FUTA credit reduction true-up

Your payroll system accrues FUTA at 0.6%. The Department of Labor announces the credit reduction on November 10, 2026 - and it applies retroactively to every wage dollar you already paid this year.

State
Credit reduction applied%
FUTA-taxable wages (first $7,000 each)USD
FUTA at the normal 0.6%USD
Extra tax from the credit reductionUSD
Extra per employeeUSD
Total FUTA owed on Form 940USD
Shortfall against what you accruedUSD
Days after the February 1, 2027 deadlinedays
Late-payment penalty at 0.5% per monthUSD
Keep this result. Export the worked figures as a .csv you keep, and set November 10 and February 1 alarms that fire in the browser without you opening the tool. $60 once · one licence key per person or team seat · 7-day full refund. An outside payroll accountant re-runs Form 940 Schedule A for one to two billable hours at US bookkeeping rates of $50-$150 per hour.
Get the full version — CSV export and deadline alarms — $60 →
Caps every worker at the first $7,000
FUTA is charged on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages, not on total payroll. This is the single line people get wrong when they estimate the credit reduction on a spreadsheet.
2025 confirmed rates and the 2026 step
Carries the confirmed tax-year-2025 rates (California 1.2%, U.S. Virgin Islands 4.5%) and the 0.3-point step each would take for 2026 if the state loan is still unpaid on November 10, 2026, so you can budget both.
Compares what you set aside with what you owe
You enter the rate your payroll system has been accruing at - usually 0.6% - and the tool shows the dollar shortfall you have to find before the return is due.
Form 940 deadline and late-payment penalty
Form 940 for tax year 2026 is due February 1, 2027. Enter the date you will actually pay and the tool applies the 0.5%-per-month late-payment penalty, capped at 25%.
Runs entirely in the browser
Payroll headcounts and wage figures never leave the machine. The only outbound request the extension ever makes is licence-key validation.

Get the complete version $60

This page is the working piece. The full pack has everything below.

Your payroll system accrues FUTA at 0.6%. The Department of Labor announces the credit reduction on November 10, 2026 - and it applies retroactively to every wage dollar you already paid thi

An outside payroll accountant re-runs Form 940 Schedule A for one to two billable hours at US bookkeeping rates of $50-$150 per hour.

Buy the full version — $60

Questions people ask

What does the FUTA credit reduction calculator actually do?

It takes your headcount in one state, your average wage, and the credit reduction rate, then charges FUTA correctly: 0.6% plus the reduction on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages, not on total payroll. It returns the extra tax, the extra per employee, the shortfall against your accrual, and the late-payment penalty if you pay after February 1, 2027.

Who is this for?

US employers, in-house payroll managers and bookkeepers who run wages in California or the U.S. Virgin Islands - the two jurisdictions carrying a FUTA credit reduction for tax year 2025. It matters most to seasonal, hourly and high-turnover employers, because the reduction is charged per employee on the first $7,000, so headcount drives the bill, not payroll size.

Why not just ask a chatbot or use a free calculator?

The credit reduction list changes every year and is only settled after November 10. Language models still name New York and Connecticut as reduction states from older training data, and generic free FUTA calculators apply one flat 0.6% with no reduction field at all. Both give you a number that is wrong in the direction that costs money.

What is free and what needs the key?

Every calculation is free, with no key, no watermark and no usage limit: run any state, any headcount, any wage, as often as you like. The $60 key adds two things on a different axis - a .csv export of the worked figures that you keep, and browser alarms for the November 10 announcement and the February 1 filing date.

What would this cost me otherwise?

Having an outside payroll accountant re-run Form 940 Schedule A is one to two billable hours at typical US bookkeeping rates of $50-$150 an hour, and you pay it again each year the list changes. If the shortfall means you under-deposit, the IRS late-payment penalty is 0.5% of the unpaid tax per month, capped at 25%.

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