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Tell us if you change your name or address.

Specific Instructions

Notify the IRS immediately if you change your business name

or address.

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If your business name changes, write to the IRS office where

Part 1: Tell Us About Your Return

you would send your return if you had no payment. See Where

Do You File? on page 2. Also see Pub. 1635, Understanding

Your EIN, for general information on EINs.

1. If you were required to pay your state

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If your address changes, complete and mail Form 8822,

unemployment tax in . . .

Change of Address. Do not attach Form 8822 to your Form

Identify the state(s) where you were required to pay state

940. Mail Form 8822 separately to the address indicated on

unemployment taxes.

Form 8822.

1a. One state only. Enter the two-letter U.S. Postal Service

abbreviation for the state where you were required to pay your

tax on line 1a. For a list of state abbreviations, see the

Type of Return

Instructions for Schedule A (Form 940) or visit the website for

the U.S. Postal Service at

Review the box at the top of the form. If any line applies to you,

1b. More than one state (you are a multi-state employer) .

check the appropriate box to tell us which type of return you are

Check the box on line 1b. Then fill out Part 1 of Schedule A

filing. You may check more than one box.

(Form 940), and attach it to your Form 940.

Amended. If this is an amended return that you are filing to

2. If you paid wages in a state that is subject to

correct a return that you previously filed, check box a.

credit reduction.

Successor employer. Check box b if you are a successor

If you paid wages that are subject to the unemployment tax

employer and:

laws of a credit reduction state, you may have to pay more

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You are reporting wages paid before you acquired the

FUTA tax when filing your Form 940.

business by a predecessor who was required to file a Form

A state that has not repaid money it borrowed from the

940 because the predecessor was an employer for FUTA tax

federal government to pay unemployment benefits is called a

purposes, or

credit reduction state. The U.S. Department of Labor

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You are claiming a special credit for state unemployment

determines which states are credit reduction states.

tax paid before you acquired the business by a predecessor

For tax year 2009, Michigan is a credit reduction state. If you

who was not required to file a Form 940 because the

paid wages subject to the unemployment tax laws of the state

predecessor was not an employer for FUTA tax purposes.

of Michigan, check the box on line 2 and fill out Part 2 of

Schedule A (Form 940). See the instructions for line 9 before

A successor employer is an employer who:

completing Part 2 of Schedule A (Form 940).

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Acquires substantially all the property used in a trade or

Part 2: Determine Your FUTA Tax Before

business of another person (predecessor) or used in a

separate unit of a trade or business of a predecessor, and

Adjustments for 2009

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Immediately after the acquisition, employs one or more

people who were employed by the predecessor.

If any line in Part 2 does not apply, leave it blank.

No payments to employees in 2009. If you are not liable

3. Total payments to all employees

for FUTA tax for 2009 because you made no payments to

Report the total payments you made during the calendar year

employees in 2009, check box c. Then go to Part 7, sign the

on line 3. Include payments for the services of all employees,

form, and file it with the IRS.

even if the payments are not taxable for FUTA. Your method of

Final: Business closed or stopped paying wages. If this

payment does not determine whether payments are wages.

is a final return because you went out of business or stopped

You may have paid wages hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, or

paying wages and you will not be liable for filing Form 940 in

yearly. You may have paid wages for piecework or as a

the future, check box d. Complete all applicable lines on the

percentage of profits. Include:

form, sign it in Part 7, and file it with the IRS. Include a

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statement showing the address at which your records will be

Compensation, such as:

kept and the name of the person keeping the records.

— Salaries, wages, commissions, fees, bonuses, vacation

allowances, and amounts you paid to full-time, part-time, or

temporary employees.

•

Disregarded entities. A disregarded entity is required to file

Fringe benefits, such as:

Form 940 using its name and Employer Identification Number

— Sick pay (including third-party sick pay if liability is

(EIN), not the name and EIN of its owner. An entity that has a

transferred to the employer). For details on sick pay, see

single owner and is disregarded as separate from its owner for

Pub. 15-A, Employer’s Supplemental Tax Guide.

federal income tax purposes is treated as a separate entity for

— The value of goods, lodging, food, clothing, and non-cash

purposes of payment and reporting federal employment taxes.

fringe benefits.

If the entity does not currently have an EIN, it must apply for

— Section 125 (cafeteria) plan benefits.

one using one of the methods explained on page 4.

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Retirement/Pension, such as:

Disregarded entities include single-owner limited liability

— Employer contributions to a 401(k) plan, payments to an

companies (LLCs) that have not elected to be taxed as a

Archer MSA, payments under adoption assistance

corporation for federal income tax purposes, qualified

programs, and contributions to SIMPLE retirement accounts

subchapter S subsidiaries, and certain foreign entities treated

(including elective salary reduction contributions).

as disregarded entities for U.S. income tax purposes. Although

— Amounts deferred under a non-qualified deferred

a disregarded entity is treated as a separate entity for

compensation plan.

employment tax purposes, it is not subject to FUTA tax if it is

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Other payments, such as:

owned by a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3)

and is not required to file Form 940. For more information, see

— Tips of $20 or more in a month that your employees

Disregarded entities and qualified subchapter S subsidiaries in

reported to you.

the Introduction section of Pub. 15 (Circular E), Employer’s Tax

— Payments made by a predecessor employer to the

Guide.

employees of a business you acquired.

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Instructions For Form 940 - Employer'S Annual Federal Unemployment (Futa) Tax Return - 2009 Page 5

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