Each year, we determine premium rates for employers based on a number of factors, including the amount of money already paid and unemployment benefit payments made to former employees. Employers must pay annual premiums for each employee's chargeable wages.
The chargeable wage limits are:
- $23,800 for 2024
- $20,400 for 2023
- $17,000 for 2022
- $13,600 for 2021
- $13,600 for 2020
2024 Rate Tables
Standard Premium Rate Schedule
Support Surcharge Rate Schedule
Solvency Surcharge
See the Colorado Employment Security Act (CESA) for full rate charts.
- Beginning Rate for New Employers
New employers start paying UI premiums at a beginning rate depending on the type of business activity. For rate year 2024, the rate consists of the base rate, your support rate, and the solvency surcharge. For more information about surcharges, see the below tab.
- Computed Rate
After an employer has paid wages for a sufficient number of quarters the employer is eligible for a computed rate based on the experience of the business.
The formula for a computed rate is:
Total Premiums Paid into the account minus Total Benefits Charged to the account divided by the Average Chargeable Payroll. The result of this formula is the percent of excess.
Look for the percent of excess in the left-hand column of the standard premium rate chart and follow that line to the right across the chart to the column heading "Reserve Ratio 0.000 - 0.0004". The point of intersection is the base rate for 2024.
Add together the base rate, support rate and the solvency surcharge rate and that will give you your Total Combined Rate for 2024.
- Rate Increases
There may be several reasons why your business sees a rate increase.
Some of the common reasons include:- The average annual payroll increased.
- There were new benefit charges to the account.
- The level of the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund decreased.
- The business stopped paying wages for a period of time and lost its computed rate.
- There is a solvency surcharge for the current year.
- Claims for Benefits
Premiums are contributions paid by Colorado employers to help protect the economy. We administer these contributions by paying unemployment insurance benefits to persons unemployed through no fault of their own.
- Rate Protest
If you believe there is an error in the figures used to calculate your base rate, you may submit a written protest. We will not accept protests founded on objections to the support rate or the colvency surcharge (those charges are legislatively mandated and cannot be reversed).
Rate protests can be submitted during the rate protest period. If the rate protest period is open, the dates will be listed here and there will be a link to the rate protest form. For more information, please call Employer Services at 303-318-9100 or toll-free at 800-480-8299.
- Solvency Surcharge for Rates
Employer rates may be impacted by a solvency surcharge, depending on the state of the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. When the trust fund experiences a deficit, employer rates are likely to increase in the following year(s). In accordance with SB22-234, the solvency surcharge will go into effect in the year 2024. This solvency surchare is a result of the UI Trust Fund's level of solvency decreasing below a level that ensures the ability of the UI program to pay UI benefits.
Because the 2023 reserve ratio was below 0.7 percent, the solvency surcharge is in effect in 2024. That surcharge is calculated off the solvency surcharge schedule (see Colorado Employment Security Act (CESA) 8-76-102.5). This solvency surcharge is a result of the UI Trust Fund’s level of solvency decreasing below a level that ensures the ability of the UI program to pay UI benefits.
The Colorado legislature turned off or suspended the solvency surcharge in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
What to Know About Your 2024 UI Rate Notice
The Unemployment Insurance Division recently modernized our employer premiums system. The updated rate notice was developed in our new system and reflects updates that are outlined below.
Employers may see an increase or decrease in rates due to multiple factors including the changes to the rate table from Senate Bill 23-232, the addition of the solvency surcharge, increases to the wage base, our current location within the premium rate table, and individual account experience.
New this year, your base rate is displayed in two categories – the base rate and the support rate. Breaking the support rate and the base rate into two rates does not increase how much you pay, it simply provides more transparency into how we calculate your rate. This change was made according to USDOL requirements and brings us into compliance with federal law.
The support rate is the portion of your combined rate that is attributed to three state-managed funds: the Employment Support Fund (ESF), the Employment and Training Technology Fund (ETTF), and the Benefit Recovery Fund (BRF). Your support rate contributions do not count towards your experience rating.
A major factor in determining your annual rate is the status of the UI Trust Fund. As of June 30, 2023, the UI Trust Fund had a balance of $286.6 million and is no longer in a deficit. That balance translates to a reserve ratio of 0.17 percent. For more information on the state of Colorado's unemployment insurance trust fund, you can view the 2023 UI Trust Fund Status Report at www.colmigateway.com.
The Colorado legislature adopted a new rate table for employers in 2024 (see SB 23-232). You may notice an adjustment to your typical experience rate based on the new rate schedule.
The reserve ratio is the indicator that determines the standard premium rate schedule Colorado employers will be on for the following calendar year, and whether those employers will be assessed an additional solvency surcharge. The 0.17 percent reserve ratio means employers will shift from the deficit rate schedule used in 2023 to the 0.000 to 0.0004 rate schedule in 2024.
Because the 2023 reserve ratio was below 0.7 percent, the solvency surcharge is in effect in 2024. That surcharge is calculated off the solvency surcharge schedule (see Colorado Employment Security Act (CESA) 8-76-102.5). The Colorado legislature turned off or suspended the solvency surcharge in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
The 2024 chargeable wage base is $23,800.
Contact Unemployment Employer Services
303-318-9100 (Denver-metro area)
1-800-480-8299 (outside Denver-metro area)
Fax: 303-318-9013
UI Employer Services
P.O. Box 8789
Denver, CO 80201-8789