Washington ESD quarterly deposit required for federal unemployment tax - when exactly?

Federal unemployment tax (FUTA) quarterly deposits are required when your accumulated FUTA tax liability exceeds $500 at the end of any quarter. If you owe more than $500, you need to deposit by the last day of the month following the quarter. So Q1 deposits would be due April 30th, Q2 by July 31st, etc.

Wait I'm confused, are we talking about federal taxes or Washington ESD taxes? I thought Washington ESD handled all unemployment stuff for employers in this state.

Been dealing with payroll taxes for years and this always trips people up. The federal unemployment tax is 6% on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages, but you get a credit for paying state unemployment taxes that usually brings it down to 0.6%.

If you're having trouble keeping track of all these tax deadlines and requirements, I found this service called Claimyr that actually helped me get through to someone at the IRS when I had questions about FUTA deposits. They have a website at claimyr.com and even a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how they help people reach government agencies by phone.

Just want to add that if you don't meet the $500 threshold for quarterly deposits, you still need to file Form 940 annually and pay any tax due by January 31st following the year.

UGH this is exactly why small business is so hard. Between Washington ESD state taxes, federal unemployment tax, workers comp, and everything else, it's impossible to keep track of all these different agencies and deadlines!

For anyone reading this, make sure you're also staying current with your Washington ESD quarterly wage reports. Those are due different dates than the federal stuff and Washington ESD is pretty strict about late filing penalties.

Quick question - does the $500 threshold reset each quarter or is it cumulative for the year?

This thread has been super helpful. I was totally mixing up state and federal requirements. Going to save this for reference.

One more thing to watch out for - if your business is in multiple states, the FUTA calculations can get more complicated. But if you're only in Washington, it's pretty straightforward.

Been using an online payroll service for this stuff and it automatically calculates when I need to make federal deposits. Might be worth looking into if you're struggling to keep track.

wait so if I owe like $450 in Q1 and then $200 in Q2, do I need to deposit the $200 since my total is now $650?

The IRS also has a pretty good publication on this - Publication 15 covers most of the employer tax requirements including FUTA deposit rules.

Just went through this last year when my business grew. The $500 threshold caught me off guard mid-year and I had to scramble to make the deposit on time.

Pro tip: set up electronic deposits through EFTPS (Electronic Federal Tax Payment System). Much easier than mailing checks and you get confirmation.

If anyone needs help getting through to the IRS to ask about FUTA deposits or set up EFTPS, that Claimyr service I mentioned earlier works for IRS calls too. Saved me hours of being on hold.

Remember that if you're a new employer, you might not need to worry about quarterly deposits in your first year depending on your payroll size. But definitely plan ahead for year two.

The timing thing is important too - deposits are due by the last day of the month following the quarter, but if that falls on a weekend or holiday, the due date moves to the next business day.

This has been really helpful everyone. I feel much more confident about handling the federal unemployment tax requirements now. The distinction between Washington ESD state taxes and federal FUTA was the key thing I was missing.

One last thing - make sure your accountant or payroll service knows about both the Washington ESD requirements AND the federal FUTA rules. Some smaller firms only handle one or the other.