My employer is shutting down and I am unsure if they have been paying unemployment tax. Can I still file?

Question

Poor management, they are going to court for not paying sales tax. They have shown withholdings on every paycheck stub, but I am not sure if they have been paying anything in, including social security. Is unemployment included in the normal deductions or is it a separate thing?

Answer 1

Whether or not they have paid their taxes has zero impact on your eligibility for unemployment compensation. One is not dependent upon the other.

State unemployment taxes are paid by the employers only in nearly all states. A couple of states do place a small levy on employee wages. Federal unemployment tax (FUTA) is paid by employers only and is never withheld from employees.

You will receive credit for all taxes withheld -- FICA, Income tax, etc. regardless of whether or not they were paid in by your employer.

Answer 2

Your employer should have been paying Federal and State unemployment taxes all along, along with regular payroll taxes, and the sales taxes. If they haven't you can still file for unemployment, and that will just be another things that the irs and your state dept of revenue will be going after your employer for.