It’s that time of year again – Ohio BWC True Up! Employers can be intimidated by this process, but it should be relatively easy. Since state fund employers pay Ohio BWC premiums based on projected payrolls, everyone has to settle up at the end of the year. BWC policy years begin on July 1, and you have 7/1 through 8/15 to not only complete the reporting process, but also to pay any resulting balances. If you are unable to pay the entire balance at the end of the reporting process, any future premium payments will first be applied to your delinquent True Up Balance before being applied to any premium installments. Payment plans for True Up balances are only available through the Ohio Attorney General’s office following an application process (and having a balance with the AG could prevent you from getting into a savings program).  

Employers should also be prepared to answer the following questions as part of the True Up reporting process:

This is a requirement for any Ohio employer with an open state fund policy, even if no payroll is allocated to the policy. Most self-insured PEOs ask that Ohio employers keep a state fund policy open and pay the annual minimum premium, but report no payroll to it. Even those employers are required to complete the report – essentially verifying that the estimate of $0 in payroll is still accurate. Your PEO might take care of this for you (SuretyHR does), or your payroll provider might assist you with the reporting. If a third party is doing this on your behalf, just be sure to ask them for a receipt or confirmation page.

There is a slight grace period on both the reporting and repayment, but Ohio employers should make every effort to get it all done on time. We also suggest completing the report at least a few days prior to the deadline for several reasons. One reason is that sometimes it can take 2+ business days to post to your BWC account, causing it to appear late. Another reason is that filing early will allow you extra time to do some “creative banking,” if you have a large balance to pay and need to move money around. A late True Up or resulting unpaid balance can disqualify you from BWC savings programs like Group Rating and Group Retro. If you have questions about the True Up process or classifying employees, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@spoonerinc.com.