Overview
The Department of Labor & Industry requires employers to file Unemployment Compensation quarterly tax reports electronically through the Unemployment Compensation Management System (UCMS).
UCMS is the Tax portion of the Unemployment Compensation (UC) program. It allows real-time, 24-hour access to employer account data in a secure environment.
Reports and contributions are due at the end of the month following the calendar quarter (April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31). If a due date falls on a weekend or legal holiday, the report will be due the next business day.
You'll need the following information to submit your reports through the Quarterly Reporting portal in UCMS:
- Each employee's Social Security number
- Each employee's first name, middle initial, and last name
- Gross wages paid to each employee
- Taxable wages due
- Credit weeks earned by each employee during the quarter
- Total number of covered employees in the pay period, including the 12th of the month
- Employee contributions due*
- Employer contributions due*
- Interest due for late payment (when appropriate)*
- Penalty for late filing (when appropriate)*
*For more information, please view our Calculating Contributions, Penalties and Interest page.
L&I encourages employers to keep clear, accurate and complete employment and payroll records and retain those records at the place of employment or at an established central recordkeeping office for at least six years after contributions relating to such records have been paid. These records are subject to inspection and audit by the Office of UC Tax Services.
Please note:
- A report must be filed even if there has been no employment or wages paid during the calendar quarter.
- A credit week is any calendar week (Sunday to Saturday) an individual earns at least $116 in wages.
How to File
A quarterly report can be completed online through UCMS. A PDF tutorial on how to file a quarterly report can be found here. You can also file online by uploading files through the employer portal or using File Transfer Protocol (FTP). Use online filing if you have 100 or fewer employees; otherwise, use file upload or FTP. A PDF Tutorial on how to upload a quarterly report can be found here.
For specifications and instructions for filing a quarterly tax report via file upload or FTP review File Layouts and Formats for Electronic Reporting of PA Quarterly Unemployment Compensation Wage and Tax Data. If you have questions, contact the Office of UC Tax Services at 866-403-6163, option 2, Monday-Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. (EST). Employers who are unable to comply with the electronic filing requirement must file a waiver request form. Employers without a Department-approved waiver whose reports are not filed electronically will be charged a penalty.
- Employers with 100 or less employees may manually enter employee wage detail directly in the UCMS employer portal. Employee information is pre-populated in UCMS to facilitate the entering of quarterly wage detail. Note that employers with more than 100 employees must file wage detail electronically via File Upload or FTP.
- File early in the month the report is due to prevent interest and/or penalty fees in the event of unexpected delays.
- Sort the list of employees by social security number (SSN), last name or first name by clicking on the small box to the right of the column title.
- If an individual has left your employ and received no wages for the quarter, remove them from the list rather than entering "0" wages. After four quarters, the employee will no longer be pre-populated in the list of employees.
- To remove an employee, click on the box next to their name, then click the "Remove Selected Employees" button. If re-employed, the employee can be added back by using the "Add New Rows" button.
- Save your progress frequently. For security purposes, UCMS will automatically "time out" in 15 minutes if a button is not selected.
- File the report before making a payment, allowing you to allocate the payment to the correct report. If filing more than one report, do not make the payment until all the reports are filed.
- When printing a payment voucher, a new window will open. After printing, you may need to close this window to return to UCMS.
1. Employers with more than 100 employees must file wage detail electronically via File Upload or FTP. Employers with 100 or less employees may manually enter employee wage detail directly in the UCMS employer portal.
2. Reimbursable Financing Method employers/clients should enter zeros for any Taxable Wage fields.
3. File naming conventions must be according to those indicated in the UCMS File Layouts and Formats for Electronic Reporting of PA Quarterly UC Wage and Tax Data Handbook
4. If the files are incorrectly formatted, they will either fail to process or the data within the file will post inaccurately. Errors to watch for
- If you use the CSV format:
- Too many commas
- Not enough commas
- Need to indicate both the quarter and year in the E Record
- Do not use decimal points in any amount field in the E and S records
- Make sure there are no extra blank lines
- If you use the ICESA:
- Use caution when truncating the record length. The fixed-length file is 275 bytes
- Make sure there are no extra blank lines
- Bad file names due to multiple extensions. File names, including extensions, must be in uppercase:
- To see file extensions in Windows, go to Start, Control Panel, Folder Options. Select the View tab. Un-check "Hide extensions for known file types".
5. Always use the UCMS File Validation Tool to ensure that your files upload correctly and to reduce failures or inaccuracies.
6. Upload the file one time. Depending on the size of the file and during high volume filing, it may take time for the system to process the data. View the status of the file(s) by logging in and reviewing the Manage Uploaded Files screen.
Payments are required to be paid electronically through UCMS if the total liability for a payment period is, or at any point was, $5,000 or more, and the employer does not have a department-approved waiver on file. Failure to make payment electronically will result in a penalty.
- ACH Debit – UCMS will electronically contact the financial institution selected by the employer and will deduct the designated amount on the warehouse date indicated while submitting the payment
- ACH Credit – The employer instructs the financial institution to electronically transmit the designated amount to UCMS
- Credit Card – Allows the employer to electronically make a payment with a credit card, or
- Print a voucher and mail a payment – Allows the employer to print the payment voucher and mail it to the department with a check.
Checks or money orders should be made payable to: PA UC Fund. Your business name and UC employer account number should be entered on the check or money order. Mail to:
Office of UC Tax Services
P.O. Box 60848
Harrisburg PA 17106-0848
You can fix mistakes in your tax and wage information by going to the Quarterly Reporting portal in UCMS and choosing "Amend Quarterly Report."
For specifications and instructions for correction of UC tax and wage data by file upload or FTP, please review the File Layouts and Formats for Electronic Reporting of PA Quarterly Unemployment Compensation Wage and Tax Data.
Did you know you can receive email notifications whenever new UC Tax correspondence is available?
Just Three Easy Steps:
- Log in to your account at www.uctax.pa.gov
- Select "Employer Profile/Profile Maintenance" or "Representative Profile/Profile Maintenance" on the left menu
- In the Notifications area, select the "Send Notifications via Email" option
Why Sign Up for Email Notifications?
- Timely - electronic notifications provide real-time important UC Tax information about your account.
- Reliable - to ensure the notifications are not missed; up to 25 contact addresses can receive the email notification.
- Identifiable – the email notification provides the Legal Name and Correspondence Type so you know what information is available.
- Environmentally Friendly – paper notices are not mailed for accounts that receive electronic notifications
Don’t delay, sign up today!