NCSUITS

The North Carolina State Unemployment Insurance Tax System, or NCSUITS, is a new, modernized system to administer North Carolina’s unemployment insurance tax program. It will be a robust, cloud-based solution that replaces DES’s decades-old tax mainframe and remote filing systems.

• Enroll in online access or update online account access and the approved administrator/users.

• Update your employer account information.

• File any outstanding NCUI101 Employer’s Quarterly Tax and Wage Reports.

• Pay any outstanding debts.

Yes, for the most part. One significant change is that Remitters will now be called Agents in NCSUITS. Remitters can be one company that owns several other companies or are owned by the same entity but have different accounts (FEINs); these entities can file and pay on behalf of the employer.

Yes! Users who choose to upload wage files will now be able to use one of three different file formats – ICESA, EWF2 or CSV – to upload wage files and make online payments. This Employer's Guide to Wage Report and Payment File Specifications guidance document gives more information about the changes to file formats used when quarterly reports are submitted electronically. Also provided are individual guides for each file format for easy access. Choose the appropriate specification guidance document to make the changes now so that you are ready for filing reports in the new system!

The Wage File Upload feature in NCSUITS will confirm and process the incoming file, calculate taxes and other amounts due, and create a confirmation number. With that confirmation number, users will be able to submit their online payments. Agents will be able to submit payments for multiple clients through the Manual Payment Allocation feature or by uploading a payment allocation file.

The ICESA format will change. ICESA file(s) should have a file extension of .txt and a records length of 275.

• Only one record type ‘A’ in the file. The ‘A’ record will contain information about who is submitting the file.

• Only one record type ‘E’ in the file.  The ‘E’ record should contain information about the employer for whom the report is being submitted. The Employer ID and FEIN in the file must match the Employer ID and FEIN on the account logged into when uploading the file.
• Multiple type ‘S’ records in the file that contain SSN for employee(s), names and wages for the reporting quarter. (One record per employee)
• Only one record type ‘T’ in the file. The ‘T’ record should contain the totals for all record type ‘S’ records reported for the employer.
• Only one record type ‘F’ in the file. The ‘F’ record shows the end of the file and must be the last data record on each file submitted.
  

The EFW2 is the former MMREF format with changes. EFW2 file should have a file extension of .efw and a records length of 512.

• Only one record type ‘RA’ in the file. The ‘RA’ record will contain information about who is submitting the file.
• Only one record type ‘RE’ in the file.  The ‘RE’ record should contain information about the employer for whom the report is being submitted. The Employer ID and FEIN in the file must match the Employer ID and FEIN on the account logged into when uploading the file.
• Multiple type ‘RW’ records in the file that contain SSN for employee(s), names and wages for the reporting quarter.  (One record per employee)
• Only one record type ‘RT’ record in the file. The ‘RT’ record should contain the totals for all record type ‘S’ records reported for the employer.
• Only one record type ‘RF’ in the file. The ‘RF’ shows the end of the file and must be the last data record on each file submitted.

The CSV format is a new file format used to transmit the Quarterly Tax and Wage report. The CSV file should have a file extension of .csv, and all defined columns are populated. 

• Order of the records should be type 0, type 1, type 2, type 3.
• The CSV file format can be created using commercially available spreadsheet software (for example, Microsoft Excel). 
• Employers can file original or amended wage reports in this file format; however, each file should contain only information for one quarter.

No; the DES format will no longer be accepted once NCSUITS is launched in the fall of 2023. Instead, users who choose to upload wage files will now be able to use one of three different file formats – ICESA, EWF2 or CSV – to upload wage files and make online payments. This Employer's Guide to Wage Report and Payment File Specifications guidance document gives more information about the changes to file formats used when quarterly reports are submitted electronically.

Yes! Files for liable employers should be the only ones sent. You run a risk of not having your files processed if you upload files for employers who are not liable.

No; employers or third-party administrators will no longer be able to upload directly to the DES server. The good news is that the NCSUITS system is extremely robust and will be able to process all these files.

When submitting a Tax and Wage Report without a valid social security number, you should use all 9s instead of the 1s used in the current system. Ones will no longer be accepted once NCSUITS is launched.

Third-party administrators should not submit a report for an employer that was previously filed in the same quarter. It is also important to remember to only list an employee once in the file. If the person works in different departments for the same employer, add the wages together and submit them one time.

No. Employers and remitters currently registered with the Division of Employment Security’s current remote tax filing system will not need to re-register in NCSUITS. All existing information will convert to the new system. All employers and agents (remitters) currently registered with the current only need to update their existing accounts at this time.

NCSUITS will be the equivalent to the Remote Tax Filing System; however, NCSUITS will include several new features, more self-service options and real-time updates.

Yes! Three new address options will be available in NCSUITS: physical location, legal address and benefit charging address. As a reminder, the “business address” is the location where the work is performed in North Carolina, while the “mailing address” is the address where all unemployment insurance documents are mailed to unless other address types are completed.

• New--Physical location(s)- allows employers and agents to provide additional locations where work is performed in North Carolina.

• New--Legal Address

• New--Benefit Charging address- Address where quarterly UI benefit charging statements will be mailed.

As an employer or agent, what can I do now regarding address options in NCSUITS? 

In preparation for the launch of NCSUITS, the Division of Employment Security encourages employers and agents (remitters) to make a list of the new type of addresses for your business.

Yes! NCSUITS will allow employers and agents to choose their communication method preferences. The options are United States mail, email or text. Employers and agents who choose US Mail will continue to receive paper copies of all correspondence from the Division of Employment Security. Email and text preferences will accept a primary and secondary email address or phone number, so that two different people are notified of available correspondence on the account. Employers and agents who choose email or text will receive an alert, which indicates correspondence is available via their NCSUITS account. The alert will not contain either the correspondence or personal identifiable information.

In the current system, no. However, prior to the launch of NCSUITS, you can work with your respective staff to determine which of the three communication preference options – US Mail, email or text – you would like to choose in NCSUITS.

Yes! Employer accounts will require a primary contact; however, NCSUITS will allow multiple contacts on employer accounts. This makes it easier and faster for DES staff to contact the appropriate business person for a specific issues. Additional contact types are: Accounting, Benefits, FUTA Certification, Human Resources, Legal, Other, Payroll, Registration and Succession.

Now is the time to make your list of who will be designated contacts for your business. After NCSUITS launches this fall, you will be able to quickly input your multiple contacts into the system.

Yes! The Division of Employment Security is hosting two virtual webinars on Oct. 3 and Oct. 5 to provide a preview of the North Carolina State Unemployment Insurance Tax System (NCSUITS). Agents (currently called remitters) will be able to preview the system Oct. 3 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Employers will be able to see a preview during the Oct. 5 webinar, also from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Both webinars will be recorded and added to the DES NCSUITS webpage for future viewing. Note: There are limitations on the number of attendees, so it will be first-come, first-served.

• NCSUITS Preview for Agents: https://tinyurl.com/bddrx95y (password - NCSUITSagent) 62784872 from phones and video systems

• NCSUITS Preview for Employers: https://tinyurl.com/273b8rz6 (password - NCSUITSemployer) 62784873 from phones and video systems

NCSUITS will go live on Nov. 13! Once it goes live, employers and agents will be required to use the new file format(s) to file quarterly tax reports. Until it goes live, employers and agents can file through the existing legacy system. The Division of Employment Security encourages both employers and agents to file their third quarter reports as soon as reasonably possible.