Alaska employer compliance checklist for 2027

Sources checked: November 2026

Alaska 2027 employer checklist

1. Register for unemployment tax and withholdingBefore the first payroll.

• ConfirmedOpen a state unemployment tax account

  Alaska ES Tax registration instructions: choose Apply to register with Employment Security Tax, add owners and an industry, then certify and submit (a federal EIN is needed).

  Source: Alaska DOLWD: Employment Security Tax registration instructions, checked November 2026 · More: Unemployment tax wage bases by state

• Not confirmedTaxable wage base for 2027

  Not confirmed — check Alaska DOLWD: 2026 Unemployment Insurance Tax Rates.

  More: Unemployment tax wage bases by state

• ConfirmedTaxable wage base for 2026 (the latest published)

  $54,200 per employee in 2026.

  The department's 2026 rate page: "The 2026 Taxable Wage Base is $54,200." It is set at 75% of the average annual wage, rounded to the nearest $100.

  Source: Alaska DOLWD: 2026 Unemployment Insurance Tax Rates, checked November 2026 · More: Unemployment tax wage bases by state

• ConfirmedNew employer tax rate

  1% for a new employer.

  1.00% per the DOL table. Alaska also publishes industry rates for new employers; we didn't open that page, so check it for your industry.

  Source: Alaska DOLWD: 2026 Unemployment Insurance Tax Rates, checked November 2026 · More: Unemployment tax wage bases by state

• ConfirmedQuarterly wage reports and payments

  Quarterly reports must be received by the end of the month after the quarter ends; first quarter reports and payments were due April 30, 2026 (Alaska Employer newsletter, March 2026).

  Source: Alaska DOLWD: 2026 Unemployment Insurance Tax Rates, checked November 2026 · More: Unemployment tax wage bases by state

• ConfirmedEmployee-paid: Employee UI contribution

  0.5% for 2026 on up to $54,200.

  Withheld from employees' wages: "The 2026 Employee Rate is 0.50%" (department's 2026 rate page, which gives one taxable wage base for the year).

  Source: Alaska DOLWD: 2026 Unemployment Insurance Tax Rates, checked November 2026 · More: Unemployment tax wage bases by state

• ConfirmedState income tax withholding

  No state income tax to withhold.

  There is no personal state income tax (Alaska Office of the State Assessor, Alaska Tax Facts, revised 11/04/2026).

  Source: Alaska Division of Community and Regional Affairs, Office of the State Assessor: Alaska Tax Facts (revised 11/04/2026), checked November 2026

2. Report new hires and check work eligibilityFor every hire, rehire and, where the state says so, contractor.

• ConfirmedReport each new hire to the state

  Within 20 days of hire. Employers sending reports by email or CD report twice a month.

  • Who: Every new hire and rehire.
  • How: online, electronic file, mail. Online through the myAlaska website. A 2019 CSSD notice says new hire information is no longer accepted by fax.

  Source: Alaska Child Support Services Division: New Hire and Wage Withholding, checked November 2026 · More: First hire checklist for Alaska

• Not confirmedE-Verify for private employers

  Not confirmed — check Employer Information, USCIS.

  More: E-Verify requirements by state

3. Set pay at the minimum wage: January 1 and mid-yearCheck every hourly and tipped rate against the floor.

• ConfirmedMinimum wage now (2026)

  $14.00 an hour.

  $14.00 from July 1, 2026 (up from $13.00), per the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

  Source: Alaska DOLWD: Wage and Hour, checked November 2026 · More: Alaska minimum wage 2027

• ConfirmedMinimum wage change in 2027

  Rises to $15.00 an hour on Thursday, July 1, 2027.

  Alaska DOLWD: the minimum wage increases to $15.00 on July 1, 2027 (AS 23.10.065), then adjusts each year from January 1, 2028. $14.00 applies until June 30, 2027.

  Source: Alaska DOLWD: Wage and Hour, checked November 2026 · More: Alaska minimum wage 2027

• ConfirmedTipped employees

  No tip credit: tipped staff get the full minimum wage before tips.

  AS 23.10.065, as quoted in DOLWD's Pamphlet 100: an employer may not apply tips or gratuities as a credit toward the minimum wage.

  Source: U.S. Department of Labor: Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees (revised July 1, 2026), checked November 2026 · More: Alaska minimum wage 2027

4. Paid sick leaveAccrual, limits and notice.

• ConfirmedPaid sick leave

  Ballot Measure 1 (2024) paid sick leave. Yes: a statewide paid sick leave law covers private employers.

  • Accrual: At least 1 hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked.
  • Yearly limit: Employers with fewer than 15 employees must let employees accrue and use up to 40 hours a year; employers with 15 or more, up to 56 hours a year.
  • Small employers: Fewer than 15 employees: up to 40 hours a year instead of 56. Some groups are exempt, including minors under 18 working under 30 hours a week, approved apprentices and student learners, seasonal employees of a nonprofit residential summer camp, and employees exempt under AS 23.10.055 (which includes agriculture).
  • Carryover: An employee can carry a sick leave balance forward into a new year and starts accruing again.

  Source: Ballot Measure 1 FAQ (Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development), checked November 2026 · More: Paid sick leave laws by state

5. Meal and rest breaksAdults and workers under 18.

• ConfirmedMeal breaks for adults

  No state requirement, per the state's own page. No state meal break for employees 18 and over.

  Employers are not required to give breaks for employees 18 and over.

  Source: Alaska Wage and Hour: Employees' Frequently Asked Questions, checked November 2026 · More: Meal and rest break laws by state

• ConfirmedRest breaks for adults

  No state requirement, per the state's own page. No state rest break for employees 18 and over. Breaks the employer allows that last less than 20 minutes must be paid.

  Employers are not required to give breaks for employees 18 and over.

  Source: Alaska Wage and Hour: Employees' Frequently Asked Questions, checked November 2026 · More: Meal and rest break laws by state

• ConfirmedBreaks for workers under 18

  Minors 14 through 17 who work 5 or more consecutive hours and will keep working get a break of at least 30 minutes. (Ages: 14 through 17.)

  Alaskan employers are required to provide break periods of at least 30 minutes for minors ages 14 through 17

  Source: Alaska Wage and Hour: Employees' Frequently Asked Questions, checked November 2026 · More: Meal and rest break laws by state

6. Workers' compensationCoverage, posters and proof.

• ConfirmedWorkers' compensation insurance

  Every employer with one or more employees in the state must carry it. The page says there are no exemptions for types of businesses.

  requires each employer having one or more employees in Alaska to obtain workers' compensation insurance

  • Owners and officers: Sole proprietors, partners, and LLC members or for-profit corporate officers with at least a 10% ownership interest don't have to insure themselves, but they still must cover their employees.
  • Check a policy: Use the division's Online Employer Coverage Verification Service, or call the Special Investigations Unit at 907-269-4002.
  • The page lists exemptions by type of work rather than by industry, such as part-time baby-sitters, non-commercial cleaners and harvest or transient help.

  Source: Workers' Compensation Requirements for Employer (Alaska DOLWD), checked November 2026 · More: Workers' comp requirements by state

7. Final payWhen someone leaves.

• ConfirmedFinal pay when you let someone go

  Within 3 working days after the day of termination, not counting weekends and holidays.

  within three working days after the day of termination

  Source: Alaska Wage and Hour: Employees' Frequently Asked Questions, checked November 2026 · More: Final paycheck laws by state

• ConfirmedFinal pay when an employee quits

  The next regular payday that is at least 3 working days after the last day worked.

  you must be paid by the next regular payday that is at least three working days after your last day worked

  • Unused vacation: Vacation pay is owed only if the employer promised it; the Department enforces an employer's own rules for these payments.

  Source: Alaska Wage and Hour: Employees' Frequently Asked Questions, checked November 2026 · More: Final paycheck laws by state

• ConfirmedFor a laid-off employee: the state's work search rule

  Two work search activities a week if you live in Alaska within 55 road miles of a job center, or in another state, Canada, Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. One a week if you live more than 55 road miles from the nearest job center in rural Alaska.

  Source: Alaska DOLWD: UI work search requirements, checked November 2026 · More: Unemployment work search rules by state

8. Year-end W-2 and 1099 filingState copies, due in early 2027 for 2026 pay.

• ConfirmedState copies of W-2s and 1099s

  No state income tax, so there is no state 1099 or W-2 filing to make on the pages we opened. Federal filing still applies.

  Source: Alaska Division of Community and Regional Affairs, Office of the State Assessor: Alaska Tax Facts (revised 11/04/2026), checked November 2026 · More: 1099 and W-2 deadline finder

Key dates for 2027

Only the dates our files state. A date on a weekend or holiday is flagged, not moved, unless the agency's page says it moves.

Still to confirm

• Taxable wage base for 2027: check Alaska DOLWD: 2026 Unemployment Insurance Tax Rates
• E-Verify for private employers: check Employer Information, USCIS

General information, not legal, tax or payroll advice. We are not lawyers, and MCC Solutions is not a law firm or a payroll service. Nothing here guarantees compliance. Rules change, cities and counties can add their own, and the agency's own page has the final word.

Common questions

Related: Employer compliance by state · 2027 changes for employers