Employers with employees file Form 941 every quarter and Form 940 once a year. Form 941 is due on April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31. Form 940 is due January 31. Both come with 10 additional calendar days if you deposited all the tax on time.
These returns are separate from the payroll tax deposits you make during the quarter. The IRS is clear that depositing the tax alone does not report it or relieve you of the requirement to file a return.
Quick answer
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Form 941 due dates | April 30, July 31, October 31, January 31 (next business day if a weekend or holiday) |
| Form 940 due date | January 31 |
| Monthly or semiweekly deposits? | Monthly if you reported $50,000 or less in the lookback period, semiweekly if more |
| 2026 lookback period | July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025 |
| $100,000 rule | $100,000 or more accumulated on any day: deposit by the next business day |
| Small quarter | Under $2,500 for the current or prior quarter: you can pay with the return |
| Late deposit penalty | 2%, 5%, 10% or 15% depending on how late |
Form 941: Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return
According to the IRS, Form 941 reports wages paid that are subject to employment taxes, including income tax withholding, Social Security tax, and Medicare tax. You file it for each quarter by the last day of the month that follows the end of the quarter:
| Quarter | Months covered | Due date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | January to March | April 30 |
| 2 | April to June | July 31 |
| 3 | July to September | October 31 |
| 4 | October to December | January 31 (of the next year) |
If you timely deposited all taxes when due, you have 10 additional calendar days to file the return.
Weekend rolls in the current cycle: the third-quarter 2026 return is due November 2, 2026, because October 31 is a Saturday, and the fourth-quarter 2026 return is due February 1, 2027, because January 31, 2027 is a Sunday.
Small employers with annual employment tax liabilities of $1,000 or less may file Form 944, the annual return, but only if the IRS approves it and notifies you in writing. Until you get written confirmation that your filing requirement has changed, keep filing the form the IRS last told you to file.
Form 940: Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return
Most employers also file Form 940, which reports the wages subject to FUTA and computes the tax. It is filed once a year and is due January 31. If you deposited all the FUTA tax when due, you have 10 additional calendar days to file.
What else is due January 31?
The IRS also lists these January 31 deadlines:
- Form W-2 copies must be provided to employees by January 31.
- Forms W-2 with Form W-3 are filed with the Social Security Administration to report wages paid and taxes withheld for the previous year.
- Form 1099-NEC, with Form 1096 if filing on paper, must be filed with the IRS and provided to recipients.
What about weekends and holidays?
The IRS states that if the due date for filing a return falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, you may file on the next business day. The same rule applies to deposit due dates.
The payroll tax deposit schedule: monthly or semiweekly
Deposits follow their own schedule, which often differs from the filing dates. For taxes reported on Form 941, there are two deposit schedules, monthly and semiweekly. Which one applies is set once a year from a lookback period: the four quarters from July 1 to June 30 before the previous calendar year. For 2026 that is July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025.
- If the taxes you reported on Form 941 (line 12) for those four quarters were $50,000 or less, you are a monthly depositor for the whole year.
- If they were more than $50,000, you are a semiweekly depositor.
- A new employer has no tax in the lookback period, so it starts as a monthly depositor, unless the $100,000 rule below applies.
The IRS tells most employers which schedule applies, but the rule is yours to apply, so check it each year against Publication 15.
- Monthly depositors: deposit taxes on payments made during a month by the 15th day of the following month.
- Semi-weekly depositors: deposit taxes for payments made on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday by the following Wednesday. Deposit taxes for payments made on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday by the following Friday.
- Next-day rule: if you accumulate $100,000 or more in taxes on any day during a deposit period, you must deposit by the next business day. A monthly depositor who hits it becomes a semiweekly depositor from the next day, for the rest of that year and all of the following year.
- Small quarters: if your tax for the current quarter or the prior quarter is less than $2,500, and you did not trigger the next-day rule, you can pay it with a timely filed Form 941 instead of depositing.
- FUTA deposits: if your FUTA liability for a quarter, plus any undeposited amount from earlier quarters, is more than $500, deposit it by the last day of the first month after the quarter ends. If it is $500 or less, carry it to the next quarter.
Federal tax deposits must be made electronically, for example through your IRS business tax account, Direct Pay for businesses, or the free Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS). A third party, such as a tax professional or payroll service, can also make the payment for you.
What happens if a deposit or return is late
The IRS charges a failure-to-deposit penalty on tax not deposited on time, in the right amount or in the right way:
| How late | Penalty |
|---|---|
| 1 to 5 calendar days | 2% of the unpaid deposit |
| 6 to 15 calendar days | 5% |
| More than 15 calendar days | 10% |
| Still unpaid more than 10 days after the first IRS notice | 15% |
The rates do not add up: a deposit 20 days late carries 10%, not 2% + 5% + 10%. A small shortfall can be safe if it is no more than the greater of $100 or 2% of the required deposit and is made up by the makeup date. A late Form 941 can also bring the failure-to-file penalty (5% of the unpaid tax for each month or part of a month, up to 25%) and the failure-to-pay penalty, plus interest. If you are behind on several quarters, talk to a CPA or enrolled agent before filing, because penalty relief options depend on how the returns are filed.
A simple quarterly checklist
- Reconcile payroll for the quarter against your payroll reports, so the numbers on the return match what you actually paid.
- Confirm every deposit was made, and when.
- Prepare the return and check it against the payroll records.
- File and pay by the due date, and keep the confirmation.
- Put the next due date on your calendar before closing the file.
Where the people who prepare these returns fit in
Anyone who prepares federal returns for pay has their own IRS requirements, and the filer is responsible for the return. At RazaPro, we prepare the amounts and due dates, and you or your licensed preparer review, file, and pay. See how RazaPro handles payroll tax support, or book a free consultation.
This article is general information, not tax advice. Confirm dates and requirements with the IRS.
Due dates last checked against the IRS “Employment tax due dates” page on October 1, 2026; deposit rules and penalties checked against Publication 15 (2026) and the IRS failure-to-deposit page on October 4, 2026.
Common questions
Do I pay 941 taxes monthly or quarterly? You file Form 941 quarterly, but most employers deposit the tax monthly or semiweekly. Only an employer with less than $2,500 of tax for the current or prior quarter can pay with the quarterly return.
What is the semiweekly deposit rule? Taxes on wages paid Wednesday, Thursday or Friday are due the following Wednesday; taxes on wages paid Saturday through Tuesday are due the following Friday.
Is it mandatory to deposit electronically? Yes. Federal tax deposits must be made electronically, for example through EFTPS or your IRS business tax account.
Is Form 940 quarterly or annual? Annual, due January 31. FUTA deposits are quarterly only when the undeposited tax is more than $500.