Kentucky Raises Unemployment Insurance Wage Base for 2026

Kentucky’s unemployment-taxable wage base for 2026 is $12,000, up from $11,700 for 2025, according to an update from the Office of Unemployment Insurance.

Kentucky will continue to use Rate Schedule A to determine unemployment insurance tax rates for 2026, according to the website.

Rate Schedule A contains rates ranging from 0.3% to 2.4% for positive-rated employers and from 6.5% to 9% for negative-rated employers, according to the office’s website. Rate Schedule A has been in effect since 2019.

The tax rate for new employers is 2.7%, but the rate for new contract construction employers is 9%, or ...