Why is the premium for an owner/officer based on a payroll amount that’s different from their reported payroll?

Every state has its own rules about how much owners and/or officers pay for workers’ comp if they are included on the policy. But generally, different rules apply to owners and/or officers from regular employees in terms of the amount of payroll on which to base premium collection. The state may stipulate a minimum and a maximum annual payroll on which to base premium for included owners and officers.

For example, if a state has an included owner/officer minimum of $39,000 in payroll for corporations, then the carrier will collect enough premium to cover that amount of payroll, even if the owner was paid less than $39k in wages. On the flip side, the state might also set the maximum premium to, say, $118,300, and the carrier may not collect premium on payroll above that amount, even if the owner is paid more than that.