Employment Tax Due Dates

Reporting Due Dates

Generally, employers must report wages, tips and other compensation paid to an employee by filing the required form(s) to the IRS. You must also report on the taxes you deposit.

By January 31 (Note new due dates for Tax Year 2016 Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, and Form 1099, Miscellaneous Income with Box 7 entries)

• File Form 940, Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return. However, if you deposited all of the FUTA tax when due, you have 10 additional calendar days to file.
• File Form 943, Employer's Annual Federal Tax Return for Agricultural Employees if you paid wages to one or more farmworkers and the wages were subject to social security and Medicare taxes or federal income tax withholding under the Form 944, Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return, for the previous calendar year instead of Form 941 if the IRS has notified you in writing to File Form 944.
• File Form 945, Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax, to report any nonpayroll income tax withheld in the previous year. If you deposited all taxes when due, you have 10 additional calendar days to file. See Nonpayroll Income Tax Withholding under Reminders in Publication 15 for more information.
• File Copy A of all paper Forms W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, with Form W-3, Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements, or file electronic Forms W-2, with the Social Security Administration (SSA) to report wages, tips and other compensation paid to an employee. For information on reporting Form W-2 information to the SSA electronically, visit the SSA Employer W-2 Filing Instructions & Information Web page. See SSA Publication No. 42-007 PDF for help in electronically filing Forms W-2.
• File Copy A of paper, Form 1099, Miscellaneous Income, with Form 1096, Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns, or file electronic Forms 1099, Miscellaneous Income with the IRS, when you are reporting non-employee compensation payments in box 7. See IRS Publication 1220 PDF (PDF) for help in electronically filing Forms 1099.

By February 28

• File Copy A of paper Form 1099, other than those with entries in box 7, (see By January 31 above,) with Form 1096, Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns, with the IRS. For electronically filed returns, see By March 31 below.
• File paper Form 8027, Employer’s Annual Information Return of Tip Income and Allocated Tips, with the IRS. See section 6 of Publication 15.  For electronically filed returns, see By March 31 below.

By March 31

• File electronic Form 1099, other than those with entries in box 7, (see By January 31 above,)
• and electronic Form 8027 with the IRS. (See Publication 1220 for help in electronically filing Forms 1099 and Publication 1239 PDF (PDF) for help in electronically filing Forms 8027.)

By April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31 (for the fourth quarter of the previous calendar year)

• File Form 941, Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return. If you timely deposited all taxes when due, you have 10 additional calendar days to file the return.

Deposit Due Dates

In general, you must deposit federal income tax withheld and both the employer and employee social security and Medicare taxes. 

There are two deposit schedules, monthly and semi-weekly. Before the beginning of each calendar year, you must determine which of the two deposit schedules you are required to use. The deposit schedule you must use is based on the total tax liability you reported on Form 941 during a special rules for Forms 944 and 945. Schedules for depositing and reporting taxes are not the same.

You must use electronic funds transfer (EFTPS) to make all federal tax deposits.

Monthly Depositor

Under the monthly deposit schedule, deposit employment taxes on payments made during a month by the 15^th day of the following month. Employers who deposit monthly should only report their deposits quarterly or annually by filing Form 941 or Form 944.

Semi-weekly Depositor

Under the semiweekly deposit schedule, deposit employment taxes for payments made on Wednesday, Thursday, and/or Friday by the following Wednesday. Deposit taxes for payments made on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and/or Tuesday by the following Friday. Report your deposits quarterly or annually only by filing Form 941 or Form 944.

FUTA Deposits

Deposit FUTA tax by the last day of the first month that follows the end of the quarter. If the due date for making your deposit falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, you may make your deposit on the next business day.

If your liability for the fourth quarter (plus any undeposited amount from any earlier quarter) is over $500, deposit the entire amount by the due date of Form 940 (January 31). If it is $500 or less, you can make a deposit, pay the tax with a credit or debit card, or pay the tax with your Form 940 by January 31.