The Federal Unemployment Tax Act (or FUTA, ) is a United States federal law that imposes a federal employer tax used to help fund state workforce agencies. Employers report this tax by filing Internal Revenue Service Form 940 annually. In some cases, employers are required to pay the tax in installments during the tax year. FUTA covers a federal share of unemployment insurance (UI) and job service program administration costs in every state. In addition, FUTA pays one-half the cost of extended unemployment benefits during periods of high unemployment. It also provides a fund that states can borrow from when necessary to pay benefits. Legal basis The legality of FUTA has been affirmed in the 1937 Supreme Court case Steward Machine Co. v. Davis. Amount of tax Until June 30, 2011, the Federal Unemployment Tax Act imposed a tax of 6.2%, which was composed of a permanent rate of 6.0% and a temporary rate of 0.2%, which was passed by Congress in 1976. The temporary rate was extended many times, but it expired on June 30, 2011. Consequently, for the years until 2010 and the first six months of 2011, the FUTA imposed a 6.2% tax (before credits) on the first $7,000 of gross earnings of each worker per year. Once the worker's earnings reach $7,000 during a given year, the employer no longer pays any FUTA for that year with respect to that worker. Certain credits are allowed with respect to state unemployment taxes paid that may reduce the effective FUTA rate to 0.8%. Effective July 1, 2011, the rate decreased to 6.0%. That rate may be reduced by an amount up to 5.4% through credits for contributions to state unemployment programs under sections 3302(a) and 3302(b), resulting in a minimum effective rate on and after July 1, 2011 of 0.6% (6.0–5.4%). Credit reduction The credit against the federal tax may be reduced if the state has an outstanding advance (commonly called a "loan"). When states lack the funds to pay unemployment insurance, they may obtain loans from the federal government. To ensure that these loans are repaid and in accordance with Title XII of the Social Security Act, the federal government is entitled to recover them by reducing the FUTA credit it gives to employers, which is the equivalent of an overall increase in the FUTA tax. When a state has an outstanding loan balance on January 1