Texas unemployment tax: what to enter

What to enter for Texas, how StartEase checks it, and where to read the rules from the state.

What do I enter for Texas state unemployment tax in StartEase Payroll?

Enter your Texas account number and your unemployment tax rate exactly as printed on the notice from the Texas Workforce Commission, with the year it is for. StartEase will not approve a Texas payroll while the rate is missing, belongs to the wrong year, is stale, or a temporary rate has ended.

Where do I enter it?

1. Open State registrations and select the Texas card.
2. Set the status: Not started, Applied or Registered.
3. Enter the account number the state gave you.
4. Enter the unemployment rate and the year, copied from the state's notice.

If you do not have the notice yet, ask the state for it, then send it to your payroll team. See Send your state unemployment (SUTA) rate notice.

What does StartEase check?

• The work state on each employee record, because state tax and state unemployment tax depend on where the work is done.
• The rate and its year before every payroll. A red message names the Texas rate and what to enter. See Why can't I approve my payroll?
• The new-hire report: each employee record has a box Reported to the state new-hire registry with a due date counted from the hire date. Your payroll team reports and ticks it. Check the exact number of days with the state.

What does this page not tell me?

It does not give your rate, your taxable wage base or any due date. The state sets them and they change, so read them from the state's own pages below and from your notice.

Related: Send your state unemployment (SUTA) rate notice and Wyoming unemployment tax: what to enter.