Maryland Unemployment Insurance

Maryland unemployment insurance is handled by the Division of Unemployment Insurance. This is a branch of the Department of Labor, Financing, and Regulations that raises funds for unemployment insurance benefits through taxes on employers. These taxes raised $983 million dollars in 2016. Unemployment insurance is designed to provide funds for employees in the event they are let go for reasons beyond their control.

Do you want to know if your former employer qualified for unemployment taxes? They did if they paid at least $8,500 in wages to a single employee in 2015. That amount is the “taxable wage base.” When an employer hits that wage base with any employee, he must pay unemployment taxes for them. In Maryland, they only pay taxes on an employee's initial $8,500.

If your employer paid unemployment insurance taxes, you may qualify for Maryland unemployment. That said, there's a chance you might not automatically receive benefits. Before that, you must pass a series of eligibility criteria in order to receive unemployment benefits. The best way to do this is to file for unemployment, though it is helpful to understand the eligibility criteria.