The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released the 2011 Form 940, Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return, and accompanying instructions. Employers use Form 940 to report their annual Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) tax.

Twenty Credit Reduction States for 2011

There are twenty credit reduction states for 2011: Michigan, Indiana, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Wisconsin as well as the US Virgin Islands. The credit reduction for most Michigan employers is 0.9% and for most Indiana employers it’s 0.6%. Most employers in the other credit reduction states and the US Virgin Islands have a credit reduction of 0.3%.

2011 FUTA Rate Decreased as of July 1, 2011

The FUTA tax rate decreased to 6.0% (before SUTA credits) on July 1, 2011. The rate for the first six months of 2011 was 6.2%. Under current law, the rate will remain at 6.0% throughout 2012. The 2011 Form 940 contains lines to report wages paid before July 1, 2011 and wages paid after June 30, 2011.

Vision Payroll to File Form 940 Electronically

Vision Payroll will file Form 940 for its clients electronically with the IRS and will not submit the paper version. Employers will be able to download a copy of Form 940 for their records.