If you are an employer subject to the law, you must file an “Employer Report of Wages Paid” (WR-30) form within 30 days of the end of each calendar quarter. This report requires you to list all individuals who were employed by and/or received remuneration from you as employees during the calendar quarter. Since we use the data supplied by employers on Form WR-30 to determine eligibility for New Jersey unemployment and temporary disability benefits, it is imperative that only remuneration for services rendered in New Jersey be included on that form. Wages paid for services performed in other states should be reported to those states. When determining the proper state to report remuneration to, please refer to “Multiple State Employment” in Chapter I, Section 3, “Liability for Contributions (Taxes).”

Information required includes (1) employee Social Security number, (2) employee name, (3) gross wages paid, and (4) base weeks earned.

Gross wages paid are to be reported using the definition described in Chapter I, Section 4, “Wages.”

Exception: Domestic employers (those who employ only household workers) are required to file all four quarterly WR-30 reports together with one NJ-927 report on an annual basis, due on January 30 of the following year. (Example: All wages paid in the calendar year of 2019 must be reported and filed on four quarterly WR-30 reports with one NJ-927 showing total wages, by January 30, 2020.)

A base week is any calendar week (Sunday through Saturday) in the reporting quarter during which the employee earned in employment remuneration equal to or more than 20 times the state hourly minimum wage ($169.00 in 2018 and $172.00 in 2019).

Payments made to employees for vacation, sick, or other paid leave during the quarter are to be reported as part of wages paid during that quarter. Earnings and, therefore, base weeks are credited when the leave is actually taken, which may or may not occur within the same quarter as the payment.

Termination or separation payments made to an employee in lieu of notice continue the employment relationship and should be reported as a base week. In such an instance, the actual base week would occur in the week or weeks following the last day that was worked. Severance payments made under contractual obligations, custom or company policy do not extend the employment relationship and are not counted as a base week. These payments are reported on Form WR-30, and the entry for number of base weeks is zero.

Commissions or bonuses are reported as part of wages for the quarter when they are actually paid. These earnings may be used in base week calculations if (1) the payments can be directly attributable to earnings of a specific calendar week, or specific calendar weeks, and (2) such additional earnings would only then increase the existing earnings for affected calendar week(s) above the minimum amount required to constitute a base week.

All employers must file their quarterly wage reporting information (Form WR-30) electronically either online here or by Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP). No employers will receive pre-printed WR-30 reports or reminders of due dates.
 
You may view instructions for completing the WR-30 report online by choosing “Help” at the bottom of the (online) page. Read the instructions carefully before completing each quarter’s report. When filing, please ensure that all columns are completed.

Filing the WR-30 by SFTP technology will require authorization. Submit a Request For Authorization to Report Electronically, available on the forms page online here. All types of magnetic media—including tape, cartridge, diskette and CD and e-mail attachment—have now been phased out. For more information about SFTP filing, call (609) 530-7493.

The following penalties will be assessed against employers based on the number of employees who:
(a) were not reported
(b) were not reported by the due date
(c) were not reported completely and accurately, and/or
(d) who were not reported on electronic media when required:

Employers may amend the WR-30 report either online here or by Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP). See Electronic Filing Options (above) for more information about SFTP.

For instructions on amending the WR-30 report, choose “Help” at the bottom of the page of the online report.