When FUTA Taxes Are Due

Employers pay their FUTA tax to the IRS either quarterly or once a year, depending on how much their total FUTA tax liability is for the year. If your FUTA tax will be $500 or less for the entire year, then you can pay annually. Otherwise, you pay quarterly. FUTA tax payments are also called deposits.

Digging deeper, the rules for when employers deposit their FUTA tax with the IRS are:

· Quarterly FUTA deposits: If your FUTA tax liability for the calendar quarter is more than $500, then deposit your FUTA tax by that quarter’s due date; otherwise, you can defer payment to the next quarter’s due date; repeat this process for each calendar quarter

· Annual FUTA deposits: If your FUTA tax liability for the entire year is $500 or less, then deposit your FUTA tax with the IRS no later than the January 31 due date; you can pay the FUTA tax when you file your Form 940

FUTA Tax Payment Due Dates

If Undeposited FUTA Tax is More Than $500 on:	Tax Payment is Due By:
March 31, 2018	April 30, 2018
June 30, 2018	July 31, 2018
September 30, 2018	October 31, 2018
December 31, 2018	January 31, 2019
March 31, 2019	April 30, 2019
June 30, 2019	July 31, 2019
September 30, 2019	October 31, 2019
December 31, 2019	January 31, 2020

Example: Let’s say you are a New York-based business with 10 employees. Your total FUTA taxes are $420 on March 31, which is $42 for each employee. You do not have to submit a FUTA payment yet because your taxes are below the $500 minimum.

Let’s now say by June 30, you hire three additional employees and now have a total of $546 in FUTA taxes. Your payment is due on July 31, which is the next quarterly payment due date. On July 31, you would deposit $546, which is the $420 accumulated from the first quarter plus the additional tax from the second quarter.

When SUTA Tax Payments Are Due

You will also have to meet your state’s reporting requirements and deadlines for SUTA tax payments and forms. For more information on what your state requirements are for SUTA, check out this guide to payroll tax rates by state.

How FUTA Taxes Are Paid

Employers must pay their FUTA tax deposits electronically. Payments for FUTA taxes must be submitted through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS). You can visit EFTPS.gov to schedule payments. To use EFTPS, you will need a federal employer identification number (EIN), and you will need to enroll either online or using Form 9779.

In extraordinary circumstances, same-day tax wire payments can be made. Make sure in advance that your financial institution provides this service and ask about fees. To do this, you can visit EFTPS.gov and download the Same-Day Taxpayer Worksheet. Complete the first sheet, and then submit both pages to your financial institution.