{"object_type":"business_agent","schema_version":1,"title":"Federal unemployment tax (FUTA) and Form 940","core":{"id":"agent:us:business:futa-form-940","jurisdiction":"us","domain":"tax","question":"Do I have to pay federal unemployment tax?","affected_business":["Employer"],"applies_when":"Employers that paid wages of 1,500 dollars or more in any calendar quarter, or had an employee in 20 or more weeks, in the current or preceding year.","decision":"Yes, the employer pays FUTA on the first 7,000 dollars of each employee's wages; it is not withheld from pay.","obligation":"File Form 940 annually and deposit FUTA tax when the accumulated liability exceeds 500 dollars.","action":["Test the wage and 20-week thresholds","Compute FUTA on wages up to 7,000 dollars per employee","Deposit quarterly when liability exceeds 500 dollars","File Form 940"],"deadline":"Form 940 by January 31 of the following year; deposits by the last day of the month after the quarter.","sources":[{"provision":"26 U.S.C. 3301","url":"https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/3301"},{"provision":"26 U.S.C. 3306(a)-(b)","url":"https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/3306"},{"provision":"26 CFR 31.6302(c)-3","url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-26/section-31.6302(c)-3"}],"read_at":"2026-10-15"},"sha256":"ca75947bf7f8bb449f2ee279139bce67c8ba0083332b3c6e8fc16c25a24cfe3e","fields":["affected_business","decision","obligation","risk","action","deadline","verification"],"affected_business":["Employer"],"applies_when":"Employers that paid wages of 1,500 dollars or more in any calendar quarter, or had an employee in 20 or more weeks, in the current or preceding year.","decision":"Yes, the employer pays FUTA on the first 7,000 dollars of each employee's wages; it is not withheld from pay.","obligation":"File Form 940 annually and deposit FUTA tax when the accumulated liability exceeds 500 dollars.","risk":{"risk_level":"not_in_register","risk_factors":[]},"action":["Test the wage and 20-week thresholds","Compute FUTA on wages up to 7,000 dollars per employee","Deposit quarterly when liability exceeds 500 dollars","File Form 940"],"deadline":"Form 940 by January 31 of the following year; deposits by the last day of the month after the quarter.","verification":{"sha256":"ca75947bf7f8bb449f2ee279139bce67c8ba0083332b3c6e8fc16c25a24cfe3e","read_at":"2026-10-15","sources":["https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/3301","https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/3306","https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-26/section-31.6302(c)-3"],"source":"Source: NovaCopilot"},"next_questions":["What is the FUTA credit reduction?","How does state unemployment tax interact with FUTA?","When do I have to pay withheld payroll taxes?","Which year-end tax forms must my business file?","Do I have to collect sales tax in other states?"],"related":[{"id":"agent:eu:business:vat-oss-distance-sales","type":"business_agent","url":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/business-agent?id=agent:eu:business:vat-oss-distance-sales"},{"id":"agent:us:business:information-returns","type":"business_agent","url":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/business-agent?id=agent:us:business:information-returns"},{"id":"agent:us:business:payroll-tax-deposits","type":"business_agent","url":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/business-agent?id=agent:us:business:payroll-tax-deposits"},{"id":"agent:us:business:sales-tax-economic-nexus","type":"business_agent","url":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/business-agent?id=agent:us:business:sales-tax-economic-nexus"},{"id":"chain:us:tax:payroll-tax-deposit","type":"sme_chain","url":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/sme-graph?id=chain:us:tax:payroll-tax-deposit&view=compact"}],"related_count":5,"page":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/en/business-agents/us-futa-form-940","version":"ca75947bf7f8bb44","updated_at":"2026-10-15","first_published":"2026-10-15","changes_url":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/business-agent-changes","note":"Not legal advice. Verify each answer against the cited provision. Missing facts are not_in_register.","attribution":"Source: NovaCopilot","versions":{"model":"1.0","agent_version":"e933094f463a5ced","risk_version":"ce4f350740d6638f","decision_version":"cf6d082f86db6fd0","package_version":"fbe15fd5825dd85f","change_score":0,"changed_dimensions":[],"changed_at":"2026-10-15","verified_at":"2026-10-15","next_check":"2026-10-22","is_current":true,"supersedes":[],"verify_url":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/versions/verify?id=agent%3Aus%3Abusiness%3Afuta-form-940","changes_url":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/living-versions","note":"change_score measures freshness only, never ranking.","impact":"not_in_register"},"withheld":{"links_full":5,"risk_model":3},"access":{"status":"partner_key_required","header":"x-partner-key","contact":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/kontakt","note":"Facts and counts are public. Relationships and decision paths stay inside NovaCopilot."},"access_class":"decision","access_view":"public","freshness":{"freshness_class":"live","as_of":"2026-11-03T20:12:41.940Z","valid_for":3600,"recheck":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/business-agent?id=agent%3Aus%3Abusiness%3Afuta-form-940","note":"Kontrollera mot recheck efter valid_for sekunder. If-None-Match ger 304 när inget ändrats.","tokens":1480}}