FUTA Tax Deposit Due Dates 2026: The $500 Rule
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2026 FUTA tax deposits are due April 30, July 31, November 2, 2026, and February 1, 2027, but only when your accumulated, undeposited FUTA liability is more than $500 at quarter-end. If the balance is exactly $500 or less, carry it into the next quarter. At year-end, a balance of $500 or less may instead be paid with the annual Form 940 by its due date. IRS Topic 759 explains the threshold.
Need to check a particular payroll balance? Check the quarterly deposit requirement, or see how deposits reconcile on Form 940.
November 2, 2026: Q3 deposit if the undeposited total exceeds $500 on September 30. February 1, 2027: Q4 deposit if the year-end undeposited total exceeds $500; this is also the usual 2026 Form 940 filing and small-balance payment deadline. Q1 and Q2 deadlines have passed. If you owed a prior deposit and missed it, do not postpone that payment until the next quarter.
FUTA (Federal Unemployment Tax Act) tax is paid by the employer, not withheld from employee wages. Its deposit calendar differs from the monthly or semiweekly rules for Form 941 payroll taxes. IRS Publication 15 (2026) sets out the tax calculation and timing rules.
2026 FUTA Tax Deposit Due Dates
Determine your FUTA liability at each quarter-end. When the quarter's liability plus any earlier undeposited amount is more than $500, deposit the entire accumulated amount by the deadline below. The ordinary last-day-of-the-following-month deadline moves to the next business day if it lands on a weekend or applicable legal holiday.
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| 2026 quarter | Test accumulated FUTA as of | Deposit due if over $500 | Calendar note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1: Jan–Mar | March 31, 2026 | April 30, 2026 | Deadline passed |
| Q2: Apr–Jun | June 30, 2026 | July 31, 2026 | Deadline passed |
| Q3: Jul–Sep | September 30, 2026 | November 2, 2026 | October 31 is Saturday |
| Q4: Oct–Dec | December 31, 2026 | February 1, 2027 | January 31 is Sunday |
The IRS's standard calendar lists October 31 and January 31; the displayed November 2 and February 1 dates apply the IRS next-business-day rule to the 2026 and 2027 calendars. See IRS Publication 509 and Publication 15.
A Form 940 filed in early 2026 generally reports 2025 wages. The 2026 FUTA tax year is reported in 2027. Filing the annual form does not extend a quarterly deposit that was already due.
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| FUTA tax year | Wages reported | General annual filing deadline |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Wages paid during 2025 | February 2, 2026 |
| 2026 | Wages paid during 2026 | February 1, 2027 |
The general annual deadline is the next business day when January 31 falls on a weekend or applicable legal holiday. A conditional later filing date may apply if all required FUTA deposits were made correctly and on time; see the IRS Form 940 filing rules. This does not extend deposit deadlines.
How Does the FUTA $500 Carryover Rule Work?
- Calculate the FUTA tax liability incurred during the quarter, using the appropriate taxable wages and any relevant credit adjustments.
- Add the balance carried over from an earlier quarter that you have not deposited.
- If the total is more than $500, deposit that full total electronically by the date in the calendar.
- If the total is $500 or less, carry it to the next quarter and test the combined balance again.
- After a full required deposit, the carryover for the next quarter starts at $0. Do not deposit only the amount above $500.
An accumulated balance of $500.00 may be carried forward. At $500.01, the full $500.01 must be deposited by the relevant quarterly date. The specific rules in IRS Topic 759 and Publication 15 describe the trigger as more than $500; one general IRS employment-tax due-date page uses different boundary wording. Follow the year-specific Form 940 guidance if you need to resolve a particular situation.
Fourth-quarter exception: When Q4 liability plus earlier undeposited FUTA is $500 or less, you may deposit it or pay it with a timely Form 940. A Q1–Q3 deposit that was previously required does not become optional just because the annual return is due later. See IRS Topic 759.
Quarterly FUTA Deposit Checker for 2026
Enter your already-calculated FUTA tax liability for each quarter, not wages or gross payroll. The checker adds any undeposited carryover, flags balances above $500 and shows the associated deposit dates. It does not calculate taxable wages, state-tax credits, filing status, penalties or whether an actual payment was made.
Enter quarter-specific FUTA liability in dollars, not gross payroll. All four fields are blank until you enter your real amounts or choose the sample. The checker assumes every earlier required deposit was made in full and on time; it is not a payment-history reconciliation, state-credit calculator, or penalty estimator. An overdue required deposit must be handled separately using IRS records.
Illustration only. Enter Q4 liability including any correctly determined fourth-quarter adjustments and credit reduction. This assumes any deposit indicated in an earlier quarter was made in full; compare the result with actual IRS payment records and Form 940. If the site editor removes scripts, use the worked example below.
Who Generally Owes FUTA Tax?
For ordinary employees other than household or agricultural workers, the IRS generally applies FUTA in 2026 if an employer paid at least $1,500 in wages in any calendar quarter of 2025 or 2026, or had at least one employee for part of a day in 20 or more different weeks in either year. Household and agricultural employers have separate tests, and certain nonprofit, governmental and other employment situations may be exempt or subject to special rules. Confirm whether the tax applies before using this deposit schedule. See IRS Publication 15 (2026).
How to Calculate FUTA Tax for Each Quarter in 2026
The standard FUTA tax rate is 6% on the first $7,000 of FUTA-taxable wages per employee per calendar year. Employers eligible for the full 5.4% state unemployment credit generally owe an effective federal rate of 0.6%, or up to $42 per employee who reaches the annual wage base. This is an employer tax; it is not an employee pay-stub deduction. See 2026 IRS Publication 15.
To estimate a quarter for an employer entitled to the full credit, take each employee's FUTA-taxable wages paid this quarter, count only the portion within that employee's remaining $7,000 annual wage base, add the qualifying amounts across employees and multiply by 0.006. Then apply the deposit test to the resulting quarter's tax and any carryover.
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| Employee | 2026 eligible wages before Q2 | Q2 eligible wages paid | Q2 wages within remaining $7,000 wage base | Q2 FUTA at 0.6% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | $0 | $8,000 | $7,000 | $42 |
| B | $0 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $30 |
| C | $3,000 | $5,000 | $4,000 | $24 |
| Total | $3,000 | $18,000 | $16,000 | $96 |
The $96 is Q2 liability only. For employee C, $3,000 of the $7,000 annual limit was already used before Q2, so just $4,000 of Q2 wages counts. Do not treat the employee's $42 full-year FUTA tax as if all of it arose in Q2. For a different discussion of pay-stub wage bases, see taxable wages and wage bases.
If an employee had $6,500 of FUTA-taxable wages before Q3 and receives another $2,000 in Q3, only $500 of the new wages remains within that employee's 2026 FUTA wage base. A full-credit employer's ordinary Q3 FUTA estimate for those wages is $500 × 0.006 = $3, not $12. Compute each employee's remaining annual wage base before summing quarterly liability. This example assumes the wages are otherwise FUTA-taxable and the full 5.4% credit applies. See IRS Publication 15.
FUTA liability can increase when the employer does not qualify for the full state unemployment credit, including certain unpaid or late state unemployment contributions, state coverage differences or a FUTA credit reduction. A successor employer may also need a special wage-base calculation. Use the applicable Form 940 instructions and your actual payroll and state-tax records before making a deposit.
2026 FUTA Carryover Example: Deposit, Reset and Year-End Payment
This example assumes the four quarterly tax amounts have already been correctly calculated and all required deposits were made on time. It follows the undeposited balance, not the annual sum of wages or the amount typed on each Form 940 liability line.
| Quarter | New liability | Entering carryover | Total at quarter-end | Action | Leaving carryover |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | $420 | $0 | $420 | Carry forward; no required deposit. | $420 |
| Q2 | $160 | $420 | $580 | Deposit all $580 by July 31, 2026. | $0 after deposit |
| Q3 | $240 | $0 | $240 | Carry forward; no required deposit. | $240 |
| Q4 | $180 | $240 | $420 | Deposit voluntarily or pay $420 with Form 940 by February 1, 2027. | $420 until paid |
Annual liability in this illustration is $1,000: $420 + $160 + $240 + $180. The employer made a $580 deposit after Q2 and still owes $420 at year-end. The Q4 amount does not have to be electronically deposited under the general threshold rule, but it must still be paid on time with Form 940 if not deposited separately.
What If Your State Has a FUTA Credit Reduction?
The full-credit 0.6% estimate is not always the final liability. A state or territory may become a credit-reduction jurisdiction when statutory conditions involving federal unemployment loans are met. The IRS credit-reduction guidance explains the annual determination and additional federal tax.
A credit reduction may change whether a fourth-quarter deposit is required. In this hypothetical example only, assume an employer has $400 of undeposited ordinary FUTA at year-end, $50,000 of wages subject to a hypothetical 0.3% credit reduction, and no prior deposit still owed:
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| Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|
| Ordinary accumulated undeposited FUTA | $400.00 |
| Additional hypothetical credit-reduction tax: $50,000 × 0.003 | $150.00 |
| Total Q4 undeposited liability | $550.00 |
The added $150 raises the accumulated balance above $500, so the entire $550 would require an electronic Q4 deposit by February 1, 2027. The 0.3% rate is an arithmetic assumption, not a verified 2026 rate for any jurisdiction. Determine actual credit reductions using official tax-year guidance and Schedule A (Form 940).
Do not use a projected jurisdiction list as a final 2026 determination. Consult the updated Form 940 and Schedule A instructions, IRS guidance and official U.S. Department of Labor information at year-end. Multi-state employers can also have Schedule A reporting obligations.
When Is Form 940 Due, and How Do Deposits Appear on It?
Form 940 is the annual FUTA return; it is not a substitute for a deposit required after Q1, Q2 or Q3. The general 2026 Form 940 filing deadline is February 1, 2027 because January 31 falls on a Sunday. Employers who properly and fully deposited all required FUTA tax on time may have until February 10, 2027 to file the return. Do not assume the later filing window gives you extra time to pay an undeposited Q4 balance. Check the final 2026 filing instructions before submitting. IRS Topic 759 explains the conditional filing extension.
On the available Form 940 structure, line 12 is annual tax after adjustments, line 13 is FUTA deposited (including applicable prior-year overpayment credits) and lines 16a–16d, when required, describe tax liability incurred in each quarter, not the date or amount of each deposit. The available 2025 instructions say Part 5 is completed only if annual line 12 is more than $500; verify the final 2026 revision for the return you file. IRS Form 940 instructions give the filing method and exact line rules.
Worked example: turn four quarters of liability into Form 940 entries
Continue the carryover example above. Assume the employer incurred $420 in Q1, $160 in Q2, $240 in Q3 and $180 in Q4, made the required $580 Q2 deposit on time, and had no additional adjustments, payment credits, or other deposits.
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| Form 940 entry* | Illustrative amount | What it represents |
|---|---|---|
| Line 16a: Q1 liability | $420.00 | Tax incurred in Q1 |
| Line 16b: Q2 liability | $160.00 | Tax incurred in Q2, not the $580 Q2 deposit |
| Line 16c: Q3 liability | $240.00 | Tax incurred in Q3 |
| Line 16d: Q4 liability | $180.00 | Tax incurred in Q4 |
| Line 12: total annual FUTA tax | $1,000.00 | $420 + $160 + $240 + $180 |
| Line 13: FUTA already deposited | $580.00 | One Q2 deposit covering accumulated Q1 and Q2 tax |
| Line 14: remaining balance | $420.00 | May be paid with a timely Form 940 under the general year-end $500-or-less rule |
*Line references follow the currently available Form 940 structure. Check the final IRS-issued 2026 form and instructions before filing. The example assumes all earlier required deposits were timely and the $420 balance is the only unpaid year-end liability.
Match each quarter's liability to payroll registers; account for state-unemployment credits and Q4 adjustments; match deposits to IRS payment confirmations and the correct employer tax period; then compare total liability, deposits, and the balance due on Form 940. A $580 Q2 deposit resulting from $420 Q1 liability plus $160 Q2 liability is one payment, not $580 of Q2 liability.
How Do Employers Make Required FUTA Deposits?
- Verify the employer EIN, applicable tax period and Form 940 tax type. Do not apply a FUTA deposit to Form 941.
- Confirm the entire accumulated liability and whether the threshold requires an electronic deposit.
- Use an IRS-supported electronic funds transfer option, such as an IRS business tax account, IRS Direct Pay for businesses or EFTPS. Follow that service's advance scheduling cutoff.
- Save the confirmation and reconcile it to your quarterly ledger and annual Form 940.
Schedule the payment, not just the calculation. Before the deadline, confirm the tax form (940), tax period, EIN, payment amount and selected settlement date. Use the current instructions for the electronic service you actually use:
Payment options and cutoffs vary. The timing below is from IRS Publication 509 (2026); verify it when scheduling.
| Method | What to check before paying |
|---|---|
| EFTPS | IRS Publication 509 says EFTPS accepts same-day payments of $1 million or less before 3 p.m. Eastern on a business day. For payments over $1 million, submit by 8 p.m. Eastern the day before the deposit due date. Schedule ahead where possible and confirm payment status. |
| IRS Direct Pay for businesses or business tax account | Verify the service offers the intended Form 940 deposit/payment for your account, then follow its current scheduling rules and retain the confirmation. |
| Same-day wire | Arrange with your bank in advance; its availability, cutoffs and fees may differ. A submitted wire is not proof of correct application to your FUTA period. |
Important: Filing Form 940 or generating a form through ePaystubs does not make an electronic FUTA deposit. A previously missed required deposit is not converted into optional carryover; verify payments in your IRS account and resolve any late balance promptly.
The IRS requires electronic funds transfer for required federal tax deposits. See the IRS employment-tax deposit guide. A payment permitted with Form 940 when the year-end balance is $500 or less is a different situation from an electronic deposit required in a prior quarter.
What If a Required FUTA Deposit Was Missed?
Arrange the required electronic payment promptly, verify that it is applied to the right tax period, and retain the confirmation. A timely Form 940 filing does not erase a missed earlier deposit. The IRS's failure-to-deposit guidance describes potential penalties of 2%, 5%, 10% or 15% depending on timing and notice conditions; those percentages do not simply stack. Relief depends on individual circumstances and should not be assumed.
Once your wages, quarterly liabilities, state-credit adjustments and deposits have been reconciled, you can prepare a Form 940 document with ePaystubs. Using a form generator does not itself send your FUTA deposit to the IRS, electronically file your return or prove IRS acceptance. Complete those obligations using an authorized method and keep confirmation records.
Frequently Asked Questions About FUTA Deposit Dates
Is FUTA tax due quarterly or annually?
Form 940 is annual. Deposits are required after a quarter only when the accumulated undeposited FUTA liability exceeds $500. A small final balance may be paid with the annual return.
Do I deposit FUTA if the balance is exactly $500?
The specific IRS FUTA instructions allow a $500 balance to be carried forward. An accumulated balance greater than $500 triggers the full required deposit.
What is the third-quarter FUTA deposit deadline for 2026?
November 2, 2026, when the accumulated undeposited liability as of September 30 is over $500. October 31 is a Saturday.
What is the fourth-quarter FUTA deposit deadline for 2026?
February 1, 2027, when the accumulated undeposited balance at December 31, 2026, exceeds $500. If it is $500 or less, the employer may deposit it or pay it with a timely Form 940, subject to the applicable rules.
What if all four quarters are $500 or less?
Each quarter's liability must be added to any earlier amount not yet deposited. For example, $200 in Q1 and $350 in Q2 creates a $550 balance requiring a Q2 deposit even though neither individual quarter exceeds $500.
Can FUTA be deducted from an employee's paycheck?
No. FUTA is an employer-paid federal tax. State unemployment programs may have different employee-contribution rules; see the separate SUI or SUTA pay-stub guide.
Does Form 941 cover FUTA?
No. Form 941 reports other employment taxes. FUTA uses Form 940 and its separate deposit rules. For those distinct dates, consult the 2026 Form 941 deadline guide.
Official Sources
- IRS Publication 15 (2026): Employer's Tax Guide
- IRS Topic 759: Form 940 filing and deposit rules
- IRS Publication 509: 2026 Tax Calendars
- IRS Form 940 instructions (verify tax-year revision)
- IRS: FUTA credit reductions
- IRS: Failure to Deposit Penalty
- IRS: Direct Pay for businesses and same-day wire instructions
Educational information for U.S. employers, not individualized tax or legal advice. Rules may differ for household and agricultural employers, certain exempt entities, successor employers and special employment situations. Verify current IRS guidance and your own payroll and state-unemployment records or seek qualified advice before filing or depositing.