Throughout the COVID pandemic, New York State borrowed money from the federal government for the Unemployment Insurance program and currently has an outstanding loan of nearly $8 billion. The state DID NOT repay this loan in the 2022 budget. Now, under existing New York State law, the interest owed on this federal debt must be repaid through an “Interest Assessment Surcharge” on businesses.

The Interest Assessment Surcharge (IAS) is an additional Unemployment Insurance expense that all business owners will have to pay by September 30. The 2022 surcharge is $27.60 per employee. Businesses will continue to see a yearly surcharge as long as New York State has outstanding debt and accrues interest.

NFIB has long called on the Governor and Legislature to pay off the outstanding debt to avoid the surcharges and higher state UI tax rates. We will continue our efforts for meaningful unemployment insurance tax relief on your behalf, but we need your feedback on the rising unemployment insurance tax costs.

Please share how these increases are affecting your business by completing this short survey. Your responses will help us fight for UI funding to reduce taxes, eliminate future surcharges, and give small businesses needed relief.