Maryland New Hire Report in QuickBooks: What Employers Need to Know

QuickBooks employers running payroll in Maryland have access to a built-in New Hire Report tailored to the state’s filing requirements — but the report contains fields that may need manual attention before submission, and several of those fields are mandatory for compliance.

Maryland’s New Hire Reporting Requirements

Maryland employers are required to submit new hire information to the Maryland New Hire Registry within 20 days of hiring, rehiring, or calling an employee back to work. Employers who file electronically or magnetically must transmit reports twice per month, with no more than 16 days between transmissions.

The obligation covers a broad set of workers. Employers must report any employee who resides or works in Maryland and to whom they anticipate paying wages — even if the person works only a single day before being terminated. Rehires and employees returning from a leave without pay must also be reported. That includes teachers, substitutes, and seasonal workers. Anyone who stays on the payroll through a break in service or gap in pay and then returns counts as a rehire.

Temporary agencies carry their own obligation: they must report each worker they hire for an assignment, but only once. Workers do not need to be re-reported each time they take on a new client through the agency. However, if a worker experiences a break in service or a gap in wages from the agency, they must be reported again as a rehire.

How QuickBooks Populates the Report

QuickBooks draws on existing payroll and employee setup data to fill in much of the New Hire Report automatically. The state unemployment insurance account number, employee date of birth, gender, and date of hire are all imported from the information the employer has already entered — provided that setup was completed. When those fields are missing or incorrect, the report will reflect the gap.

Fields That May Need Manual Review

Several fields on the Maryland New Hire Report warrant close attention, and some are mandatory under state rules.

State Identification Number

QuickBooks imports the state unemployment insurance account number from payroll setup. This field is required. Employers who are exempt should enter “EXEMPT.” Those who have applied for but not yet received their account number should enter “APPLIED FOR.”

Employee Date of Birth

This field is imported from employee setup but is optional. Employers who prefer not to share this information with the state can delete it from the report.

Employee Gender

Also imported from employee setup and also optional. As with date of birth, employers can remove this information before submitting.

Date of Hire

QuickBooks imports the date of hire from the employee record. Maryland defines this as the employee’s first day of work, which may differ from the date originally entered. If the imported date does not reflect the actual first day of work, employers should correct it on the report.

First Day of Work

This is a mandatory field. Maryland defines it as the date the employee first performs work for wages. Employers should verify that this date is accurate before submitting, since QuickBooks relies on the value already in the employee record — and that value may not always match the state’s definition.

Practical Takeaways

The Maryland New Hire Report in QuickBooks is functional, but it is not a fire-and-forget document. Employers who rely on it should review each field carefully, particularly the mandatory ones: the state identification number and the first day of work. Optional fields can be left in or removed depending on employer preference. The date of hire should be checked against Maryland’s specific definition rather than assumed correct from the initial setup.

For broader context on QuickBooks payroll troubleshooting and report generation, the core issue is usually one of data hygiene — the report is only as accurate as the employee and payroll records feeding it.