How to file federal unemployment tax - NYS Department of Labor employer requirements?

You'll need to file Form 940 (Federal Unemployment Tax Act) annually, but you also need to make quarterly deposits if you owe more than $500. The federal unemployment tax is separate from your NYS Department of Labor state unemployment taxes. You report wages to both systems but they have different forms and deadlines. Make sure you're registered with both IRS for federal and NYS Department of Labor for state requirements.

Federal unemployment tax (FUTA) is 6% on first $7,000 of each employee's wages, but you get credit for state unemployment taxes paid to NYS Department of Labor. So if you're paying into the NY state system properly, your effective federal rate drops to 0.6%. You file Form 940 by January 31st following the tax year.

ugh the paperwork for all this is insane!! between federal forms and NYS Department of Labor quarterly reports I spend half my time on unemployment tax stuff instead of running my business

I had similar confusion when I started my business last year. The key thing is keeping your federal and NYS Department of Labor filings synchronized. I use a payroll service now because trying to track both systems manually was a nightmare. They handle the quarterly deposits and annual filings for both federal and state. Worth the cost for peace of mind. If you need to contact NYS Department of Labor directly about your account setup, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through their phone lines quickly. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that explains how it works.

Just remember that if you don't file the federal form on time, the penalties are harsh. I learned this the hard way my first year in business.