Employment Records
The law requires that employers make their records available during reasonable hours to authorized representatives of the Virginia Employment Commission. §60.2-114. Employer payroll records must be maintained for auditing purposes for a period of four years from the date wages were paid or payable. Regulation 16 VAC 5-32-10.B
All employing units are required by law to maintain complete payroll records on all employees. These records must include:
- the employee's name and social security number,
- date hired, rehired, or returned to work,
- date and reason for separation from employment,
- the state in which services were performed,
- schedule of work hours per day,
- time lost when worker was unable to perform his usual duties, and
- wages payable and dates covered for each pay period, as well as total wages paid for each quarter including:
a) tips,
b) cash value of other forms of remuneration,
c) special payments such as annual bonuses, gifts, prizes, severance pay, and,
d) payments of advancement or reimbursement for business expenses. Regulation 16 VAC 5-32-10.A
Liability Determination Report
All employing units are required to file a "Report to Determine Liability for State Unemployment Tax," either on-line https://www·ireg·tax·virginia·gov/VTOL/Login·seam or by FormVEC-FC-27 including those acquiring a business, regardless of the type or duration of employment involved. This form is provided to the employer along with an instruction sheet for completing the form and gives the agency the information necessary to determine liability. Employers are notified of the results of the determination. Any employing unit disagreeing with the agency's determination may request a hearing before the Commission. The Commission's decision may be appealed to the Circuit Court of the City of Richmond. This form should be submitted at any time when liability is questionable. §60.2-500, Regulation 16 VAC 5-32.
The VEC FC-27 form (and instructions) are available online at www·vec·virginia·gov/vecportal/employer/vec_forms·cfm.
Employer's Quarterly Payroll and Tax Report
File on line at: https://www·ireg·tax·virginia·gov/VTOL/Login·seam· Liable employers are required to file an "Employer's Quarterly Report," (VEC-FC-20 and VEC-FC-21) each quarter. These forms are used to report wage, tax, and employment information. They are due at the end of the month following the end of a calendar quarter. §60.2-512 Regulation 16 VAC 5- 32.
The VEC FC-20-21 forms, and instructions, are also available on the Employer Services page at www·VaEmploy·Com. Employers who report 100 or more employees in any calendar quarter must file quarterly payroll reports on magnetic media using a format prescribed by the Commission. For detailed information please go to our website or write to:
Virginia Employment Commission
Tax and Wage Information Processing Unit Room 123
P.O. Box 1358
Richmond, VA 23218-1358
Every employer in active status is mailed a form pre-printed with the employer's name, address, account number, and the rate at which taxes are to be computed. If you do not receive these forms, you should request that a set be mailed to you by Mailing a request to the address above or printing one off on line.
NOTE: Failure to receive Forms VEC-FC-20 and VEC-FC-21 does not relieve the employer of the responsibility for filing those reports.
Employers are required to list the name, social security number, and total wages paid to each covered employee during the calendar quarter on the "Employer's Quarterly Report," VEC-FC-20 and VEC-FC-21. Include all wages paid both in cash and in any remuneration other than cash. All severance pay shall be reported as wages on Quarterly Reports. Extreme care should be taken to ensure that the information provided is correct as it is used in processing claims for unemployment benefits. §60.2-512, §60.2-229, Regulation 16 VAC 5-32-10.A. Quarterly wage reports by magnetic media are acceptable and required for employers of 100 employees or more effective 2009. . Magnetic reporting in the format prescribed by the Social Security Administration publication 'Magnetic Media Report and Electronic Filing (MMREF)' is acceptable.
Additional information is available on the Social Security Administration web page at http://www·ssa·gov/employer/erii2b·htm. Data may be submitted to the VEC on magnetic media 3½-inch diskette, or compact disk.
Please secure any data sent to the VEC on media by encryption. Please call (804) 786-4207 or 786-2202 to receive instructions on how to provide the key or password.
For additional information contact the Tax and Wage Information Processing Unit at the address shown above, by phone at 804-786-4207, or log on to http://www·vec·virginia·gov/vecportal/employer/pdf/disks·pdf for full technical specifications. The taxable wage base in Virginia is $8,000. Unemployment insurance tax must be paid on the amount of annual wages paid to an individual in any calendar year up to the taxable wage base. §60.2-229.B. Employers who discontinue or sell their business should notify the Commission within thirty days. Reports and taxes are due on the usual due dates.
Regulation 16 VAC 5-32-20.D.
Corrections and Adjustments
If you find that a previously filed quarterly report was incorrect, you must notify the Commission in writing and furnish the correct information. In the case of an underpayment, remittance should be made as soon as possible since interest begins accumulating after the due date. Do not use the "Employer's Quarterly Report," VEC-FC-20 and VEC-FC-21, for making adjustments. If you are not able to pay the tax due, the payroll and tax report must still be submitted so that these wages may be entered in our database for claims purposes. If you question your liability for benefit charges, the reports and the remittance should be submitted until the discrepancy is resolved.
Penalties and Interest
A penalty of $75 per report is charged for late tax and/or payroll reports. Newly covered employers must file all quarterly tax reports by the due date of the quarter in which an employer account number is assigned to avoid the penalty on each report. A penalty of $25 is charged for each dishonored check. Interest is charged at the rate of 1.5% per month until payment is received. Any part of a month will be considered as a full month for the purpose of computing interest. §60.2- 513, §60.2-519
Injunctions
In extreme cases where the agency cannot secure compliance, it may petition the courts to issue an injunction prohibiting the employer from doing business until the employer has complied with the law. §60.2-522
Audits of Employer Records
In order to ensure compliance with taxing provisions of the state law and to meet Department of Labor requirements, audits are conducted on employer records periodically. An audit may reveal an underpayment or overpayment of taxes by an employer. The tax representative will assist in making the proper adjustments to the account. §60.2-114 All VEC tax representatives carry official, agency issued, identity documents. Do not hesitate to ask for them.