This Schedule A Form 940 2026 guide explains the IRS Multi-State Employer and Credit Reduction Information. Schedule A for Form 940 identifies the multistate and credit-reduction information relevant to the annual FUTA computation. State unemployment reporting and payments must be reconciled with the federal return rules. The relevant state and year information should come from the applicable IRS version.
Reviewed October 31, 2026. This is an independent guide. The version and availability information below identifies the IRS documents used for this page.
What Schedule A Form 940 2026 does and who prepares it
An employer completes the multistate or credit-reduction information when the annual FUTA instructions require it.
For the connected reporting route, see Form 940. Keep the role of that document separate from the task explained on this page.
| Official form | Form 940 (Schedule A) |
|---|---|
| IRS title | Multi-State Employer and Credit Reduction Information |
| Guide period | 2026 |
| Target version | 2026 |
| Availability | Draft — not for filing |
| Last checked | October 31, 2026 |
Get the Schedule A Form 940 2026 PDF and check its status
Use the IRS source to confirm the document before completing a real filing. The download link is a reference to the official file; it is not a statement that every copy inside the PDF may be printed and submitted. Follow any instructions about electronic filing, scannable copies, recipient copies or attachments.
Which version of Schedule A Form 940 2026 should you use?
The 2026 in the title identifies the tax year or calendar-year information addressed by this guide. For a 2026 income reporting document, the preparation or filing activity may occur in 2027. Do not change the income year simply because the calendar has changed. The exact filing or furnishing date comes from the instructions for this form and the filer circumstances. The linked target PDF is a draft. It may be used to understand the proposed layout, but it is not a form to file. Amounts or instructions still subject to completion must be checked again when the final version is released.
Records to gather for Schedule A Form 940 2026
- State wage records.
- State unemployment payments.
- Multistate employment information.
- Current credit-reduction instructions.
- Annual FUTA calculation.
Keep a working reconciliation with these records. It should show the source of each reported item, any correction made before filing and the reason a different amount appears on a connected form. This is especially useful when a statement is corrected or a prior-year balance continues into the current calculation.
How to work through Schedule A Form 940 2026
- Confirm applicability. Start with the purpose, filer category and version of the form. Complete any eligibility or applicability question before spending time on the numerical calculation.
- Prepare the source workpapers. Gather the records listed below and reconcile their totals. Keep prior-year balances, current-year transactions and estimated payments separate where they serve different purposes.
- Complete dependent calculations first. When a line refers to another form, schedule or worksheet, finish that supporting calculation first. Preserve any classification, limitation and carryforward information.
- Follow the line sequence. Use the actual line labels and arithmetic in the applicable form. A line number from an older version may refer to something different after a revision.
- Reconcile the filing package. Check names, identifying numbers, tax periods, totals and required attachments. Then use the filing method, signature process and deadline that apply to this filer and form.
Form-specific IRS instructions and reporting details
The following points retain the operative wording of the IRS documents linked above. Read each point with its stated conditions and the applicable form version. References to another form or section describe a connected requirement; they do not mean that every reader must file every referenced document.
Report the total payments you made during the calendar year on line 3. Include payments for the services of all employees, even if the payments aren’t taxable for FUTA. Your method of payment doesn’t determine whether payments are wages. You may have paid wages hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly. You may have paid wages for piecework or as a percentage of profits.
Include the following. • Compensation, such as the following. —Salaries, wages, commissions, fees, bonuses, vacation allowances, and amounts you paid to full-time, part-time, or temporary employees. • Fringe benefits, such as the following. —Sick pay (including third-party sick pay if liability is transferred to the employer).
For details on sick pay, see Pub. 15-A, Employer’s Supplemental Tax Guide. —The value of goods, lodging, food, clothing, and noncash fringe benefits. —Section 125 (cafeteria) plan benefits. • Retirement/Pension, such as the following. —Employer contributions to a 401(k) plan, payments to an Archer MSA, payments under adoption assistance programs, and contributions to SIMPLE retirement accounts (including elective salary reduction contributions). —Amounts deferred under a nonqualified deferred compensation plan. • Other payments, such as the following. —Tips of $20 or more in a month that your employees reported to you.
Enter on line 5 the total of the payments over the FUTA wage base you paid to each employee during 2026 after subtracting any payments exempt from FUTA tax shown on line 4.
Additional reporting conditions
If you’re a successor employer When you figure the payments made to each employee in excess of the FUTA wage base, you may include the payments that the predecessor made to the employees who continue to work for you only if the predecessor was an employer for FUTA tax purposes resulting in the predecessor being required to file Form 940.
Example for Successor Employers During the calendar year, the predecessor employer paid $5,000 to Susan Jones. You acquired the predecessor’s business. After the acquisition, you employed Susan and paid Susan an additional $3,000 in wages. None of the amounts paid to Susan were payments exempt from FUTA tax. $5,000 Wages paid by predecessor employer + 3,000 Wages paid by you $8,000 Total payments to Susan.
You would include this amount on line 3. $8,000 Total payments to Susan – 7,000 FUTA wage base $1,000 Payments made to Susan in excess of the FUTA wage base $1,000 Payments made to Susan in excess of the FUTA wage base + 5,000 Taxable FUTA wages paid by predecessor employer $6,000 You would include this amount on line 5.
Calculations and supporting information
If you weren’t required to pay state unemployment tax because all of the wages you paid were excluded from state unemployment tax, you must pay FUTA tax at the 6.0% (0.060) rate. For example, if your state unemployment tax law excludes wages paid to corporate officers or employees in specific occupations, and the only wages you paid were to corporate officers or employees in those specific occupations, you must pay FUTA tax on those wages at the full FUTA rate of 6.0% (0.060).
When you figured the FUTA tax before adjustments on line 8, it was based on the maximum allowable credit (5.4%) for state unemployment tax payments. Because you didn’t pay state unemployment tax, you don’t have a credit and must figure this adjustment. If line 9 applies to you, lines 10 and 11 don’t apply to you. Therefore, leave lines 10 and 11 blank. Don’t fill out the worksheet in these instructions. Complete Schedule A (Form 940) only if you’re a multi-state employer.
Exceptions and related reporting
Some of the wages you paid were excluded from state unemployment tax, OR You paid any state unemployment tax late. For this worksheet, don’t round your figures.
Before you can properly fill out this worksheet, you must gather the following information. ■ Taxable FUTA wages (Form 940, line 7). ■ Taxable state unemployment wages. ■ The experience rates assigned to you by the states where you paid wages. ■ The amount of state unemployment taxes you paid on time. “On time” means that you paid the state unemployment taxes by the due date for filing Form 940.
Include any state unemployment taxes you paid on nonemployees who were treated as employees by your state unemployment agency. ■ The amount of state unemployment taxes you paid late. “Late” means after the due date for filing Form 940. 1. Maximum allowable credit — Enter Form 940, line 7 (Form 940, line 7 x 0.054 = line 1).
If you paid FUTA taxable wages that were also subject to state unemployment taxes in any states that are subject to credit reduction, enter the total amount from Schedule A (Form 940) on Form 940, line 11. However, if you entered an amount on line 9 because all the FUTA taxable wages you paid were excluded from state unemployment tax, skip line 11 and go to line 12.
Further form details
If your only option is to pay by check or money order because you don’t have access to U.S. banking services or electronic payment systems, make it payable to “United States Treasury.” Enter your EIN, “Form 940,” and the tax year on your check or money order. Complete Form 940-V and enclose it with Form 940. What if you can’t pay in full?
If you can’t pay the full amount of tax you owe, you can call the phone number on your notice or 800-829-4933 or 800-829-4059 (TDD/TTY for persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability), Monday–Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time (Alaska and Hawaii follow Pacific time) to request a payment plan.
Place an “X” in the box of EVERY state in which you had to pay state unemployment tax this year. For each state with a credit reduction rate greater than zero, enter the FUTA taxable wages, multiply by the reduction rate, and enter the credit reduction amount. Don’t include in the “FUTA taxable wages” box wages that were excluded from state unemployment tax (see the instructions for Step 2). If any states don’t apply to you, leave them blank.
Step 3. Total credit reduction To calculate the total credit reduction, add up all of the “Credit reduction” boxes and enter the amount in the “Total credit reduction” box. Then enter the total credit reduction on Form 940, line 11.
A practical example
An employer pays wages in multiple states. The preparer groups the payroll and state unemployment information, checks the current schedule rules and carries the supported federal adjustment into the annual return.
This example illustrates the order of the review. It does not assume an unverified deduction, exemption, treaty rate or final tax amount. The applicable form instructions and the actual records determine the result.
Common mistakes to avoid with Schedule A Form 940 2026
- Do not reuse a prior-year credit-reduction list without checking the current year.
- Keep state allocations and payment support.
- Reconcile any additional calculation with the annual employer return.
Questions about Schedule A Form 940 2026
Does receiving or downloading this form mean I must file it?
An employer completes the multistate or credit-reduction information when the annual FUTA instructions require it. The form purpose and the applicable filing or furnishing conditions determine the action. Downloading a blank PDF does not itself create a filing obligation or establish eligibility for a tax benefit.
Can I file the draft PDF?
No. The linked target is marked as a draft. Use it to understand the proposed layout and prepare records, but wait for the applicable final filing version. Check the IRS source again before using any year-specific amount, worksheet or filing instruction.
What should I do if the underlying information is wrong?
Do not reuse a prior-year credit-reduction list without checking the current year. Keep the original record and the correction trail. The issuer correction process, an amended return and an updated certificate can be different procedures. Choose the process that matches the document and the actual error.
Which records should I keep with the completed form?
Retain the source documents, applicable worksheets, submitted version and filing or furnishing confirmations. For this form, the working file should include state wage records, state unemployment payments, multistate employment information. Keep continuing balances and prior-year support for as long as they remain relevant under the applicable recordkeeping rules.
Related forms and next steps
Use these guides when the connected issue applies to your records. Each page has its own purpose, reporting year and availability status.