Minnesota SUTA Tax Calculator
Figure basis: Official U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment InsuranceState Unemployment Tax Act (SUTA) tax is the state unemployment insurance tax that employers pay to fund unemployment benefits in Minnesota. This calculator estimates your Minnesota SUTA liability for the 2026 tax year. Enter the average annual wages per employee, your number of employees, and your assigned SUTA rate to see the taxable wages, tax per employee, and total tax. SUTA is charged only on the first $44,000 of each employee's wages (the 2026 Minnesota taxable wage base); wages above that per employee are not taxed. Your rate is set by the state based on your business's unemployment claim history (your "experience rating"); new employers are assigned the industry-average rate. SUTA is separate from the federal FUTA tax and, in most states, is paid entirely by the employer and never deducted from employee wages. All wage-base and rate figures are sourced from U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance and verified for 2026. Replace the default rate with the rate on your state tax-rate notice for an exact figure.
In Minnesota, employers pay SUTA on the first $44,000 of each employee's wages for 2026, and new employers are assigned the industry-average rate. For 5 employees earning $50,000 each at 3%, the estimated annual SUTA tax is $6,600.00 ($1,320.00 per employee).
How Minnesota SUTA tax works
Minnesota charges state unemployment tax on each employee's wages up to the taxable wage base of $44,000 for 2026. Once an employee has earned that much in the year, no further SUTA is due on that employee. Your rate is assigned by the state from your experience rating; new employers are assigned the industry-average rate.
taxable wages per employee = min(annual wages, $44,000)
SUTA tax per employee = taxable wages per employee x rate / 100
total SUTA tax = SUTA tax per employee x number of employees
Worked example: 5 employees each earning $50,000 in Minnesota at 3%. Each employee's taxable wages are capped at $44,000, so the tax per employee is $1,320.00 and the total is $6,600.00.
Minnesota SUTA figures (2026)
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Taxable wage base | $44,000 | U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance |
| New employer rate | Industry average | U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance |
| Experience rate range | 0.4% to 9.3% | U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance |
The experience-rate range shown is the base statutory range. Most states add mandatory assessments on top (for example a fund-building, solvency, or administrative surcharge), so an employer's effective rate can be higher than the range shown, and the new-employer rate may exclude those add-ons. Your exact assigned rate is on your annual state tax-rate notice.
Why Minnesota's high wage base matters
Minnesota sits near the top of the taxable wage base scale: employers pay state unemployment tax on the first $44,000 of each worker's wages for 2026, nearly five times the base used in states like Michigan or Missouri. That high ceiling matters because it means most of a typical salary is taxable, so even a modest rate produces a meaningful per-employee bill, and the wage base, not just the rate, becomes a real driver of your total.
Unlike states that hand every new business the same flat rate, Minnesota assigns new employers the average rate for their industry. A construction or staffing firm with historically high turnover therefore starts higher than a professional-services office, because the state uses your industry's claims experience as a stand-in until you build your own. That is why the rate field on this calculator is an editable example rather than a fixed default: your true starting rate depends on the industry classification the Department of Employment and Economic Development assigns you.
Established Minnesota employers are experience-rated across a band from 0.4% up to 9.3%, before the state's additional base tax and workforce assessments are applied. To get an accurate figure, find your assigned rate on your Minnesota rate notice and enter it above. Because the $44,000 base is so high, trimming even half a percentage point off your rate through steady employment translates into real dollars per head every year.
Minnesota SUTA tax: frequently asked questions
What is the Minnesota unemployment (SUTA) taxable wage base for 2026?
For 2026, Minnesota employers pay state unemployment tax on the first $44,000 of each employee's wages. Wages above $44,000 per employee are not subject to SUTA.
What is the Minnesota new employer SUTA rate?
Minnesota assigns new employers the average rate for their industry rather than a single fixed rate, so your rate depends on your industry classification. Enter your assigned rate above to see your tax.
How is Minnesota SUTA tax calculated?
Multiply each employee's wages, capped at the $44,000 taxable wage base, by your assigned experience rate, then add up across employees. SUTA is primarily an employer-paid tax and is not deducted from employee pay.
Is the Minnesota SUTA rate the same for every employer?
No. After the new-employer period, Minnesota assigns each employer an experience rate based on its history of layoffs and claims, generally ranging from about 0.4% to 9.3% for experience-rated employers before any state add-on surcharges. The rate field above defaults to the new-employer rate; replace it with the rate on your state tax notice for an exact figure.
Official sources
- Minnesota unemployment taxable wage base and rates (tax year 2026): U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance, as at Jul 15, 2026.
Reviewed by the CalculatorHub team, edited by James Graham, 15 July 2026. See our methodology. General information, not tax or legal advice.