Workers' compensation premium audit document submission checklist
Your workers' compensation premium audit helps determine if your premium needs to be adjusted, to ensure that you are not paying more or less than necessary based upon your needed coverage. We want to help you prepare for your audit by outlining the documentation you will need to provide. There are two types of required documentation:
Payroll documentation
outlining transactions or payments during your policy period
This documentation should match as closely to your policy period as possible. For payroll information, you can round to the first of the month. (It is acceptable to deviate from the policy period by up to 16 days.)
For example: if your policy period starts and ends on June 15, you can provide payroll for the year starting and ending on June 1 or July 1.
Taxation document
used to verify payroll information
This documentation might not match exactly with your policy period. If your policy period falls in the middle of the month, simply provide the most recent (or annual) tax reports that most closely aligns with your policy period.
Payroll documentation
You’ll be required to provide payroll information for all owners, officers and employees including those who may have terminated employment during the policy period.
Your payroll report must include the following items:
- Employee name
- Description of work performed (which may be different from the job title)
- State of employment
- Gross wages per employee
If your company pays any of the following wages, please separate them in the report:
- Overtime wages
- Double time wages
- Tips
- Section 125 (cafeteria plan) employee contributions (California only)
Payroll vendors (i.e. ADP®, Paychex®), internal reporting applications (i.e. QuickBooks®, PeopleSoft®), and most bookkeeping services will be able to provide sufficient payroll information for the premium audit. If available, please provide the information in an excel spreadsheet.
Contract labor information
Provide payment information for all contracted and sub-contracted labor used during your audit period, including:
- Contract laborer/subcontractor name
- Description of work performed
- State in which work was performed
- Date work started/ended within the policy term
- Total amount paid
- Cost of materials supplied
- Certificates of insurance for subcontractors, including dates worked
Definitions and requirements may vary by state. Additional tests of independent status may apply.
Taxation documentation
If you have employees, provide one of the following:
- Employer’s quarterly federal tax return (Form 941)
- W-2/W-3 wage and tax statement (best for calendar year audits due in December and January)
- State unemployment wage reports (forms vary by state)
California only: provide quarterly DE-9
If you do not have employees, provide the following:
- For sole proprietor: Profit or loss (Form 1040), Schedule C, pages 1 and 2
- For a partnership: U.S. partnership return of income (Form 1065), page 1 and 1125-A
- For a corporation: U.S. corporation income tax return (Form 1120), page 1, and cost of goods sold (Form 1125-A)
Please note: Your auditor may ask for additional items as requirements vary by state. Contact your agent with questions.
Go to our premium audit FAQs page