Guide to employer contributions to DUA

Each quarter, all employers subject to Massachusetts unemployment law must pay contributions to the Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA). Once you submit your quarterly employment and wage detail report, UI Online will calculate your quarterly amount due for the following contributions:

• Unemployment insurance (UI) contributions
• COVID-19 Recovery Assessment
• Employer Medical Assistance Contribution (EMAC)/Unemployment Health Insurance (UHI)
• Workforce Training Fund (WTFP)

Unemployment insurance (UI) contributions are used to fund the unemployment insurance program in Massachusetts. Subject employers are required by law to make quarterly UI contributions to the state UI Trust Fund.

UI Contribution Rates

For more information about current contribution rates, learn about unemployment insurance (UI) contributions.

Legislation enacted on May 28, 2021 created a new account, the COVID-19 Employer Relief Account. All COVID-related charges were moved from the solvency fund and charged to this account, lowering the 2021 solvency rate, and providing UI rate relief to employers.

Legislation also created a new COVID-specific employer charge, the COVID-19 Recovery Assessment, to begin to recover the charges to the COVID-19 Employer Relief Account. The COVID-19 Recovery Assessment is intended to reduce the impact of COVID-related charges to employers’ UI rates by recovering these costs more manageably over time.

COVID-19 Recovery Assessment Rates
For more information regarding subjectivity and contribution rates, please see COVID-19 Recovery Assessment.

The Workforce Training Fund Program provides training grants to Massachusetts businesses for incumbent worker training.

Contribution rate:

Employers are subject to a 0.056% contribution rate in 2024. All employers contribute to the fund at the same rate.

The Employer Medical Assistance Contribution (EMAC) is used to help fund health insurance programs in the Commonwealth. Each employer subject to unemployment insurance is also subject to EMAC reporting requirements. This includes those employers who are in the reimbursable system.

Contribution rate

For more information about EMAC reporting requirements and current contribution rates, learn about the Employer Medical Assistance Contribution (EMAC).

Eligible Massachusetts employers may choose to make additional voluntary contributions in order to lower their experience rating and reduce their UI contributions for the forthcoming year.

For more detailed information about voluntary contributions, please refer to the voluntary contributions to DUA webpage.

Eligible employers may defer up to 34% of regular UI contributions owed in Quarter 1 and Quarter 2. For more detailed information about the deferral option, please refer to the deferral of unemployment insurance (UI) contributions webpage.

Interest will accrue on unpaid principal balance at the rate of 12% per year from the quarter due date until fully paid.

To avoid interest and penalties, we encourage you to pay all contributions owed in full by the quarter due dates below:

Updates to Charge Statements Following System Modernization

The Department of Unemployment Assistance continues to modernize our system, enhance system controls and compliance, and ensure program and financial integrity. As part of this effort, the new system, launched in early May 2025, has implemented some changes to accounting practices to align with state and federal law. As a result, you may see some adjustments on your June 9 charge statement or future statements. 

Wages transferred out-of-state for combined wage claims

Specifically for combined wage claims, the new system will charge Massachusetts employers when wages are transferred out of state as part of a combined wage claim. A combined wage claim is one where a claimant has earned wages in more than one state during the base period. The claimant can use wages from all states in which they worked during the base period and can choose what state’s benefit rate they would like to apply. For claims in which the claimant elects to use a different state’s benefit rate, Massachusetts pays the other state. For combined wage claims from other states, the new system will correctly charge Massachusetts employers for wages that were transferred out of state. Most claimants who work in multiple states including Massachusetts prefer to file here, since we have a higher benefit rate than many other states.

Resolved old system issues

With the implementation of our updated system, some changes to accounting practices have been made to align with state and federal law. For example, in very rare circumstances, there may be an issue regarding whether a claimant is “still employed” and there is only one employer on the claim. Before the upgrade, if DUA determined that the claimant was not still employed, the claimant would receive benefits, but the employers were not charged appropriately. For weeks filed after May 6, 2025, if the claim is active, the separating employer would see that claim on their statement. The new system also has improved handling for charging scenarios related to claims with a primary employer and a subsidiary (or secondary employer).