Table of Contents
These instructions give you some background information about Form 941. They tell you who must file Form 941, how to complete it line by line, and when and where to file it.
If you want more in-depth information about payroll tax topics relating to Form 941, see Pub. 15 (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide, or visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov/businesses and click on the Employment Taxes link.
Federal law requires you, as an employer, to withhold taxes from your employees' paychecks. Each time you pay wages, you must withhold - or take out of your employees' paychecks - certain amounts for federal income tax, social security tax, and Medicare tax. Under the withholding system, taxes withheld from your employees are credited to your employees in payment of their tax liabilities.
Federal law also requires you to pay any liability for the employer's portion of social security and Medicare taxes. This portion of social security and Medicare taxes is not withheld from employees.
Use Form 941 to report the following amounts.
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Wages you have paid.
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Tips your employees have received.
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Federal income tax you withheld.
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Both the employer's and the employee's share of social security and Medicare taxes.
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Current quarter's adjustments to social security and Medicare taxes for fractions of cents, sick pay, tips, and group-term life insurance.
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Prior quarters' adjustments to payroll taxes (attach
Form 941c). -
Advance earned income tax credit (EIC) payments.
Do not use the Form 941 to report backup withholding or income tax withholding on nonpayroll payments such as pensions, annuities, and gambling winnings. Report these types of withholding on Form 945, Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax.
After you file your first Form 941, you must file a return for each quarter, even if you have no taxes to report, unless you filed a final return or one of the exceptions listed below applies.
Special rules apply to some employers.
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Seasonal employers do not have to file a Form 941 for quarters in which they have no tax liability because they have paid no wages. To tell the IRS that you will not file a return for one or more quarters during the year, check the box on line 17 every quarter you file Form 941. See
section 12 of Pub. 15 (Circular E) for more information. -
Employers of household employees do not usually file Form 941. See Pub. 926, Household Employer's Tax Guide, and Schedule H (Form 1040), Household Employment Taxes, for more information.
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Employers of farm employees do not usually file
Form 941. See Form 943, Employer's Annual Tax Return for Agricultural Employees, and Pub. 51 (Circular A), Agricultural Employer's Tax Guide.
If you sell or transfer your business, you and the new owner must each file a Form 941 for the quarter in which the transfer occurred. Report only the wages you paid.
When two businesses merge, the continuing firm must file a return for the quarter in which the change took place and the other firm should file a final return.
Changing from one form of business to another—such as from a sole proprietorship to a partnership or corporation—is considered a transfer. If a transfer occurs, you may need a new EIN. See section 1 of Pub. 15 (Circular E). Attach a statement to your return with:
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the new owner's name (or the new name of the business);
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whether the business is now a sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation;
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the kind of change that occurred (a sale or transfer);
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the date of the change; and
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the name of the person keeping the payroll records and the address where those records will be kept.
If you go out of business or stop paying wages to your employees, you must file a final return. To tell the IRS that Form 941 for a particular quarter is your final return, check the box on line 16 and enter the date you last paid wages. Also attach a statement to your return showing the name of the person keeping the payroll records and the address where those records will be kept.
See the Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 for information about earlier dates for the expedited furnishing and filing of Forms W-2 when a final Form 941 is filed.
If you participated in a statutory merger or consolidation, or qualify for predecessor-successor status due to an acquisition, you should generally file Schedule D (Form 941), Report of Discrepancies Caused by Acquisitions, Statutory Mergers, or Consolidations. See the Instructions for Schedule D (Form 941) to determine whether you should file Schedule D (Form 941) and when you should file it.
File your initial Form 941 for the quarter in which you first paid wages that are subject to social security and Medicare taxes or subject to federal income tax withholding. See the table below titled, When To File Form 941.
Then you must file for every quarter after that—every 3 months—even if you have no taxes to report, unless you are a seasonal employer or are filing your final return. See Seasonal employers and If your business has closed . . . above.
File Form 941 only once for each quarter. If you filed electronically, do not file a paper Form 941. For more information about filing Form 941 electronically, see Electronic filing and payment on page 1.
When To File Form 941
| Your Form 941 is due by the last day of the month that follows the end of the quarter. | ||
| The Quarter Includes . . . | Quarter Ends |
Form 941
Is Due |
| 1. January, February, March | March 31 | April 30 |
| 2. April, May, June | June 30 | July 31 |
| 3. July, August, September | September 30 | October 31 |
| 4. October, November, December | December 31 | January 31 |
For example, generally you must report wages you pay during the first quarter—which is January through March—by April 30th. If you made deposits in full payment of your taxes for a quarter, you have 10 more days after the due dates shown above to file your Form 941.
If we receive Form 941 after the due date, we will treat Form 941 as filed on time if the envelope containing
Form 941 is properly addressed, contains sufficient postage, and is postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service on or before the
due date, or sent by an
IRS-designated private delivery service on or before the due date. If you do not follow these guidelines, we will consider
Form 941 filed when it is
actually received. See Pub. 15 (Circular E) for more information on IRS-designated private delivery services.
If any due date for filing shown above falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, you may file your return on the next business day.
If you are using a copy of Form 941 that has your business name and address preprinted at the top of the form, check to make sure the information is correct. Carefully review your EIN to make sure it exactly matches the EIN assigned to your business by the IRS. If any information is incorrect, cross it out and type or print the correct information. See If you change your name or address... on page 3.
If you use a tax preparer to fill out Form 941, make sure the preparer uses your business name and EIN exactly as they appear on the preprinted form we sent you.
If you are not using a preprinted Form 941, type or print your EIN, name, and address in the spaces provided. Also enter your name and EIN on the top of page 2. Do not use your social security number (SSN) or individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN). Generally, enter the business (legal) name you used when you applied for your EIN on Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number. For example, if you are a sole proprietor, enter “Haleigh Smith” on the “Name” line and “Haleigh's Cycles” on the “Trade name” line. Leave the “Trade name” line blank if it is the same as your “Name.”
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Write to the IRS office where you file your returns (using the Without a payment address on page 4) to notify the IRS of any name change. Get Pub. 1635, Understanding Your EIN, to see if you need to apply for a new EIN.
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Complete and mail Form 8822, Change of Address, for any address change.
Under “Report for this Quarter of 2008” at the top of
Form 941, check the appropriate box of the quarter for which you are filing. Make sure the quarter checked is the same as
shown on any attached
Schedule B (Form 941), Report of Tax Liability for Semiweekly Schedule Depositors.
Make entries on Form 941 as follows to enable accurate scanning and processing.
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Use 12-point Courier font (if possible) for all entries if you are typing or using a computer to fill out your form.
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Omit dollar signs and decimal points. Commas are optional. Report dollars to the left of the preprinted decimal point and cents to the right of it.
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Leave blank any data field (except lines 1, 2, and 10) with a value of zero.
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Enter negative amounts using a minus sign (if possible). Otherwise, use parentheses.
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Enter your name and EIN on all pages and attachments. Filers using the IRS-preaddressed Form 941 do not have to enter their name and EIN on page 2.
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Staple multiple sheets in the upper left corner when filing.
Give each eligible employee Notice 797, Possible Federal Tax Refund Due to the Earned Income Credit (EIC). Then each eligible employee who wishes to receive any advance earned income credit (EIC) payments must give you a completed Form W-5, Earned Income Credit Advance Payment Certificate. For more information, see section 10 of Pub. 15 (Circular E) and also Pub. 596, Earned Income Credit.
The IRS matches amounts reported on your four quarterly Forms 941 with Form W-2 amounts totaled on your yearly Form W-3, Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements. If the amounts do not agree, you may be contacted by the IRS or the Social Security Administration (SSA). The following amounts are reconciled.
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Federal income tax withholding.
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Social security wages.
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Social security tips.
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Medicare wages and tips.
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Advance earned income credit (EIC) payments.
For more information, see section 12 of Pub. 15
(Circular E) and the Instructions for Schedule D (Form 941).
The IRS uses two different sets of deposit rules to determine when businesses must deposit their social security, Medicare, and withheld federal income taxes. These schedules tell you when a deposit is due after you have a payday.
Your deposit schedule is not determined by how often you pay your employees. Your deposit schedule depends on the total tax liability you reported on Form 941 during the previous four-quarter lookback period (July 1 of the second preceding calendar year through June 30 of last year). See section 11 of Pub. 15 (Circular E) for details.
Before the beginning of each calendar year, determine which type of deposit schedule you must use. If you reported:
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$50,000 or less in taxes during the lookback period, you are a monthly schedule depositor. Check the appropriate box on line 15 and, if your tax liability for the quarter was $2,500 or more, fill out the tax liability for each month in the quarter.
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more than $50,000 of taxes for the lookback period, you are a semiweekly schedule depositor. Check the appropriate box on line 15 and, if your tax liability for the quarter was $2,500 or more, fill out Schedule B (Form 941) and attach it to Form 941 when you submit it.
You may have to deposit the federal income taxes you withheld and both the employer and employee social security taxes and Medicare taxes. If your total taxes after adjustment for advance EIC (line 10) are:
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Less than $2,500 for the quarter. You do not have to make a deposit. To avoid a penalty, you must pay the amount in full with a timely filed return or you must deposit the amount timely. However, if you are unsure that your taxes will be less than $2,500 for the quarter, deposit your taxes using the appropriate rules (above) to avoid failure to deposit penalties.
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$2,500 or more for the quarter. You must deposit your taxes by using EFTPS or by depositing them at a financial institution that is authorized to accept federal tax deposits (that is, authorized depository) with Form 8109, Federal Tax Deposit Coupon. See section 11 of Pub. 15 (Circular E).
Pub. 15 (Circular E) for details.
You can avoid paying penalties and interest if you do all of the following:
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Deposit or pay your taxes when they are due, using EFTPS if required.
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File your fully completed Form 941 on time.
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Report your tax liability accurately.
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Submit valid checks for tax payments.
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Furnish accurate Forms W-2 to employees.
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File Form W-3 and Copies A of Form W-2 with the Social Security Administration (SSA) on time and accurately.
Penalties and interest are charged on taxes paid late and returns filed late at a rate set by law. See sections 11 and 12 of Pub. 15 (Circular E) for details.
Use Form 843, Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement, to request abatement of assessed penalties or interest. Do not request abatement of assessed penalties or interest on Form 941 or Form 941c.
Where you file depends on whether you include a payment with Form 941.
| If you are in . . . |
Without a
payment . . . |
With a payment . . . | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Special filing addresses for exempt organizations; federal, state, and local governmental entities; and Indian tribal governmental entities; regardless of location |
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service Ogden, UT 84201-0005 |
Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 105083 Atlanta, GA 30348-5083 |
|
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Connecticut
Delaware District of Columbia Illinois Indiana Kentucky Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan New Hampshire |
New Jersey
New York North Carolina Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina Vermont Virginia West Virginia Wisconsin |
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service Cincinnati, OH 45999-0005 |
Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 70503 Charlotte, NC 28201-0503 |
|
Alabama
Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Iowa Kansas Louisiana Minnesota Mississippi |
Missouri
Montana Nebraska Nevada New Mexico North Dakota Oklahoma Oregon South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Washington Wyoming |
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service Ogden, UT 84201-0005 |
Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 105083 Atlanta, GA 30348-5083 |
| No legal residence or principal place of business in any state |
Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 409101 Ogden, UT 84409 |
Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 105273 Atlanta, GA 30348-5273 |
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