Annual FUTA Tax Deposit Voucher (2026)
Missing your Annual FUTA Tax Deposit Voucher deadline means penalties accumulate fast—the IRS charges 10% failure-to-deposit penalties plus interest, and your business account can be frozen if you're flagged for tax compliance issues. The Annual FUTA Tax Deposit Voucher (also called Form 8109-B or the federal unemployment tax deposit coupon) is filed with the U.S. Department of Labor and IRS to record your Federal Unemployment Tax Act contributions for the prior calendar year. Key facts:
- 19 fields — ApronPrep auto-fills 16
- $0 government filing fee — the voucher itself is free; you pay only the FUTA tax liability owed
- Varies by deposit method — deadline depends on when you deposit (quarterly or annual)
Most applicants complete this voucher in under 15 minutes with ApronPrep, which auto-fills employer ID, business name, tax period, and liability calculations from your payroll records.
Analyzed from Annual FUTA Tax Deposit Voucher
84% from one compliance interview
Manual entry or document upload required
Why You Need a Annual FUTA Tax Deposit Voucher
The Annual FUTA Tax Deposit Voucher is required under the Internal Revenue Code (Title 26), specifically IRC § 3301–§ 3311, which establishes the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) framework. Any restaurant owner who paid wages of $1,500 or more in any calendar quarter, or who employed at least one worker for any part of a day in 20 or more different weeks during the year, is legally obligated to calculate, deposit, and report FUTA taxes to the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS administers this requirement — there is no state-level substitute. Depositing and reporting on time is not optional: the IRS cross-references your Form 941 quarterly payroll filings against your FUTA deposit history, and discrepancies trigger automated notices before a human auditor ever gets involved.
Failing to file or deposit your FUTA tax on time exposes your restaurant to a compounding set of financial and operational consequences that grow every month you remain out of compliance:
- Failure-to-file penalty: 5% of unpaid tax per month, capped at 25% of the total amount owed — accruing from the original due date
- Failure-to-pay penalty: 0.5% of unpaid tax per month, which can run concurrently with the failure-to-file penalty
- Underpayment interest: The IRS charges interest on unpaid balances at the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points, compounding daily
- Trust fund recovery penalty: If the IRS determines willful non-payment, responsible individuals (including owners and managers) can be held personally liable for the unpaid amount — piercing any LLC or corporate protection
- Criminal prosecution risk: Intentional tax evasion or fraud under IRC § 7201 carries felony-level penalties, including fines and imprisonment
- Business credit and licensing impact: Unresolved IRS tax liens appear on your business credit report and can block SBA loan approvals, lease renewals, and state liquor license renewals that require a tax-compliance certification
Legal code: Internal Revenue Code (Title 26)
Recent update: For the 2026 tax year, the IRS confirmed the FUTA tax rate remains at 6.0% on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages, with a standard net rate of 0.6% after the maximum 5.4% state unemployment tax credit — verify the current credit percentage for your state with the IRS before filing, as states that carry federal unemployment loan balances may reduce your available credit.
Who Needs a Annual FUTA Tax Deposit Voucher?
| Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant (Full-Service) | Required | Any full-service restaurant that pays $1,500 or more in wages in any calendar quarter, or has at least one employee on any day in 20 or more different weeks during the year, must pay FUTA tax under 26 U.S.C. § 3301 and deposit using Form 940 or the EFTPS system. |
| Bar / Nightclub | Required | Bars and nightclubs with tipped or hourly staff meet the FUTA wage threshold ($1,500 in any quarter) almost universally, triggering the federal unemployment tax obligation under 26 U.S.C. § 3301 and requiring annual deposit reconciliation. |
| Food Truck | Required | Food trucks that employ even one worker — including part-time or seasonal staff — on 20 or more days in a year cross the FUTA coverage threshold under 26 U.S.C. § 3306(a), making the annual deposit voucher applicable; solo owner-operators with no W-2 employees are exempt. |
| Coffee Shop / Café | Required | Coffee shops routinely exceed the $1,500 quarterly wage threshold with even a small crew of baristas, subjecting them to FUTA at 6% on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages (net 0.6% after the standard state credit) under 26 U.S.C. § 3301. |
See which restaurant types need this requirement — and which don't.
See Full Requirements →Field-by-Field Guide (19 Fields)
16 of 19 auto-filledEmployer Identification Number (EIN)
textEnter your 9-digit EIN exactly as it appears on your IRS assignment letter (CP 575) or prior federal tax filings, formatted as XX-XXXXXXX.
COMMON MISTAKE: Entering your Social Security Number instead of your EIN, or transposing digits — both cause immediate IRS matching failures and deposit rejections.
Legal Business Name
textEnter the exact legal name registered with the IRS when your EIN was assigned — this must match your Form SS-4 and any prior Form 940 filings character-for-character, including punctuation.
COMMON MISTAKE: Using a DBA (doing business as) trade name or abbreviated version instead of the full legal entity name on file with the IRS, which triggers a name/EIN mismatch error.
Business Mailing Address
textEnter the current mailing address where the IRS should send correspondence — this is typically your registered business address, not the restaurant's physical location if they differ.
COMMON MISTAKE: Entering the restaurant's physical street address when the IRS mailing address on record is a PO Box or separate administrative address, causing IRS notices to be misdirected.
Tax Year (January 1 - December 31)
textEnter the four-digit calendar year for which you are making this FUTA deposit (e.g., '2026') — FUTA is always calculated on a January 1 through December 31 calendar year basis per IRS Publication 15.
COMMON MISTAKE: Entering the current filing year instead of the tax period year — for example, filing in January 2027 for tax year 2026 and accidentally entering '2027' in this field.
Payment Method (EFTPS or Check/Money Order)
textIndicate whether you are remitting payment via the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) or by check/money order — note that the IRS requires EFTPS for most employers whose annual federal tax deposits exceed $2,500.
COMMON MISTAKE: Selecting check/money order when your total annual federal tax deposits require mandatory EFTPS enrollment, which can result in a 10% failure-to-deposit penalty under IRC § 6656.
Total Wages Paid to Employees
textEnter the total gross wages paid to all employees during the tax year before any FUTA wage base cap is applied — only the first $7,000 paid to each employee is subject to FUTA tax, but this field captures total wages paid.
COMMON MISTAKE: Entering only the FUTA-taxable wages (capped at $7,000 per employee) rather than total gross wages, or omitting wages paid to tipped employees who earned cash tips directly from customers.
Total FUTA Tax Liability
textEnter the total FUTA tax liability for the year, calculated at 6.0% of the first $7,000 in wages per employee — if your state's unemployment insurance (SUTA) account is current, you may be eligible for a credit of up to 5.4%, reducing the effective rate to 0.6%; contact your payroll provider or tax advisor to confirm eligibility.
COMMON MISTAKE: Applying the full 6.0% rate without accounting for the state unemployment tax (SUTA) credit, or applying the SUTA credit when your state has an outstanding federal unemployment loan (a 'credit reduction state'), which reduces the allowable credit.
FUTA Tax Payments Already Made
textEnter the total dollar amount of FUTA deposits you already submitted to the IRS during the tax year via EFTPS quarterly deposits — this figure should reconcile with your EFTPS payment history records.
COMMON MISTAKE: Including state unemployment (SUTA) payments made to your state workforce agency, which are separate from federal FUTA deposits and must not be counted here.
Balance of FUTA Tax Owed
textEnter the remaining FUTA tax balance due, calculated as Total FUTA Tax Liability minus FUTA Payments Already Made — this is the amount being remitted with this annual deposit voucher.
COMMON MISTAKE: Failing to account for all quarterly deposits already made, resulting in an overstated balance and an overpayment — or understating the balance by including state SUTA credits not yet confirmed by the IRS.
State(s) Where Employees Were Employed
textList the two-letter postal abbreviations for every state in which you employed workers during the tax year — this is used to determine whether any of your states are 'credit reduction states' that reduce your allowable SUTA credit against FUTA liability.
COMMON MISTAKE: Omitting a state where employees worked temporarily or seasonally (e.g., a catering crew that worked events in a neighboring state), which can misrepresent your credit reduction state exposure and result in an underpayment.
ApronPrep auto-fills 16 of 19 fields from a single compliance interview — no re-typing, no guessing what the government expects.
Skip the Paperwork on Your Annual FUTA Tax Deposit Voucher
ApronPrep auto-fills 16 of 19 fields from one compliance interview.
No credit card required
Top 5 Annual FUTA Tax Deposit Voucher Mistakes
1. Using the Wrong EIN on the Deposit Voucher
Entering a Social Security Number, state tax ID, or a misremembered EIN instead of the business's 9-digit federal Employer Identification Number causes the IRS to reject or misapply the deposit entirely — triggering a CP162 penalty notice and potentially a failure-to-deposit penalty of 2–15% of the unpaid amount. For example, entering '12-3456789' when your EIN is '98-7654321' means the payment posts to the wrong account. Always verify your EIN against your IRS CP575 confirmation letter or the top of your most recently filed Form 940 before submitting.
2. Misreporting Total FUTA Taxable Wages
FUTA tax applies only to the first $7,000 paid to each employee per calendar year — restaurant owners frequently miscalculate by applying the 6% rate to total annual wages rather than the per-employee $7,000 wage base, resulting in an overpayment or underpayment that triggers an IRS balance notice. For example, a restaurant with 10 employees each earning $40,000 owes FUTA on $70,000 total (10 × $7,000), not $400,000. Cross-check your taxable wage base against your payroll register before calculating the deposit amount.
3. Failing to Apply the State Unemployment Tax (SUTA) Credit
Employers who paid state unemployment taxes on time are entitled to a credit of up to 5.4% against the federal 6% FUTA rate, reducing the effective FUTA rate to 0.6% — but omitting this credit means you deposit up to 10 times more than legally required, with no automatic IRS refund issued until you file Form 940. A restaurant that paid $4,200 in timely SUTA taxes could mistakenly deposit $4,200 in FUTA instead of the correct $420. Confirm your state's SUTA payment history before calculating the deposit and verify credit eligibility on IRS Form 940, Schedule A.
Timeline: Varies
Complete Form 940 or Form 940-EZ reporting total wages and calculated FUTA liability
File either Form 940 (full version, required if you had employees in multiple states or owe $500+ in FUTA tax) or Form 940-EZ (simplified version for single-state employers with straightforward payroll) with the IRS by January 31 of the following year. You'll need your total wages paid, state unemployment insurance contributions, and any prior-year FUTA credits. Most restaurants complete this in 1–2 hours with payroll records ready.
Calculate total FUTA tax owed minus payments already deposited during the year
Determine your total FUTA liability (6% of the first $7,000 in wages per employee, capped at $420 per employee annually) and subtract any quarterly or monthly deposits you already made via EFTPS. This net amount is what you owe on the annual deposit. The calculation takes 15–30 minutes if you have your quarterly deposit records on hand.
Prepare IRS Form 8109-B coupon with EIN, tax period, and payment amount
If paying by check or money order (rather than EFTPS), complete Form 8109-B with your EIN, the tax period (01/01–12/31 of the year owed), the FUTA payment amount, and your restaurant's name and address. Form 8109-B coupons are available on IRS.gov or through your tax software. This takes 5 minutes if you have all your tax information ready.
Other Requirements You'll Need
ADA Compliance Self-Certification
federal
Alarm System Permit/Registration
local
Alcohol Catering Permit
local
Application for Employer Identification Number
federal
See all co-required forms and how they connect to your compliance dossier.
See All RequirementsThe Annual FUTA Tax Deposit Voucher is not a permit that requires processing time — it is a form you complete and submit directly to the IRS with your annual tax payment. You can file it immediately after the tax year ends (by January 31st for the prior calendar year), and there is no government approval timeline. Contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 or visit irs.gov to confirm current filing deadlines and procedures.
There are no government filing fees for submitting the Annual FUTA Tax Deposit Voucher itself — it is a required IRS form filed at no cost. However, the form documents your actual FUTA (Federal Unemployment Tax Act) tax liability, which you must pay to the IRS based on your payroll. The amount you owe depends on your total eligible wages and your state's credit rate; this is not a filing fee but your actual tax obligation per the IRS tax code. Not legal advice — verify your tax liability with a tax professional or the IRS.
The Annual FUTA Tax Deposit Voucher is tied to your Employer Identification Number (EIN) and tax account, not a specific physical location. If you open a second restaurant location, you will need a separate EIN for that entity (or file under the same EIN if it is a single legal business), and you will file one FUTA deposit voucher per EIN per tax year. For guidance on multi-location reporting, you may need to consult with a tax professional or contact the IRS, and you should also review requirements related to Application for Employer Identification Number if you are creating a new business entity.
The Annual FUTA Tax Deposit Voucher is filed once per calendar year (by January 31st of the following year) — it is not a renewable permit or license. As long as your restaurant has employees and a valid EIN, you file this form annually to document and pay your FUTA tax liability. If your business closes or you no longer have employees, you would file a final tax return; contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 to confirm your filing obligations.
There is no inspection associated with the Annual FUTA Tax Deposit Voucher — it is a tax filing form, not a compliance permit. However, the IRS may audit your payroll records and tax filings to verify that your FUTA payment and wage reporting are accurate; this is a records review, not a physical inspection of your restaurant. To prepare, maintain detailed payroll records (employee names, wages, dates of employment) and keep copies of all tax filings; if you also operate under E-Verify Enrollment, ensure that your employee documentation is current and consistent with your tax records.
About This Data
This guide is generated from ApronPrep's compliance dossier system, which uses 53 parallel AI authority experts to discover requirements, then downloads actual forms and generates field-level intelligence for each one.
Our data is verified against official government sources and updated when regulatory changes are detected. If you find an error, please report it — accuracy is our core commitment.
Sources
- Internal Revenue Code (Title 26)
This Form Is One of 60+ Requirements.
ApronPrep discovers every permit your city requires — including the ones generic checklists miss. Pick your city for the complete package.