Every year, South Dakota sends each employer a form informing the business of what the next year’s
unemployment tax rate will be. This letter typically comes some-time around November annually.
The unemployment rate is not automatically updated by most payroll software, unlike most other taxes,
because this rate is unique to each employer. Since it is not automatically updated, the employer must
update this manually. If you do not process your own payroll, do not assume that your payroll processor
has this updated information. Be sure to get a copy of your rate change form to them as soon as possible.
If you do process your own payroll and use QuickBooks, you can change the rate in both online and
desktop with these steps:
QuickBooks Online
Go to Payroll Settings via the Setting gear wheel. Under State Unemployment Insurance (SUI)
select Change or Add New Rate. Enter in the rate and the effective date should be 01/01/2024. Be sure
to change the additional Administrative Fee and Investment Fee Rates from this same payroll item list as
well.
QuickBooks Desktop
For Reemployment Assistance Rate go to Lists and select Payroll Item List. Select SD – Unemployment Company and follow on screen steps. You may need to enter the rate in for each quarter.
For Investment Fee Rate and Administrative Fee Rate, under Lists select Payroll Item List. Find
and select State Surcharge item and follow onscreen steps.
If you are unsure how to handle the Reemployment Assistance Rate changes, reach out to R&R Accounting and Tax for help! Payroll mistakes are some of the mostly costly mistakes to fix if you wait until after the fact!
