Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) certification or recertification

How FUTA / IRS 940 reporting works: Comparison of federal and state information

Each year, we compare the wages reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on form 940 or on 1040 Schedule H to wages reported to Washington for unemployment insurance purposes. We certify:

• Your tax rate.
• The amount of taxable wages.
• The amount of taxes paid by each employer for two years prior. (For example we sent 2013 data to the IRS in 2015.)

What happens if differences are found

The IRS either contacts us for a recertification or they contact the employer directly. In order to provide this information to the IRS, the employer can request a recertification from the state.

What causes most problems and how to avoid them

Most problems occur when employers fail to notify us of a change in their business structure, (entity) or a change in the federal Employer Identification Number, (EIN).  

The EIN needs to match what ESD has in its tax and wage files.  If there is no match, then the employer is charged the maximum Federal Unemployment Tax Act, (FUTA) rate of 6.0 percent for 2013 instead of the minimum 0.6 percent, depending on the contributions made to the state.

More information from the IRS

The IRS has created a page on IRS.gov for information about Form 940 at www.irs.gov/form940.  Information about any future developments affecting Form 940 (such as legislation enacted after we release it) will be posted on that page.

How to request FUTA certification or recertification in Washington

Requests for FUTA certification or recertification in Washington must be in writing. Please include requestor name, contact number, year that you are recertifying and the first page of the IRS notice you received, if applicable.

Email
EmployerAccountsTaxESD@ESD.WA.GOV

Mailing Address
Employment Security Department  
UI Tax and Wage Administration/Employer Accounts
PO Box 9046
Olympia, WA  98507-9046