As a business owner, one of your quarterly responsibilities is completing Federal Form 941. To be compliant and avoid IRS penalties, you must file Form 941 every quarter without fail.
Here, we'll go over the details of Form 941 and how to file the return with the IRS.
Table of Contents
Employers must file IRS Form 941, Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return, to report the federal income taxes withheld from employees, and employers' part of Social Security and Medicare (FICA) taxes.
Each quarter, the employer should file Form 941. Typically, the Form 941 deadline falls on the last day of the month following the reporting quarter.
As an employer, you are required to file Form 941 before the deadline regardless of whether you have tax amounts to report for a quarter or not, thus you must e-file Form 941 with zero tax amounts.
To avoid penalties, you must be aware of the Federal Form 941 deadline before filing. The quarterly Form 941 deadlines are listed below.
Quarter | Reporting Period | Due Date |
---|---|---|
Quarter 1 | Jan, Feb, and Mar | April 30 |
Quarter 2 | Apr, May, and Jun | July 31 |
Quarter 3 | Jul, Aug, and Sep | October 31 |
Quarter 4 | Oct, Nov, and Dec | January 31 |
If you have deposited the taxes timely and in full, you can file the form before the 10th of the second month of your quarter's end.
For example, you have to report the wages paid during the second quarter on or before July 31. If you make your tax deposits on time and in full, you can file Form 941 by the 10th of the second month following the quarter's end. If your deposits for the second quarter are made on schedule and in whole, you can complete Form 941 by August 10.
Penalties may be imposed for failure to file, failure to pay taxes owed, or late filing/payment. Penalties are calculated as a percentage of the tax payable. Some common Form 941 fines are:
Penalty type | Rate | Applies to | Maximum |
---|---|---|---|
Quarter 1 (January-March) | 5% per month (up to 5 months) | Unpaid tax amount | 25% of unpaid tax |
Failing to file (more than 60 days late) | Lesser of $435 or 100% of tax due | Total tax due | NA |
Failing to deposit taxes on time | 2% | 1 to 5 days late | NA |
Failing to deposit taxes on time | 5% | 6 to 15 days late | NA |
Failing to deposit taxes on time | 10% | 16 days late or within 10 days of IRS notice | NA |
Failing to deposit taxes on time | 15% | More than 10 days after IRS notice | NA |
You can file Form 941 either by paper filing or electronic filing.
E-filing Form 941 is quick, easy, and safe. Here are some of the advantages of e-filing:
You can e-file using an IRS-authorized e-file service provider, such as TaxZerone.
If you choose the classic paper filing method, perform these steps:
To stay away from Form 941 late filing penalties and interest, do the following:
Employers can e-file Form 941 easily with TaxZerone by following a few simple steps. Just enter the required information, review the form, and transmit it directly to the IRS. The whole process takes only a few minutes.
Check out how TaxZerone simplifies Form 941 filing for your business.