Arizona · Payroll registration
Arizona payroll tax registration, done for you.
Arizona is the state that gets combined registration right. Form JT-1 is called the Joint Tax Application because both the Department of Revenue and the Department of Economic Security use it, and one submission genuinely starts both. That is worth saying because Maryland's application is called Combined and does not.
Last updated:
Who you are dealing with
Arizona Department of Revenue
- Handles:
- Employer withholding, and transaction privilege and use tax on the same application
- System:
- AZTaxes.gov
- Form:
- Form JT-1, the Joint Tax Application, available once you have enrolled for a user account on AZTaxes.gov. Employers withholding Arizona income tax register their EIN with Revenue through it
Arizona Department of Economic Security
- Handles:
- Unemployment insurance employer account
- System:
- Tax and Wage System
- Form:
- The same JT-1, filed as JT-1/UC-001. Submitting it begins unemployment registration with Economic Security, which issues the account number and mails a Determination of Unemployment Insurance Liability if you are liable
Arizona Department of Economic Security, payroll registration
State fee. $0 for the employer registrations. A transaction privilege tax license carries its own fee if you also need one, which we pass through at cost and show separately.
Our fee. $180 per state, flat. State fees are passed through at cost.
When you have to register
Register before withholding Arizona income tax from wages. Liability for unemployment insurance is a determination Economic Security makes, and it tells you the answer by posting a Determination of Unemployment Insurance Liability rather than leaving you to work it out.
What comes next
This is where Arizona stops being tidy. One form opens both accounts. Closing them takes a checkbox on the final withholding return, and a voluntary unemployment termination request that Economic Security accepts only between 1 January and 31 March.
How long it takes
Arizona does not publish a turnaround we could confirm. What it does say is that both agencies process the same application and each notifies you separately, so expect two responses on two schedules rather than one confirmation covering both.
What we do
We work out which accounts you need, submit each registration, and hand you the account numbers, rates, and deposit schedules your payroll system asks for. One remote hire. $180 per state, plus state fees at cost. We submit within 2 business days. You keep the client. We never email them.
Hiring in more than one state? State payroll tax registration covers the withholding and unemployment accounts payroll software will not open.
What makes Arizona harder than average
- One form in, two very different paths out. The JT-1 genuinely covers both agencies at registration. At closure, withholding cancels via the FINAL RETURN box on Form A1-APR, and unemployment termination is only accepted in a three month window each year. Do not assume the exit mirrors the entry.
- Two agencies still reply separately. Both Revenue and Economic Security process the same application and each notifies you on its own schedule. Receiving one response does not mean the other is done, and people stop chasing after the first envelope.
- You need an AZTaxes account before you can file the form. The JT-1 is available once you have enrolled for a user account, so there is a step before the step. Worth doing in advance of a tight first pay date.
- Liability is determined, not self-assessed. Economic Security decides and sends a Determination of Unemployment Insurance Liability. That is more helpful than most states manage, and it means the answer arrives by post rather than the moment you submit.
How Arizona compares
What triggers registration in Arizona is not what triggers it next door. The table sets the thresholds side by side.
Questions and answers
Does one Arizona form really cover both agencies?
Yes. Form JT-1 is called the Joint Tax Application because both the Department of Revenue and the Department of Economic Security use it. Submitting it starts withholding registration and unemployment registration together.
Will I get one confirmation or two?
Two. Both agencies process the application and each notifies you separately, on its own schedule. If unemployment liability applies, Economic Security posts a Determination of Unemployment Insurance Liability.
Is closing as simple as registering?
No, and Arizona is the clearest example of that asymmetry. Withholding cancels through a checkbox on the final return, and Economic Security accepts a voluntary unemployment termination only between 1 January and 31 March. Miss that window and it waits a year.
Do I need anything before filing the JT-1?
An AZTaxes.gov user account. The form becomes available once you are enrolled, so that enrollment is the real first step.
What do you need from me to start?
The legal name and EIN, entity type, Arizona work locations, first payroll date, and whether you also need a transaction privilege tax license, since the same application can cover it.
Also in Arizona
Agency details verified 2026-08-03
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.