Virginia Unemployment Insurance

Unemployment insurance is managed by the Virginia Employment Commission or VEC. This group helps set tax rates on businesses to raise funds for unemployment benefits. These taxes are called unemployment insurance rates, and are set on all companies that qualify.

Any employer that has a quarterly payroll of at least $1,500 or has an employee for 20 weeks or more more during the calendar year qualifies for unemployment taxes under current Virginia law.

Virginia is very inclusive with unemployment taxes. For example, many sub-contractors are eligible for unemployment taxes. All labor, including temporary, part-time, summer help, and casual labor qualify. The rates may be very low and the employees may not qualify for benefits, but the taxes are still levied. Rates are typically between 0.1 percent up to 6.2 percent.

Gauging if you qualify for unemployment is best accomplished by applying. Applying for unemployment benefits, and providing accurate information, will help officials fully understand your case, be able check for appropriateness, and decide if you qualify or not.