Bonuses

Bonuses paid to an employee are reportable wages.

Commissions

Commissions are reportable wages unless specifically exempt from coverage (real estate or insurance sales).

Spouses Hired Together

Employers must report wages of all employees. If both individuals are required to perform services, the wages for such services must be reported separately for unemployment insurance purposes.

Courtesy Discounts

Courtesy discounts and mark-downs are not reportable wages if purchases made are optional with the employee and do not constitute regular or systematic remuneration for services rendered.

Disability Pay

Illness or accident disability payments, or medical or hospitalization expenses made to, or on behalf of, an individual are not reportable after six calendar months following the last calendar month in which the individual performed services for the employer.

Officers Salaries

Payments to officers of a corporation or association for services performed, whether cash, merchandise, stock issued, dividends, return of equity, and sometimes loans and rents are reportable wages up to a reasonable fair market wage (including subchapter S and other closely held corporations).

Payments Made to Children or Parents of Individual Proprietors

Payments by an individual proprietor to his or her children under 21 years of age (including foster children or stepchildren) or to the proprietor's parents are not reportable wages.

NOTE: This exemption does not apply for corporations or professional associations.  This exemption may apply tp partnerships if the child is the child of all the partners or the parent is the parent of all partners.

401(k) Plans 

1. Elective contributions: These amounts are taxable and must be reported as part of the employee's gross taxable wages. (Elective contributions are the contributions that an employer makes to a 401(k) plan based upon an employee's election.)
   
   
2. Voluntary after-tax contributions: These are additional contributions made by an employee to a 401K plan and should have already been included in the employee's gross wage reported for Idaho unemployment insurance tax. 
   

   Note: Payments to PERSI by an employee are not taxable for state UI tax purposes.

3. Matching Contributions: These amounts are not taxable and are exempt for unemployment insurance tax purposes. (Matching contributions are the contributions made by an employer to an employee's 401K plan based on how much the employee contributes to the plan.)
   
   
4. Non-Elective Contributions: These amounts are not taxable and are exempt for unemployment insurance tax purposes. (Non-elective contributions are contributions made by an employer to an employee's 401K plan that do not depend on any election or contribution by the employee.)  

Cafeteria Plans (IRS Code Section 125)

These amounts should not be reported as part of the employee's gross taxable wages.

Severance Pay

Severance pay or dismissal pay are reportable wages.

Sick Pay

Sick pay, except that resulting from an industrial accident (under Worker's Compensation or related), is a reportable wage.

Tips and Gratuities

Tips and gratuities received while performing services in covered employment totaling twenty dollars ($20) or more in a month, and which are reported in writing to the employer by the employee, as required by the IRS, are reportable wages for unemployment insurance tax purposes.

Travel and Other Business Expenses

Monies paid by employers to employees for business expenses incurred in the conduct of the employer's business will not be regarded as reportable wages provided all of the following criteria are met:

1. They must have paid or incurred deductible expenses while performing services as employees,
   
   
2. They must adequately account to the employer for these expenses, 
    
3. They must return any excess reimbursement or allowance, and 
    
4. The employer's records must clearly differentiate between business expenses and wages.  

To obtain more information about unemployment insurance taxes, contact any Department of  Labor tax representative. To find the tax representative nearest you, please consult the Tax Representatives directory.