Tennessee Compliance and Regulatory Resources

Business owners spend around $35,670 yearly on regulatory compliance.¹ Paychex simplifies HR compliance with key resources like our enhanced HR library and automated compliance notifications. Learn more about Tennessee regulations like minimum wage, workers’ compensation, and more.

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State Tax Rates and Limits

State Unemployment Taxable Wage Base Limit
$7,000

State Unemployment Rate Range for Employers
0.01% to 10.0%

State Unemployment New Employer Rate
2.7% to 5.0% (Rates vary by industry)

State Hourly Minimum Wage
None adopted (federal standard of $7.25 applies)

State Minimum Wage for Tipped Employees
None adopted (federal standard of $2.13 applies)

Paid Family Leave

Employers can purchase private insurance plans to offer employees a paid family leave benefit.

Coverage can be a separate PFL policy, included in a group disability policy, or added as a PFL rider to a disability insurance policy.

TN Labor and Workforce Development

PFL benefits might differ dependent on each carrier’s plan offerings. Benefits are generally variable based on the qualifying event.

E-Verify

Private employers with 35 or more employees must enroll in and use E-Verify.

Penalties: Could include per employee fines for not enrolling in E-Verify that escalate for repeat offenders for failure to verify.

Note to employers: Employers have requirements once enrolled in E-Verify, including but not limited to completion of Form I-9 and its verification (the Three Day Rule). Noncompliance could lead to significant civil fines. Some local municipalities also have E-Verify requirements.

State Tax ID Registration

State Unemployment Insurance (SUI) Registration

All Taxpay^® clients are required to have an active Tennessee Unemployment Insurance account number to file electronically with the Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development. This can also be referred to as the Employer Account Number (ERN).

Register a New Business

Visit the Employer e-Services site and select the Register my Business link under the Registering a Business section.
Follow the screens to complete the registration.
You will arrive to a Confirmation Page once the registration is complete. Take a screenshot of this screen.
- SUI Account Number can be in one of the following formats:
  - 0XXXXXXX (8 Digits)
  - 1XXXXXXX (8 Digits)
Enter your new account number in your Paychex Flex^® account and email the screenshots of your registration to your Paychex Service Professional.
- Refer to Updating Tax IDs for instructions on how to update the information in the application.

Finding an Existing ID

If you have a Tennessee SUI ID but aren’t sure what it is, you should be able to find it on:

Online TNTAP Account.
Any correspondence from the Department of Labor & Workforce Development.
Previously filed returns.

Additional Resources

Workplace Safety

TOSHA
Tennessee has an OSHA-approved state plan covering most private-sector workers and all state and local government workers. Federal OSHA covers most workers not covered under the state plan.

Workers' Compensation

Coverage is mandatory for employers with five (5) or more employees
LLC members and corporate officers are included in employee count provided they meet the definition of employee
Exception: All Contractors are required to have coverage regardless of the number of employees