in a quarter.
- Agricultural employers: $20,000 or more in agricultural wages in a quarter, or 10 or more agricultural workers in 20 different weeks.
Once liable, you stay liable, and you file every quarter even when you pay no wages.1NH.gov. Employer Status Report A quarter you skipped because payroll was empty still counts as late and still draws a penalty. RSA Chapter 282-A is the statute behind all of this.2Justia. New Hampshire Code Chapter 282-A – Unemployment Compensation
Form DES 100: Registering as a New Employer
Form DES 100, the Employer’s Status Report, is a one-time filing. It collects your Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN), business type, start-of-operations date, and workforce details. NHES uses that information to assign your state unemployment insurance account number and set your initial obligations.3NH Department of Revenue Administration. NH Department of Employment Security File it promptly after you cross a liability trigger to avoid a retroactive assessment.
What’s on the Quarterly Tax and Wage Report
The Quarterly Tax and Wage Report does two jobs on one form: it reports each employee’s wages for benefit-eligibility purposes and calculates your tax for the quarter.4New Hampshire Employment Security. Employer Claims and Taxes
Part 1 handles the tax math: number of covered workers, gross wages, excess wages (the portion above the taxable wage base), net taxable wages, unemployment insurance tax due, the administrative contribution, and any interest or late-filing penalty. Part 2 lists each employee by Social Security number, name, and gross wages for the quarter.5NH.gov. Employer Quarterly Tax and Wage Report
If no wages were paid in the quarter, submit the form anyway with zeros on the wage lines.5NH.gov. Employer Quarterly Tax and Wage Report
How the Tax Is Calculated
New Hampshire’s unemployment tax applies to the first $14,000 in wages paid to each employee during a calendar year. Anything above that is excess wages, which you subtract from gross wages to get net taxable wages.4New Hampshire Employment Security. Employer Claims and Taxes The base resets every January, so an employee who topped $14,000 last year starts fresh on January 1. Bonuses, commissions, and tips count the same as regular wages.
New employers begin at a rate of 2.7%. After the first year, NHES adjusts your rate based on your payment history and how much the state has paid out in unemployment benefits to your former workers. A stable business with on-time payments will typically see a lower rate than one with frequent layoffs or late filings.4New Hampshire Employment Security. Employer Claims and Taxes Multiply net taxable wages by your assigned rate to get the quarterly amount owed.
Filing Deadlines
The report is due on the last day of the month after each quarter closes:
- First quarter (January through March): April 30
- Second quarter (April through June): July 31
- Third quarter (July through September): October 31
- Fourth quarter (October through December): January 31
Electronic filings through WebTax are timely if submitted by midnight Eastern time within two business days after the due date. Paper filings must be postmarked no later than the first day of the month following the due date.6New Hampshire Employment Security. NHES Web Tax and New Hire Reporting System
If you need more time, a 30-day extension costs $50. The extension request and the tax payment itself both have to reach NHES before the original due date; the extension moves the report deadline, not the payment deadline.5NH.gov. Employer Quarterly Tax and Wage Report
How to File and Pay
Most employers file through the NH WebTax portal at nhuis.nh.gov. Logging in requires your state UI Tax Account Number and FEIN.7New Hampshire Employment Security. New Hampshire’s Unemployment Insurance System The portal walks through wage entry, calculates the tax, and generates a confirmation number when you submit. Save that number as proof of filing.6New Hampshire Employment Security. NHES Web Tax and New Hire Reporting System
Employers with 50 or more employees must file electronically. Smaller employers may still use paper, but paper forms must be typed or hand-printed in black ink with all capital letters and mailed to NHES.5NH.gov. Employer Quarterly Tax and Wage Report
Payment through WebTax is by electronic funds transfer (EFT), which pulls directly from your business bank account.6New Hampshire Employment Security. NHES Web Tax and New Hire Reporting System Paper filers can enclose a check. Either way, the payment has to arrive by the due date. Filing on time but paying late still triggers interest.
Penalties and Interest for Late Filing
A late quarterly report brings a filing fee of 10% of the tax due, with a $25 floor even when the tax amount is small.5NH.gov. Employer Quarterly Tax and Wage Report Any unpaid balance accrues interest at 1% per month until NHES receives the full amount plus that interest.8New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 282-A:141 – Interest on Past Due Contributions
Under RSA 282-A:166-a, the commissioner may impose additional penalties from $100 to $500 depending on the violation, and willful failure to file or pay is a misdemeanor under state law. NHES also has statutory authority to place a lien on business property, and for corporations and LLCs that lien can reach the president, treasurer, and anyone in a managerial role.9NH.gov. NH Employment Security Law Book
If you don’t file at all, NHES estimates your liability from whatever information is available, and those estimates typically run higher than the numbers a real filing would produce. Filing on time with imperfect numbers almost always beats not filing.
The Federal Piece: Form 940
The NH filing doesn’t cover your federal unemployment tax. Most employers also owe FUTA, reported annually on IRS Form 940. FUTA applies to the first $7,000 in wages paid to each employee during the calendar year, with a gross rate of 6.0%.10Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 940
The two systems connect through a credit: employers who pay their state unemployment taxes on time receive a credit of up to 5.4% against the FUTA rate, dropping the effective federal rate to 0.6% on the first $7,000 per employee.11U.S. Department of Labor. Unemployment Insurance Tax Topic Falling behind on NH quarterly payments risks that credit and can nearly triple your federal bill.
Form 940 is due January 31 following the tax year, with an automatic extension to February 10 for employers who have deposited all FUTA tax on time. If FUTA liability tops $500 in a quarter, deposit the tax by the last day of the month after that quarter rather than waiting for the annual filing.10Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 940
The Form Only Applies to Employees
Unemployment tax applies to employees, not independent contractors, so whether you owe anything on a given worker turns on classification. The IRS looks at three areas: behavioral control over how the work is done, financial control over payment method and expense reimbursement, and the nature of the relationship, including benefits and any written contract.12Internal Revenue Service. Independent Contractor (Self-Employed) or Employee? No single factor decides the question.
Getting classification wrong exposes you to back state contributions plus interest, retroactive FUTA, and potential penalties for failing to withhold federal payroll taxes. A worker denied unemployment benefits because of misclassification has every reason to file a complaint, and that complaint often opens the audit.