Washington ESD employer - when do federal unemployment taxes need to be deposited?

FUTA deposits are typically due quarterly if you owe more than $500 in a quarter. If you owe $500 or less, you can pay annually when you file Form 940. The quarterly due dates are usually the last day of the month following the end of each quarter.

wait i thought all payroll taxes had to be deposited monthly or semi-weekly? this is confusing

I've been dealing with Washington ESD on employee claims and trying to figure out employer obligations too. For what it's worth, when I had issues reaching anyone at the IRS about FUTA questions, I used claimyr.com - they have a service that helps you actually get through to government agencies by phone. There's a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works. Saved me hours of being on hold.

Just to add some specifics - the $500 threshold is cumulative within the quarter. So if you have $200 in January, $150 in February, and $200 in March, you'd owe $550 for Q1 and would need to deposit by April 30th. The rate is currently 6% on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages, but you can get a credit of up to 5.4% if you pay your state unemployment taxes on time.

Been running payroll for 15 years and FUTA is honestly one of the easier taxes to manage. The key is just tracking that $500 threshold each quarter. I use a simple spreadsheet to track cumulative liability. Also make sure you're using the right wage base - it's $7,000 per employee annually, not per quarter.

FUTA deposits have to be made electronically through EFTPS (Electronic Federal Tax Payment System). You can't mail checks for these anymore. Make sure you're registered for EFTPS if you haven't already.

Don't forget Form 940 is due January 31st (or February 10th if you deposited all FUTA tax when due). Even if you made quarterly deposits, you still need to file the annual return.

I'm in a similar situation - small business owner trying to handle payroll myself. The Washington ESD stuff is confusing enough without adding federal requirements on top. Has anyone found good resources for understanding all the employer obligations?

One thing to watch out for - if you have employees in multiple states, you need to make sure you're handling the FUTA credit properly for each state's unemployment tax situation. Washington is generally good about this, but some states have issues that can affect your federal credit.

Just want to emphasize - keep good records of your FUTA deposits and calculations. If there's ever an audit, you'll need to show when deposits were made and how you calculated the liability. I learned this the hard way.

The quarterly due dates are: April 30th for Q1, July 31st for Q2, October 31st for Q3, and January 31st for Q4. But remember, you only deposit if you owe more than $500 for the quarter.

been doing payroll for small businesses and honestly the FUTA rules are pretty straightforward once you get the hang of it. Much simpler than trying to figure out Washington ESD's employer reporting requirements

Make sure you're not confusing FUTA with SUTA (State Unemployment Tax). FUTA goes to the feds, SUTA goes to Washington ESD. Different rates, different deadlines, different forms.

If you're really small (like under 10 employees), consider whether it's worth hiring a payroll service. The cost might be less than the potential penalties for messing up deposit timing.

There are penalties for late FUTA deposits, so definitely don't miss the quarterly deadlines if you owe more than $500. The penalty rate can add up quickly.

Pro tip: set up calendar reminders for the quarterly due dates. Even if you don't owe anything that quarter, it's good to check your calculations and make sure you're tracking properly.

The wage base for FUTA ($7,000) is much lower than Social Security/Medicare, so you'll stop owing FUTA on most employees pretty early in the year if you pay decent wages.

One last thing - make sure you understand the difference between FUTA taxable wages and regular wages for other payroll taxes. Some things that are subject to federal income tax withholding might not be subject to FUTA.

Thanks everyone for the help! This thread has been really informative. I feel much more confident about handling FUTA deposits now. And I'm definitely going to check out that Claimyr service for when I need to call government agencies - seems like it could save a lot of time and frustration.