Legislation / unemployment insurance · Small & new service employers · Updated 2026-09-18
Unemployment Insurance Tax Tweaks Small Service Employers Should Budget For (2024–2026)
By StartBusinessByStatePublisher: Robert SmithResearch process
Quick answer: Three states dominate this curated formation-season tracker. New Jersey A4047 is now P.L.2024, c.102 (approved 2024-12-12): charging and eligibility reforms that can change what hits an employer’s UI experience account (overpayment charging on appeals; multi-employer charging when a worker is still employed by one base-year employer). Budget the cash tax using NJ DOL Table C (FY2026–27) — published new employer rate 2.8% (current-rate column) — not a percentage invented from the bill title. Idaho H0054 (Session Law Ch. 29, effective 2025-07-01) revises taxable-wage-base and experience-rating statutes and nullifies listed IDAPA UI rules; new employers start at Idaho DOL’s published standard rate 1.000% for at least six calendar quarters (taxable wage base $55,300 in 2025; $58,300 on the 2026 rate-class array). Nebraska LB1393 (2024) + LB297 (2025) rewrite the combined-tax formula in §48-649.03 — including a 5% reduction of the final average combined tax rate for 2025–2029 and a tax-year 2025 category-12 rate of 0.48 — and NDOL’s Combined Tax Rates table shows new-employer non-construction 1.25% (construction 5.40%) for CY2024–CY2026.
Not legal advice. Proposed ≠ law. Do not invent rate percentages from bill titles — always pair statute changes with the state UI agency’s published schedule for the tax year. Aimed at cleaning, HVAC, salon, and daycare employers in year 1–2.
Featured changes + official rate sources
| State | Bucket | What changed | New-employer rate note (agency) | Bills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | enacted charging eligibility | A4047 became P.L.2024, c.102 (approved 2024-12-12). Assembly Labor Committee statement: UI charging/eligibility package — among other items, (a) removes the rule that overpayments during an employer appeal that later reduces benefits stay charged to the employer’s UI tax account; (b) stops charging a base-year employer’s account for benefits paid while the claimant still works for that employer but is laid off by another base-year employer; plus several claimant-eligibility/electronic-access changes. This is a charging-rules tracker row, not a rewrite of the experience-rating tax table. | Budget using NJ DOL Table C — New Employer Rate 2.8% (current-rate column) for FY2026–27; do not invent % from A4047 title | A4047 bill_id 1861270 — Passed; Approved P.L.2024, c.102 (2024-12-12); substituted for S2949 |
| Idaho | enacted employment security admin | H0054 — Session Law Chapter 29; Governor signed; effective 2025-07-01 (IDAPA sunset clauses also 2025-07-01 for listed sections). Revises Employment Security Law including taxable wage base (Idaho Code §72-1350), employer experience ratings (§72-1351 / §72-1351A), covered employment, PEO experience transfers, records/reports, and declares certain IDAPA 09.01.01 / 09.01.08 / 09.01.30 / 09.01.35 administrative rules null and void. Operator impact: confirm post-2025-07-01 wage-base and experience-rating procedures against Idaho DOL published arrays — not against pre-nullification IDAPA copies alone. | Budget Idaho new-employer UI at DOL standard rate 1.000% × published taxable wage base ($55,300 for 2025; $58,300 on 2026 array) — cite DOL arrays, not H0054 title | H0054 bill_id 1939797 — Passed; Session Law Chapter 29; Effective 2025-07-01 |
| Nebraska | enacted combined tax formula | LB1393 (approved 2024-04-16) and LB297 (approved 2025-03-25, emergency clause) both amend Neb. Rev. Stat. §48-649.03 combined tax rate under the Employment Security Law. LB297 slip law: (1) for Jan 1, 2025–Dec 31, 2029 the final average combined tax rate is reduced by five percent; (2) in tax year 2025 only, category twelve rate shall be 0.48; (3) adjusts when the commissioner may lower the yield factor (threshold changed to state’s reserve ratio ≥ 0.70%). Pair every % with NDOL’s published Combined Tax Rates table. | New cleaning/salon/daycare/HVAC employers (non-construction): budget NDOL new-employer rate 1.25% of taxable wages; construction trades use 5.40% — from NDOL table, not bill titles | LB1393 bill_id 1818575 — Passed 2024-04-18; LB297 bill_id 1920235 — Passed / Approved by Governor 2025-03-25 (emergency) |
Agency rate cites (bookmark these)
- New Jersey: NJ DOL rate information, contributions, and due dates · FY2026–2027 Table C PDF (new employer 2.8%).
- Idaho: Idaho DOL unemployment tax rates · 2026 tax-rate class array PDF · 2025 array PDF.
- Nebraska: NDOL Combined Tax Rates (new employer non-construction 1.25%; construction 5.40%; CY2025 cat.12 = 0.48%).
Formation checklist (cleaning / HVAC / salon / daycare)
For the new-business side of this checklist, use the New Jersey LLC guide or Idaho LLC guide for filing steps and available help. Add the unemployment-tax costs from the official notices to the separate hiring budget.
- Register for a state UI employer account as soon as you have covered wages — new-employer columns apply until you earn an experience rate.
- NJ: Read P.L.2024, c.102 charging rules if you share workers across entities or fight benefit charges; price payroll tax from Table C, not headlines.
- ID: After 2025-07-01, use post-H0054 DOL arrays for wage base + standard/experience rates; discard superseded IDAPA copies the Act nullified.
- NE: Model year-1 cost at NDOL’s published new-employer rate; experience-rated firms should note LB297’s 2025–2029 average-rate reduction and the 2025 category-12 0.48 fix.
- Companion labor rules: paid sick leave employer-size thresholds · noncompete wage thresholds for service workers.
All 51 statuses (curated)
| Abbr | State | Bucket | Bills |
|---|---|---|---|
| AL | Alabama | no curated change | — |
| AK | Alaska | no curated change | — |
| AZ | Arizona | no curated change | — |
| AR | Arkansas | no curated change | — |
| CA | California | no curated change | — |
| CO | Colorado | no curated change | — |
| CT | Connecticut | no curated change | — |
| DE | Delaware | no curated change | — |
| DC | District of Columbia | no curated change | — |
| FL | Florida | no curated change | — |
| GA | Georgia | no curated change | — |
| HI | Hawaii | no curated change | — |
| ID | Idaho | enacted employment security admin | H0054 bill_id 1939797 — Passed; Session Law Chapter 29; Effective 2025-07-01 |
| IL | Illinois | no curated change | — |
| IN | Indiana | no curated change | — |
| IA | Iowa | no curated change | — |
| KS | Kansas | no curated change | — |
| KY | Kentucky | no curated change | — |
| LA | Louisiana | no curated change | — |
| ME | Maine | no curated change | — |
| MD | Maryland | no curated change | — |
| MA | Massachusetts | no curated change | — |
| MI | Michigan | no curated change | — |
| MN | Minnesota | no curated change | — |
| MS | Mississippi | no curated change | — |
| MO | Missouri | no curated change | — |
| MT | Montana | no curated change | — |
| NE | Nebraska | enacted combined tax formula | LB1393 bill_id 1818575 — Passed 2024-04-18; LB297 bill_id 1920235 — Passed / Approved by Governor 2025-03-25 (emergency) |
| NV | Nevada | no curated change | — |
| NH | New Hampshire | no curated change | — |
| NJ | New Jersey | enacted charging eligibility | A4047 bill_id 1861270 — Passed; Approved P.L.2024, c.102 (2024-12-12); substituted for S2949 |
| NM | New Mexico | no curated change | — |
| NY | New York | no curated change | — |
| NC | North Carolina | no curated change | — |
| ND | North Dakota | no curated change | — |
| OH | Ohio | no curated change | — |
| OK | Oklahoma | no curated change | — |
| OR | Oregon | no curated change | — |
| PA | Pennsylvania | no curated change | — |
| RI | Rhode Island | no curated change | — |
| SC | South Carolina | no curated change | — |
| SD | South Dakota | no curated change | — |
| TN | Tennessee | no curated change | — |
| TX | Texas | no curated change | — |
| UT | Utah | no curated change | — |
| VT | Vermont | no curated change | — |
| VA | Virginia | no curated change | — |
| WA | Washington | no curated change | — |
| WV | West Virginia | no curated change | — |
| WI | Wisconsin | no curated change | — |
| WY | Wyoming | no curated change | — |
Download: unemployment-insurance-tax-changes-small-employers-by-state.csv (LegiScan data CC BY 4.0; cite LegiScan + state legislature + UI agency rate schedules).
Suggested citation: StartBusinessByState.com — Unemployment Insurance Tax Tweaks Small Service Employers Should Budget For (2024–2026). https://startbusinessbystate.com/unemployment-insurance-tax-changes-small-employers-by-state/. Please credit and link to this page when using our compilation or analysis, and retain the original-source credits and applicable reuse terms.Methods & fences
- LegiScan
getBill: NJ A4047 (1861270) P.L.2024 c.102; ID H0054 (1939797) Ch.29 eff. 2025-07-01; NE LB1393 (1818575); NE LB297 (1920235). - Rate % taken only from NJ DOL Table C, Idaho DOL tax arrays / standard-rate page, NDOL Combined Tax Rates, or numbers printed in chaptered LB297 — never from bill titles alone.
- Fences: proposed ≠ law; agency schedules control the tax year; not legal advice; distinct from WC-threshold and SBA lending magnets.