FUTA definition
/What is FUTA?
FUTA is an acronym for the Federal Unemployment Tax Act; it is a payroll tax paid by employers (not employees), and goes into a federal fund that pays the cost of administering the unemployment insurance and job service programs in all states; it also pays half the cost of extended unemployment benefits during periods of high unemployment.
How is FUTA Calculated?
A FUTA payment is calculated based on 0.8% of the first $7,000 of employee wages in each tax year. Thus, the maximum amount of FUTA that an employer can pay per year for each employee is $56 ($7,000 x 0.008). If an employee earns less than $7,000 per year (which may be the case with a part-time person), then the employer never pays the $56 maximum. However, since most employees earn far more than $7,000 per year, employers typically incur this expense during the first few months of each calendar year, and pay no further FUTA for the remainder of the year.
Accounting for FUTA
The accounting for FUTA can vary, depending on the situation. The two accounting options are as follows:
Charge to expense at once. If employees are not involved in the production of goods, then an employer should charge FUTA to expense in the period incurred.
Include in inventory cost. If employees are involved in the production of goods, then you should add this cost to the goods produced; by taking the second approach, the employer will recognize the expense slightly later in the year, when the company sells the goods and charges the related expense to the cost of goods sold.
Under the first option, the FUTA expense will appear within the general and administrative section of the income statement. Under the second option, the FUTA expense will appear within the cost of goods sold section of the income statement.