A liable employer must submit a termination request form prior to March 31 of the succeeding year to request termination of their account if the wages paid in the prior year did not meet liability and they have been an employer for two or more years.

If an employer requests suspension of their account, document the account to identify the individual authorizing the change or image the supporting documentation from the employer. An account can be suspended when the employer ceases to pay wages in Texas.

The decision to terminate coverage or suspend an account should be left to the Employer. Tax personnel should not advise an Employer to terminate or to suspend their account. A tax employee may respond to the Employer's questions, but should not suggest that the Employer would benefit by choosing termination over closure or vice versa.

When terminating an account it is necessary for the Employer to notify the Commission between January 1 and March 31 during the year in which termination is to be effective. This is not the case when suspending an account. An Employer may request suspension of their domestic account at any time regardless of the deadlines required for termination.

The chief difference between termination and suspension of an account concerns an Employer's experience rating. When an account is terminated, the employer in question ceases to be defined as an Employer. When termination occurs any experience is forfeited. If the employer should once again become liable, they would not resume with their old tax rate, but rather with the entry-level tax rate. By closing the account the employer remains defined as an Employer and does not forfeit their experience rating. If an account is suspended rather than terminated and the Employer once again becomes liable, the Employer's existing account number and experience rating will remain in effect.