A commercial employer is a business connected with commerce or trade, operating primarily for profit and employs workers subject to California employment taxes. A commercial employer is responsible for reporting wages paid to their employees and paying Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Employment Training Tax (ETT) on those wages, as well as withholding and remitting State Disability Insurance (SDI) and Personal Income Tax (PIT) due on wages paid.
Wages paid to certain family employees are excluded from UI, ETT, and SDI but are subject to PIT:
- Individual Owner employing spouse, parent(s) or minor child(ren)
- Co-Ownership employing minor child(ren)
- Partnership (consisting of siblings only) employing parent(s)
Registration Requirements
To register for an employer payroll tax account number, gather the following information:
- Name and Social Security number of all responsible parties (Individual Owners, Co-Owners, and General Partners).
- Physical business address and mailing address.
- Business phone number
- Valid email address (contact person and business).
- Date of first payroll when wages exceed $100.
- Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN). A FEIN can be obtained by going to the IRS website.
- Industry Description - What is the industry, product, or service that represents the greatest portion of your sales or revenue?
- Previous EDD employer payroll tax account information, if applicable.
- Business Name of Organization – enter exactly as it appears on your official documents (i.e., income tax returns, licenses, partnership agreements, contracts).
- For General Partnerships, use the exact Legal Business Name as spelled and registered with Secretary of State (SOS), if registered with SOS.
- Doing Business As (DBA) or Partnership Name.
- Name, phone number, address (if different from physical business or mailing address) for the business contact person.
Once you are ready to register for a payroll tax account number, you will need to enroll in e-Services for Business.
If you are an employer, visit Enroll in e-Services for Business as an Employer. If you are a representative, visit Enroll in e-Services for Business as a Representative.
Optional
If you elect to enroll in Unemployment and Disability Insurance Elective Coverage, have the following documents available as you complete your registration for an employer payroll tax account number.
- Application for Unemployment and Disability Insurance Elective Coverage for Employees Exempted Under the California Unemployment Insurance Code (DE 1378) (PDF)
- Selection of Financing Method by a Non-Profit Organization Described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (DE 1SNP) (PDF)
Additional Resources
Information Sheets
- Employment (DE 231) (PDF)
- Specialized Coverage (Elective Coverage for Exempt Workers) (DE 231SC) (PDF)
- Multi-State Employment (DE 231D) (PDF)
- Family Employment (DE 231FAM) (PDF)
- Exempt Employment (DE 231EE) (PDF)
Additional Information Sheets are available online at Payroll Taxes – Forms and Publications.