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2025-2026 Bill 4745: Unemployment insurance tax rate benefit ratio lookback period - South Carolina Legislature Online
South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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H. 4745
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. T. Moore and C. Mitchell
Document Path: LC-0539WAB26.docx
Introduced in the House on January 13, 2026
Currently residing in the House Committee on
Labor, Commerce and Industry
Summary: Unemployment insurance tax rate benefit ratio lookback period
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date
Body
Action Description with journal page number
12/16/2025
House
Prefiled
12/16/2025
House
Referred to Committee on
Labor, Commerce and Industry
1/13/2026
House
Introduced and read first time (
House Journal-page 76
)
1/13/2026
House
Referred to Committee on
Labor, Commerce and Industry
(
House Journal-page 76
)
View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
12/17/2025
A bill
TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING
SECTION
41-31-5
, RELATING TO THE CALCULATION OF THE UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE TAX
RATE BENEFIT RATIO, SO AS TO LENGTHEN THE LOOKBACK PERIOD TO COMPUTE THE
BENEFIT RATIO BY EXPANDING TO FOUR YEARS IN 2027 AND FIVE YEARS IN 2028.
B
e it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
S
ECTION 1.
S
ection
41-31-5
(1) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
(
1) "Benefit ratio" means:
(
a)
for the period of January 1, 2011, through December 31, 2013, the number
calculated by dividing the sum of all benefits charged to an employer during
the forty calendar quarters immediately preceding the calculation date by the
sum of the employer's taxable payroll for the same period. If fewer than forty
but more than one calendar quarter of data are available, the data from those
available calendar quarters shall be used in the calculation. The benefit ratio
must be calculated annually using data for quarters filed through June
thirtieth of the current year to the sixth decimal place;
(
b)
from January 1, 2014,
through tax year 2026,
the
number calculated by dividing the sum of all benefits charged to an employer
during the twelve calendar quarters immediately preceding the calculation date
by the sum of the employer's taxable payroll for the same period. If fewer than
twelve but more than one calendar quarters of data are available, the data from
those available calendar quarters shall be used in the calculation. The benefit
ratio must be calculated annually using data for quarters filed through June
thirtieth of the current year to the sixth decimal place
.
;
(
c) for tax year 2027, the number
calculated by dividing the sum of all benefits charged to an employer during
the sixteen calendar quarters immediately preceding the calculation date by the
sum of the employer's taxable payroll for the same period. If fewer than
sixteen but more than one calendar quarters of data are available, the data
from those available calendar quarters shall be used in the calculation. The
benefit ratio must be calculated annually using data for quarters filed through
June thirtieth of the current year to the sixth decimal place;
(
d) from tax year 2028, the number
calculated by dividing the sum of all benefits charged to an employer during
the twenty calendar quarters immediately preceding the calculation date by the
sum of the employer's taxable payroll for the same period. If fewer than twenty
but more than one calendar quarters of data are available, the data from those
available calendar quarters shall be used in the calculation. The benefit ratio
must be calculated annually using data for quarters filed through June thirtieth
of the current year to the sixth decimal place.
S
ECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.
----XX----
This web page was last updated on January 13, 2026 at 2:39 PM