When to pay federal unemployment tax - NYS Department of Labor employer requirements?

Federal unemployment tax (FUTA) is due quarterly, but you only start owing it once you've paid $1,500 or more in wages during any calendar quarter, OR if you had at least one employee for some part of a day in any 20 different weeks during the current or previous calendar year. The due dates are April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31. This is separate from your NYS Department of Labor obligations for state unemployment insurance.

yeah the federal and state stuff is totally separate. you gotta register with NYS Department of Labor for state unemployment insurance too, that's what actually funds your employees unemployment claims if they get laid off

The federal unemployment tax funds the administrative costs of the unemployment system and provides loans to states when their unemployment trust funds run low. The actual benefits your employees receive come from the state unemployment insurance you pay to NYS Department of Labor. You need to register for a state unemployment insurance account within 30 days of becoming liable. The current FUTA rate is 6.0% on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages, but you get a credit of up to 5.4% for paying state unemployment taxes on time, so it's effectively 0.6%.

I went through this same confusion when I started my business last year. The paperwork is overwhelming but once you get into the rhythm it's not too bad. Just make sure you don't miss any deadlines because the penalties are harsh. I had to call NYS Department of Labor a bunch of times to get my account set up properly and it was always a nightmare trying to get through to someone.

The whole system is designed to confuse small business owners IMO. They make it so complicated on purpose so you mess up and pay penalties.

As someone who's been through this process recently, I'd recommend getting an EIN from the IRS first if you haven't already - you'll need it for both federal and state registrations. For the NYS Department of Labor registration, you can do it online through their employer services portal, but make sure you have all your business info ready including your NAICS code. One thing that caught me off guard was that even if you don't owe FUTA tax in a quarter (because you're under the $1,500 threshold), you still need to file Form 940 annually. Also keep detailed payroll records from day one - both systems will want quarterly wage reports and it's much easier if you're organized from the start.