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How many weeks into the year does FUTA and SUTA stop accruing?
Federal and state unemployment tax is charged only up to a wage base, not on a role's full annual wages, so for a full-time hire, both taxes are typically fully paid within the first two or three months of the year, then owe nothing more until the calendar resets.
The calculator's own worked example, week by week
This tool opens with a worked example: a $28-an-hour, 40-hour-a-week role, paid for all 52 weeks — $1,120 a week, $58,240 for the year. At the default federal FUTA wage base of $7,000 and a default state SUTA wage base of $9,500, here is when each tax stops accruing:
| Week | Cumulative wages | FUTA base ($7,000) | SUTA base ($9,500) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | $6,720 | not yet reached | not yet reached |
| 7 | $7,840 | crossed this week | not yet reached |
| 8 | $8,960 | already capped | not yet reached |
| 9 | $10,080 | already capped | crossed this week |
| 10-52 | $11,200-$58,240 | already capped | already capped |
By week 7 — roughly the second week of February, for a role starting January 1st — the role's cumulative wages have already passed the $7,000 FUTA base, so none of the remaining 45 weeks of wages owe any more federal unemployment tax. By week 9, the same is true of the $9,500 SUTA base used in this example. The role works 43 more weeks that calendar year without adding a cent to either tax.
What that does to the actual dollar amount owed
Because each tax is charged on the wage base, not on the $58,240 in total annual wages, the amounts owed for the whole year are small next to what a flat-percentage guess would suggest: FUTA owed for the year is $42 (0.6% of the $7,000 base), and SUTA owed for the year is $256.50 (2.7% of the $9,500 base). A guess that applies the same two rates to the full $58,240 in annual wages instead — because it never accounted for the cap — would put FUTA at $349.44 and SUTA at $1,572.48, overstating the two taxes by roughly 8x and 6x respectively. Neither error is large next to the role's total cost, but it is exactly the kind of small, wrong-by-a-multiple detail that a flat "budget 25% on top of wages" rule of thumb never surfaces, because it never itemizes far enough to be wrong about a specific line.
Where the crossing point moves
The crossing week moves with the wage, the hours, and the state's own SUTA wage base — none of which this calculator assumes. A higher hourly wage or more hours a week reaches either base sooner; a state with a higher SUTA wage base, such as $15,000, pushes the SUTA crossing point out to week 14 instead of week 9 for the same $1,120-a-week role. A part-time or seasonal role that never accumulates $7,000 or $9,500 in wages within the calendar year never crosses either base at all, and pays the tax rate on its full wages for the whole period it works — the cap only matters once cumulative wages pass it, and a role that stays under both bases never gets the benefit this page describes.
Common questions
How many weeks into the year does FUTA stop accruing on a full-time hire?
For a full-time role earning $1,120 a week (this calculator's own worked example: $28/hour at 40 hours), cumulative wages cross the $7,000 federal FUTA wage base during week 7 — cumulative pay is $6,720 after week 6 and $7,840 after week 7. From that week on, none of the role's remaining wages for the calendar year owe FUTA.
How many weeks into the year does SUTA stop accruing?
It depends on the state's wage base, which this calculator takes as an input rather than assuming. At this tool's default SUTA wage base of $9,500, the same $1,120-a-week role crosses it during week 9 — cumulative pay is $8,960 after week 8 and $10,080 after week 9. A state with a higher wage base, such as $15,000, pushes that crossing point to week 14 instead.
What does a flat percentage-of-annual-wages guess get wrong here?
It charges the FUTA and SUTA rate against the full year's wages instead of against the wage base, which overstates both taxes by several times. At the calculator's defaults, the actual FUTA owed for the year is $42 (0.6% of the $7,000 base) and the actual SUTA owed is $256.50 (2.7% of the $9,500 base) — a flat-rate guess applied to the full $58,240 in annual wages would put FUTA at $349.44 and SUTA at $1,572.48, overstating the two taxes by roughly 8x and 6x.
Does this mean a part-time or seasonal role pays the same way?
No. A role that never reaches the wage base within the calendar year pays FUTA and SUTA on its full wages, with no point at which the tax stops accruing — the cap only matters once a role's cumulative wages pass it, which a full-time role does early and a lower-hours or seasonal role may not do at all.
Does crossing the wage base change what this calculator reports?
Yes, and it already accounts for it: this calculator applies each rate to the lesser of a role's annual wages and its wage base, not to total annual wages, so the annual FUTA and SUTA figures it shows are the capped amount, not a full-year guess.