Employees May Be Eligible For Tax Refunds From State

Jan. 9, 2001
No. 01-28

Employees who had excess taxes deducted from their share of unemployment insurance contributions in 2000 may apply for a refund, Ed Flanagan, Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, announced today. 

"An employee who worked for more than one employer in 2000 may be eligible for a refund if taxes were deducted for more than $133.92 from all employers combined," Flanagan said. "These taxes are usually designated as 'ESC,' 'ESD,' 'UI,' or 'SUI' on the employee's W-2 form." 

The Employment Security Division of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development is responsible for collecting taxes for the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program. Unemployment Insurance taxes are collected from both employers and workers in the state to fund the payment of unemployment benefits. Alaska is one of only three states where the employer and the worker share the responsibility for building the reserves from which unemployment benefits are paid. The employee's share for 2000 was 0.54 percent of the taxable wage base of $24,800.

To obtain forms for requesting refunds, contact the Employment Security Tax Office in Juneau at (907) 465-2757, call toll free at 1-888-448-3527, or write to the Department of Labor, Employment Security Tax Office, P.O. Box 115509, Juneau, AK 99811-5509. You may also email your form request to esd_tax@labor.state.ak.us or you can download the form from the Department's Web site at labor.alaska.gov/estax/home.htm. Requests for refunds must be made by December 31, 2001. 

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