Employers: Instructions for Using the Maryland Unemployment Insurance Portal (BEACON)

Register or activate an employer account for the Maryland Unemployment Insurance Portal (BEACON)

You can register or activate an account on the Maryland Unemployment Insurance Portal (BEACON) for Employers.

• If you are a new employer and you do not have a Maryland unemployment account number, select “Register for an Account” and follow the prompts.
  
• If you are an employer who has a Maryland unemployment insurance account number, select “I need to activate my account” and follow the prompts.

Register an employer account

If you do not have a Maryland unemployment insurance employer account number:

• Go to the Maryland Unemployment Insurance Portal (BEACON)
• Select “Register for an Account” and follow the prompts.

 You will need to provide the following information during the registration process.

Contact information Business owner/officer information Date wages will be (or were) first paid for services performed in Maryland Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) Business name (including legal, trade, and “doing business as” names) State in which the business was formed

Date of business formation/incorporation Business entity type Mailing address Address of where work is performed in Maryland Mailing address for benefit charge statements IRS 501(c)3 Exemption Letter (if applying for a non-profit)

Activate an employer account

If you have a Maryland unemployment insurance employer account number:

• Go to the Maryland Unemployment Insurance Portal (BEACON)
• Select “I need to activate my account” and follow the prompts

When you activate your employer account, you will need to provide your Maryland unemployment insurance employer account number and either the:

• Amount of the most recent payment you submitted to the Division of Unemployment Insurance
  OR
• Total gross wages reported on your most recently-filed unemployment insurance tax report
  OR
• An activation code sent by U.S. mail

Reactivate or close an employer account

Your account can be closed through the Maryland Unemployment Insurance Portal (BEACON) for Employers. To do so:

• Select “Account Maintenance” from the left menu
          
  

Select either “Reactivate Employer Account” (to open your account) or “Inactivate Employer Account” (to close your account) and follow the prompts

Your account balance is available in the Maryland Unemployment Insurance (UI) Portal (BEACON) for Employers under the Account Summary section. The Total Unpaid Taxes and Amount Due section will include the Total Due.

NOTE: You can access your employer account number  in the Maryland Unemployment Insurance Portal (BEACON),in the upper left corner of your homepage.

Your tax rate is available in the Maryland Unemployment Insurance Portal (BEACON) for Employers under the Tax Rate column in the center of the screen.

For questions about your tax rate, contact the Employer Call Center at 410-949-0033.

Maryland employers are required to report the amount of total gross wages paid and pay unemployment insurance taxes each calendar quarter. Learn more about Quarterly Contribution Reports.

To file a report in the Maryland Unemployment Insurance Portal (BEACON) for Employers:

• Select “Wage Submission” from the portal’s left menu                     
        
  
• Select “Reporting Period,” choose File New Report and the Year/Quarter
  
• Select “Submission Type” and follow the prompts
  

For more about acceptable file formats for reports, see the Instructions for Employers. 

If a former employee files an unemployment insurance claim, you'll receive a “Request for Separation” notice via your preferred contact method. To respond to the Request for Separation notice in the Maryland Unemployment Insurance Portal (BEACON) for Employers:

• Select the link to access your Action Items (under the Alerts & Messages section on the left menu)
  
• Select the “Request Separation” action item
  
• Select “Separation Information Response” at the bottom of the screen, which will bring you to the SIDES reporting system. To submit a response, check the box next to the claim you want to work on and follow the prompts.

Learn more about unemployment insurance reporting systems.

You can make payments in the Maryland Unemployment Insurance Portal (BEACON) for Employers.

Learn how to make payments online, by electronic funds transfer, or by mail.

You can enroll in a payment plan in the Maryland Unemployment Insurance Portal (BEACON) for Employers.

Learn about payment plans  and get instructions to enroll.

You can amend a wage report in the Maryland Unemployment Insurance Portal (BEACON) for Employers.

• Select “Wage Submission” from the left menu.
• Under Reporting Period, select “Amend Prior Report” and then select “Year/Quarter”
• Select the Amendment Type and the Submission Type
• Follow the prompts to complete the wage amendment

Note: You can correct an employee’s Social Security number by amending a wage report. To do this, select Manual Entry for the submission type, which will allow you to correct the SSN. If the SSN has to be corrected on a file, contact the Employer Call Center at 410-949-0033.

If you make your unemployment insurance tax payment after it’s due, you will be required to pay a late payment penalty with interest. Late payment penalties and interest can be waived if you submit a Penalty Interest Waiver request and your request is approved.

You can request a penalty interest waiver in the Maryland Unemployment Insurance Portal (BEACON) for Employers.
To request a penalty interest waiver:

• Select “Collections” from the left menu
• Select “Request Waiver” from the drop-down menu
• Select the year/quarter that you are requesting be waived
• Provide the reason in the field and follow the prompts

If you believe a fraudulent or incorrect claim was charged to your account, you can file a protest in the Maryland Unemployment Insurance Portal (BEACON) for Employers.

• Select “Benefit Charge Functions” from the left menu.
• Under Search Criteria, choose the year, enter the claimant’s Social Security number, and then select “Search”.
• The Benefit Charge Quarterly Summary will display all the quarters for the year and the amount you were charged per claimant. Select the year/quarter that you were charged for the claimant.
• Select the claimant   related to the benefit charges you would like to protest.
• Under Request of Relief of Benefit Charges, select the Request Relief of Charges tab.
• Select the reason that you are protesting the charges from the drop-down menu.
• In the text field, indicate why you are protesting the charge, then select “Submit”.

You can report a refusal to return to work or a return-to-work date in the Maryland Unemployment Insurance Portal (BEACON) for Employers.

• Select “Benefit Services” from the left menu
• Then, choose either:              
  • The “Report Return to Work Date” icon, to provide the date the employee will return to work and follow the prompts, OR
  • The “Report Job Refusal” icon, to report that an employee is choosing not to return to work, when work is available, and follow the prompts.

If you would like to use a third-party agent to submit and approve unemployment insurance tasks on behalf of your business, you will need to give them power of attorney. To learn about power of attorney and how to assign it inMaryland Unemployment Insurance Portal (BEACON), visit our information for new employers.