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Employer checklist · Arizona · 2027

Arizona employer compliance checklist for 2027

Registration, new hires, pay rates, leave, breaks, insurance, final pay and year-end filing, in the order you meet them, each from the state's own pages.

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Sources checked:

Quick answer. Arizona: $8,000 SUTA wage base (2026); 2% new employer rate; new hires reported in 20 days; paid sick leave required; no adult meal break rule; final pay within 7 working days if fired. 15 of 19 checklist items are confirmed on official pages; 4 are marked not confirmed, with the page to check.

Arizona 2027 employer checklist

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

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 the new employee's hire date. Electronic reporters send two transmissions a month, no more than 16 days apart.

    • Who: New employees and rehires (employees returning after a layoff, furlough, separation, unpaid leave or termination of at least 60 consecutive days).
    • Independent contractors: government employers only. Governmental agencies must report independent contractors they hire; other employers may report them voluntarily.
    • How: online, electronic file, fax, mail.

    Source: Arizona New Hire Reporting Center: Frequently Asked Questions, checked November 2026 · More: First hire checklist for Arizona

  • ConfirmedWorkplace posters

    Arizona Commerce Authority lists the required posters.

    Source: Arizona Commerce Authority: Required Workplace Posters, checked November 2026 · More: First hire checklist for Arizona

  • ConfirmedE-Verify for private employers

    Every employer in the state must use E-Verify for each new employee. Effective: Employees hired after December 31, 2007.

    LAWA requires all Arizona employers to use E-Verify to verify the employment eligibility of new hires.
    • If skipped: Knowingly or intentionally employing an unauthorized worker brings probation with reports to the county attorney, possible license suspension for a first violation and permanent license revocation for a second. A county attorney brings the case.

    Source: For Employers: Legal Arizona Workers Act, Arizona Attorney General's Office, checked November 2026 · More: Arizona E-Verify

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

4. Paid sick leaveAccrual, limits and notice.

  • ConfirmedPaid sick leave

    Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act (A.R.S. 23-371 to 23-381). Yes: a statewide paid sick leave law covers private employers.

    • Accrual: At least 1 hour of earned paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. Overtime-exempt employees are assumed to work 40 hours a week unless their normal week is shorter.
    • Yearly limit: Employers with 15 or more employees may cap accrual at 40 hours a year; employers with fewer than 15, at 24 hours a year, unless the employer chooses a higher limit.
    • Small employers: Fewer than 15 employees: the yearly cap is 24 hours instead of 40. Full-time, part-time and temporary employees all count, and an employer with 15 or more on payroll in 20 calendar weeks of this or last year uses the 40-hour rule.
    • Carryover: Unused time carries over to the next year, subject to the yearly caps. An employer may instead pay out unused time at the end of the year and give a fresh balance for the new year.
    • Notice to employees: Employers give written notice at hire, in English and Spanish, of the sick time owed, how it can be used, the ban on retaliation and how to contact the Industrial Commission, and show sick time available, used this year and paid on or with each regular paycheck (A.R.S. 23-375).
    • When it can be used: Time may be used as it accrues, but an employer may require a 90-day wait for employees hired after July 1, 2017.

    Source: A.R.S. 23-372, Accrual of earned paid sick time (Arizona Legislature), checked November 2026 · More: Arizona paid sick leave

5. Meal and rest breaksAdults and workers under 18.

6. Workers' compensationCoverage, posters and proof.

  • ConfirmedWorkers' compensation insurance

    All employers must cover their employees. The page gives no headcount threshold.

    Arizona law requires that all employers have workers' compensation coverage for their employees.
    • Owners and officers: A sole proprietor with no employees needn't insure themselves; once there are employees, coverage is required. A corporation's employees may include officers, directors or shareholders, and an LLC's may include members.
    • Poster: Post a notice of workers' compensation insurance telling employees about the coverage (A.R.S. 23-964).
    • The commission takes complaints about uninsured employers through its online form, by mail, in person or on its complaint hotline.

    Source: Uninsured Employer Complaint Form (Industrial Commission of Arizona), checked November 2026 · More: Workers' comp requirements by state

  • ConfirmedIf there's no coverage

    A $1,000 civil penalty, rising to $5,000 and $10,000 for a second and third lapse in five years, plus 10% of benefits paid or $1,000 if a claim is filed.

    Source: Uninsured Employer Complaint Form (Industrial Commission of Arizona), checked November 2026 · More: Workers' comp requirements by state

7. Final payWhen someone leaves.

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

  • ConfirmedState copies of W-2s and 1099s

    ADOR only requires submission of Forms 1099 that report Arizona income tax withheld, and says a 1099-NEC is needed only if there is Arizona withholding. ADOR's page lists 1099-MISC among the forms it accepts without restating the rule for it.

    • W-2s: January 31 (submitted online)
    • 1099s: January 31
    • Annual reconciliation: Form A1-R or Form A1-APR (Arizona withholding reconciliation), due January 31.
    • Electronic filing: Electronic filing is required for any taxpayer with $125 average quarterly withholding liability in the prior tax year; for the 2025 tax year all W-2s had to be submitted by ADOR's online methods.

    Source: ADOR: E-Services for W-2 / 1099, 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.

DateWhatSource
Friday, January 1, 2027
Minimum wage change date (the 2027 rate is not confirmed)
Sunday, January 31, 2027
Unemployment tax report and payment for the fourth quarter of 2026
Falls on a Sunday. This is the date as the agency states it; check its rule for weekend due dates (see step 1).
Sunday, January 31, 2027
W-2s, A1-R or A1-APR, and 1099s showing Arizona withholding
Sunday, January 31, 2027 is a Sunday. The agency's page we opened doesn't say whether it moves to the next business day; file by the Friday before to be safe, or ask the agency.
Monday, February 1, 2027
Form W-2 Copy A (with W-3) to SSA, and employee copies (federal)
Monday, February 1, 2027
Form 1099-MISC copies to payees (federal)
Monday, February 1, 2027
Form 1099-NEC to the IRS and to each payee (federal)
Monday, March 1, 2027
Form 1099-MISC to the IRS on paper (federal)
Wednesday, March 31, 2027
Form 1099-MISC to the IRS electronically (federal)
Friday, April 30, 2027
Unemployment tax report and payment for the first quarter of 2027
Saturday, July 31, 2027
Unemployment tax report and payment for the second quarter of 2027
Falls on a Saturday. This is the date as the agency states it; check its rule for weekend due dates (see step 1).
Sunday, October 31, 2027
Unemployment tax report and payment for the third quarter of 2027
Falls on a Sunday. This is the date as the agency states it; check its rule for weekend due dates (see step 1).

Still to confirm

Arizona kit

Arizona Employer Compliance Kit 2027

This checklist as a printable document with every source link and check date, a 2027 deadline calendar, a start-here guide, and an Excel workbook with a deadline tracker and new-hire and pay-change checklists, all built from the same data as this page.

Get the kit, $19 Or the 2027 Employer Compliance Bundle (7 Kits), $59

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

What is the Arizona unemployment tax wage base for 2027?

Not confirmed in our data files. Check Arizona DES: Unemployment Insurance Tax, taxable wage increase (https://des.az.gov/node/23513). The latest published base is $8,000 per employee in 2026.

How soon must a Arizona employer report a new hire?

Within 20 days of the new employee's hire date. Electronic reporters send two transmissions a month, no more than 16 days apart.

What is the Arizona minimum wage in 2027?

The files give a change date of Friday, January 1, 2027; the 2027 rate itself is not confirmed. Not confirmed in our data files. Check Industrial Commission of Arizona: Labor Department (https://www.azica.gov/labor-department).

Does Arizona require paid sick leave?

Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act (A.R.S. 23-371 to 23-381). Yes: a statewide paid sick leave law covers private employers. Accrual: At least 1 hour of earned paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. Overtime-exempt employees are assumed to work 40 hours a week unless their normal week is shorter.

When is a final paycheck due in Arizona?

If the employer ends the job: Within 7 working days or by the end of the next regular pay period, whichever is sooner. If the employee quits: No later than the regular payday for the pay period in which the employment ended.

Does Arizona require state W-2 or 1099 filing?

ADOR only requires submission of Forms 1099 that report Arizona income tax withheld, and says a 1099-NEC is needed only if there is Arizona withholding. ADOR's page lists 1099-MISC among the forms it accepts without restating the rule for it. W-2s: January 31 (submitted online) 1099s: January 31

Do Arizona employers need workers' comp?

All employers must cover their employees. The page gives no headcount threshold.

Related: Employer compliance by state · 2027 changes for employers

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