Every private employer in the US, will now pay $42 an employee for Federal Unemployment Tax, FUTA, on the first $7,000 of wages, instead of the prior FUTA tax of $56 per employee. This is a savings of $14 an employee. A FUTA surtax of 0.2 percentage points on the first $7,000 of wages was introduced in 1976. It expired on June 30, 2011. Employers will now pay 0.6 percent on the first $7,000 of wages for the federal unemployment tax.