Michigan · Payroll tax registration
Michigan Form UIA 1027, explained.
Form UIA 1027 is the Business Transferor's Notice to Transferee of Unemployment Tax Liability and Rate, issued by Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency. The seller of a business, or the seller's broker, agent, or attorney, must complete it and deliver it to the buyer before the transfer, because Michigan law can pass the seller's unemployment tax liability, rate, and benefit charges to the buyer.
Who you are dealing with
Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency, Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity
- Handles:
- Employer unemployment insurance accounts, tax rates, and the successorship rules that UIA 1027 exists to disclose
- System:
- Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM)
- Form:
- Form UIA 1027, Rev. 09-21, authorized by MCL 421.1 et seq., delivered by the transferor to the transferee before the business transfer
State fee. $0. UIA 1027 is a disclosure between the parties to a business transfer. Nothing is paid to the state to deliver it.
What the state asks for
- Any unpaid unemployment taxes and interest of the business being transferred
- The seller's unemployment tax rate, which the buyer may inherit
- Cumulative benefit charges for the most recent five years
- A list of everyone currently employed by the transferor
- A list of employees separated in the most recent 12 months
How long it takes
There is no state processing step. The form's own instructions require the transferor to deliver it to the transferee at least two business days before the transfer, and the obligation extends to the transferor's real estate broker, other agent, or attorney.
What we do
On a business purchase we confirm which Michigan employer accounts exist, what UIA 1027 disclosed, and register or update the buyer's withholding and unemployment accounts so the first payroll runs against the right rate. Whether to accept the seller's rate or contest a successorship determination is a question for your CPA or attorney; the filings that follow the answer are ours.
Who is required to file Michigan Form UIA 1027?
The transferor of the business, meaning the seller, or the seller's real estate broker, other agent, or attorney. The form itself says the law requires the transferor to complete and deliver it to the transferee, regardless of any agreement between the parties.
When must UIA 1027 be delivered?
At least two business days before the transfer of the business. It is a pre-closing disclosure, not a post-closing filing, and delivering it late defeats the point: the buyer is supposed to see the unemployment tax exposure before taking the business.
What happens to the seller's unemployment tax rate when a business is sold?
Michigan's Employment Security Act provides that the buyer may be liable for the seller's unpaid unemployment taxes and interest, and may receive the seller's tax rate, penalties, and benefit charges. UIA 1027 is how that exposure is disclosed. Whether successorship applies to a specific deal is a determination for your attorney or CPA.
Does UIA 1027 register the buyer as a Michigan employer?
No. It only discloses. The buyer still needs their own Michigan employer registrations, withholding at Treasury and unemployment at the UIA, before running payroll. That registration is the service we file.
Agency details verified 2026-09-30
About the provider
Regcrest LLC is a document preparation and filing service based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, founded in 2026. It prepares and files state payroll and sales tax registrations, account closures, and resale certificates on behalf of the businesses that instruct it, and works behind accounting firms, bookkeepers, and payroll providers as well as directly with businesses.
Regcrest LLC is not a CPA firm and not a law firm. It gives no tax or legal advice. It files in all 50 states, and publishes a full page for the 29states it has verified against the agency's own material so far, each one showing the date it was checked. For anything that turns on your specific situation, ask a licensed accountant or attorney.