1. What is SUTA?
SUTA (State Unemployment Tax Act) is every state’s payroll tax that funds unemployment insurance. Employers pay it; employees do not—with three exceptions (Alaska, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) where both employer and employee contributions are required. Each payment you make goes into your employees’ state unemployment trust fund, which later finances their benefits should they become unemployed.
2. How is SUTA different from FUTA?
| SUTA | FUTA |
Taxing authority | State governments | Federal government |
Purpose | Funds each state’s unemployment benefits | Funds federal oversight and emergency loans to states |
Who pays | Employers (plus employees in AK, NJ, PA) | Employers only |
Connection | States set their own wage bases and rates | FUTA rate is uniform, but states with insolvent trust funds can lose part of the FUTA credit |
During periods of unusually high unemployment, a state may borrow from FUTA reserves to keep benefits flowing.
3. Who must pay SUTA?
If you have any W‑2 employees—full‑time or part‑time—you must:
Register for a state unemployment insurance (UI) account.
Withhold employee SUTA (AK, NJ, PA only).
Remit employer and (where applicable) employee amounts on each state’s schedule.
1099 contractors are not covered. No SUTA contributions are due on their payments in any state.
4. Understanding the wage base
A wage base is the maximum amount of an individual employee’s annual wages subject to SUTA. Once wages exceed that ceiling, no further SUTA is collected for that employee until the next calendar year.
Example (Florida 2023)
Wage base : $7,000
New‑employer rate : 2.7 %
Tax per employee : $7,000 × 2.7 % = $189 (no matter whether the employee earns $25k or $150k).
5. How Projection Genie calculates SUTA for you
Default values – We preload each state’s wage base and standard new‑employer rate (see table below).
Automatic cost estimates – Those values flow directly into your projected payroll and fully‑loaded employee‑cost models.
Override option for RunSmart users – If you have already received your state Unemployment Insurance rate notice, simply enter the exact percentage in to override the provided tax rate.
Variable‑rate states – For StartSmart users, when a state publishes a range instead of a single figure (Louisiana, Minnesota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, Puerto Rico), Projection Genie lets you type in any rate within the official range.
Heads‑up on projections: Because states release next‑year rates only a few weeks before they take effect, Projection Genie applies the current year’s rate for all future‑year forecasts. Treat those numbers as rough estimates until official figures are published.
U.S. State | SUTA Wage Base (2023) | Wage Base Monthly Limit (2023) | SUTA New Employer Tax Rate (2023) |
Alabama | $ 8,000 | $ 666.67 | 2.70% |
Alaska | $ 47,100 | $ 3,925.00 | 2.37% |
Arizona | $ 8,000 | $ 666.67 | 2.00% |
Arkansas | $ 7,000 | $ 583.33 | 3.10% |
California | $ 7,000 | $ 583.33 | 3.40% |
Colorado | $ 20,400 | $ 1,700.00 | 1.70% |
Connecticut | $ 15,000 | $ 1,250.00 | 2.80% |
Delaware | $ 10,500 | $ 875.00 | 1.20% |
District of Colombia | $ 9,000 | $ 750.00 | 2.70% |
Florida | $ 7,000 | $ 583.33 | 2.70% |
Georgia | $ 9,500 | $ 791.67 | 2.70% |
Hawaii | $ 56,700 | $ 4,725.00 | 4.00% |
Idaho | $ 49,900 | $ 4,158.33 | 1.07% |
Illinois | $ 13,271 | $ 1,105.92 | 3.95% |
Indiana | $ 9,500 | $ 791.67 | 2.50% |
Iowa | $ 36,100 | $ 3,008.33 | 1.00% |
Kansas | $ 14,000 | $ 1,166.67 | 2.70% |
Kentucky | $ 11,100 | $ 925.00 | 2.70% |
Louisiana | $ 7,700 | $ 641.67 | 1.95% |
Maine | $ 12,000 | $ 1,000.00 | 2.19% |
Maryland | $ 8,500 | $ 708.33 | 2.30% |
Massachusetts | $ 15,000 | $ 1,250.00 | 1.43% |
Michigan | $ 9,500 | $ 791.67 | 2.70% |
Minnesota | $ 40,000 | $ 3,333.33 | 10.82% |
Mississippi | $ 14,000 | $ 1,166.67 | 1.00% |
Missouri | $ 10,500 | $ 875.00 | 2.70% |
Montana | $ 40,500 | $ 3,375.00 | 2.40% |
Nebraska | $ 9,000 | $ 750.00 | 1.25% |
Nevada | $ 40,100 | $ 3,341.67 | 2.95% |
New Hampshire | $ 14,000 | $ 1,166.67 | 2.70% |
New Jersey | $ 41,100 | $ 3,425.00 | 3.10% |
New Mexico | $ 30,100 | $ 2,508.33 | 1.00% |
New York | $ 12,300 | $ 1,025.00 | 4.10% |
North Carolina | $ 29,600 | $ 2,466.67 | 1.00% |
North Dakota | $ 40,800 | $ 3,400.00 | 1.13% |
Ohio | $ 9,000 | $ 750.00 | 2.70% |
Oklahoma | $ 25,700 | $ 2,141.67 | 1.50% |
Oregon | $ 50,900 | $ 4,241.67 | 2.10% |
Pennsylvania | $ 10,000 | $ 833.33 | 3.82% |
Puerto Rico | $ 7,000 | $ 583.33 | 5.40% |
Rhode Island | $ 28,200 | $ 2,350.00 | 1.09% |
South Carolina | $ 14,000 | $ 1,166.67 | 0.45% |
South Dakota | $ 15,000 | $ 1,250.00 | 1.75% |
Tennessee | $ 7,000 | $ 583.33 | 2.70% |
Texas | $ 9,000 | $ 750.00 | 2.70% |
Utah | $ 44,800 | $ 3,733.33 | 7.30% |
Vermont | $ 13,500 | $ 1,125.00 | 1.00% |
Virgin Islands | $ 30,200 | $ 2,516.67 | 2.00% |
Virginia | $ 8,000 | $ 666.67 | 2.50% |
Washington | $ 67,600 | $ 5,633.33 | 6.00% |
West Virginia | $ 9,000 | $ 750.00 | 2.70% |
Wisconsin | $ 14,000 | $ 1,166.67 | 3.25% |
Wyoming | $ 29,100 | $ 2,425.00 | 1.22% |
6. Keeping your data current
Annual updates – We refresh the table by April 15 each year once a majority of states publish their new rates.
Your responsibility – For RunSmart users, always enter the exact percentage shown on your most recent state Unemployment Insurance notice; that figure will override the default in all RunSmart calculations.
Forecasts – Because future‑year wage bases and rates are unknown, RunSmart rolls the current rate forward. Treat multi‑year SUTA estimates as directional until official numbers are available.