Payroll taxes
Form 941 due dates for 2026: quarterly deadlines and deposit schedules
Form 941 is due April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31. See the 10-day extension rule, monthly vs semiweekly deposits, the 2026 lookback period, the $2,500 and $100,000 rules and the Line 5 math.
Prepared by Aldro Accounting · Updated · Sources checked
The quick answer
IRS Form 941, the Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return, is due by the last day of the month after each quarter ends: April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31. If you made timely deposits in full payment of the quarter's taxes, the IRS lets you file by the 10th day of the second month after the quarter, such as May 10 for the first quarter. When a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, you may file on the next business day.
What Form 941 reports and who files it
Form 941 is the Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return. The IRS uses it to collect wages paid, federal income tax withheld, and both the employer and employee shares of Social Security and Medicare tax. Use the March 2026 revision for 2026 quarters.
For 2026, the Social Security tax rate is 6.2% each for the employee and the employer, on wages up to $184,500. The Medicare tax rate is 1.45% each, with no wage base limit. You must also withhold Additional Medicare Tax from wages over $200,000 paid to an employee in a calendar year. Additional Medicare Tax is only imposed on the employee. There is no employer share.
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 an exception applies.
- Seasonal employers don't file for quarters with no tax liability because they paid no wages. They check the box on line 18 every quarter they file.
- Employers of household employees don't usually file Form 941. They use Schedule H (Form 1040).
- Employers of farm employees don't file Form 941 for wages paid for agricultural labor. They file Form 943.
- Small employers whose yearly Social Security, Medicare and withheld income tax liability is $1,000 or less may file Form 944 once a year instead, after the IRS sends written notice.
- A business that permanently closes or stops paying wages files a final return by checking the box on line 17 and entering the last date wages were paid.
Form 941 quarterly due dates
Your Form 941 is due by the last day of the month that follows the end of the quarter. If you made timely deposits in full payment of your taxes for the quarter, you may file by the 10th day of the second month after the quarter ends.
If any filing due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, you may file on the next business day. A paper return mailed after the due date still counts as on time if the envelope is properly addressed, has enough 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 by then.
A statewide legal holiday delays a filing due date only if the IRS office where you must file is in that state. It never delays a federal tax deposit.
Deposit, or pay with the return? The $2,500 rule
Filing Form 941 and paying the tax are two separate deadlines. Most employers deposit the tax during the quarter, before the return is due.
If your total taxes after adjustments and nonrefundable credits (line 12) are less than $2,500 for the current quarter or the prior quarter, and you didn't incur a $100,000 next-day deposit obligation during the current quarter, you don't have to make deposits. You may pay the tax with a timely filed return instead.
If line 12 is $2,500 or more for both the current quarter and the prior quarter, you must make deposits on your deposit schedule.
Monthly vs semiweekly deposit schedules
Before each calendar year starts, you work out which deposit schedule applies. The IRS bases it on the taxes you reported during a lookback period: the 4 consecutive quarters ending on June 30 of the prior year. For 2026, the lookback period runs from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025. If you filed Form 944 in 2024 or 2025, your lookback period is calendar year 2024.
If you reported $50,000 or less in taxes during the lookback period, you're a monthly schedule depositor. Taxes on payments made during a month are due by the 15th day of the next month. For example, taxes on January paydays are due by February 15.
Scroll sideways to see all columns.
| Situation | Rule | When the deposit is due |
|---|---|---|
| Line 12 under $2,500 (current or prior quarter) | No deposit required | With a timely filed Form 941 |
| Lookback taxes $50,000 or less | Monthly schedule | 15th day of the following month |
| Lookback taxes over $50,000 | Semiweekly schedule | Wednesday after a Wed–Fri payday, Friday after a Sat–Tue payday |
| $100,000 or more accumulated on any day | Next-day rule | Next business day |
If you reported more than $50,000, you're a semiweekly schedule depositor. Taxes on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday paydays are due by the following Wednesday. Taxes on Saturday, Sunday, Monday or Tuesday paydays are due by the following Friday. Semiweekly depositors complete Schedule B (Form 941). Monthly depositors report their monthly liability on line 16 of Form 941.
The schedule names don't describe how often you pay employees. They name the set of deposit rules you follow. A new employer's lookback taxes count as zero for any quarter before the business started, so in the first year it's a monthly schedule depositor unless the $100,000 rule applies.
The $100,000 next-day deposit rule
Whichever schedule you're on, if you accumulate $100,000 or more of taxes on any day during a deposit period, you must deposit them by the next business day.
A monthly schedule depositor that hits $100,000 becomes a semiweekly schedule depositor on the next day. It stays one for at least the rest of that calendar year and the following calendar year.
How to deposit and pay
You must use electronic funds transfer (EFT) for all federal tax deposits. You can use the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS), IRS Direct Pay or your IRS business tax account. EFTPS is a free service from the Department of the Treasury.
EFTPS accepts same-day payments of $1 million or less if submitted before 3:00 p.m. Eastern time on a business day. A payment over $1 million must be submitted by 8:00 p.m. Eastern time the day before the deposit is due. If you miss the EFTPS cutoff, a same-day wire through the Federal Tax Collection Service is still possible, arranged ahead of time with your bank.
If a deposit falls due on a day that isn't a business day, it's on time if made by the close of the next business day. You can pay a balance shown on Form 941 by credit or debit card, but cards can't be used for federal tax deposits.
If you can't pay the full amount on line 14, you can apply for an installment agreement online when you owe $25,000 or less and can pay it in full within 24 months.
Penalties, corrections and records
If you're a semiweekly schedule depositor and enter your liabilities on line 16 instead of Schedule B, or don't report them properly, the IRS may assess an "averaged" failure-to-deposit penalty.
If withheld income, Social Security and Medicare taxes aren't withheld or aren't deposited or paid to the U.S. Treasury, the trust fund recovery penalty may apply. It equals 100% of the unpaid trust fund tax. A dishonored payment carries a penalty of $25 or 2% of the payment, whichever is more.
To fix an error on a Form 941 you already filed, use Form 941-X. It is filed separately from Form 941 and can be filed electronically. Keep all employment tax records for at least 4 years.
Aldro's flat yearly price covers everything tax for the year: our team prepares and files the business's federal and state income tax returns, plus information returns such as Form 1099-NEC. Payroll processing isn't part of the $20 monthly bookkeeping plan.
Worked example
Say a small business pays $60,000 of wages in the first quarter of 2026, no employee earns over $200,000, and it withholds $6,000 of federal income tax. Line 3: $6,000. Line 5a, Social Security: $60,000 x 0.124 = $7,440. Line 5c, Medicare: $60,000 x 0.029 = $1,740. Line 5e adds them: $9,180. The 0.124 and 0.029 multipliers are the employer and employee shares combined (6.2% + 6.2% and 1.45% + 1.45%). Line 6, total taxes before adjustments, is $6,000 + $9,180 = $15,180. That is over $2,500, so if the prior quarter was too, the business deposits on its schedule. As a monthly schedule depositor, taxes on January paydays are due by February 15. If every deposit is made on time, the return itself can be filed by May 10 instead of April 30.
Common questions
When is Form 941 due?
By the last day of the month after each quarter: April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31. If you deposited all of the quarter's taxes on time, you may file by the 10th day of the second month after the quarter, such as May 10.
What are the quarterly payroll tax deposit due dates?
Monthly schedule depositors deposit by the 15th of the following month. Semiweekly depositors deposit by the Wednesday after a Wednesday to Friday payday and by the Friday after a Saturday to Tuesday payday. $100,000 or more accumulated on any day is due the next business day.
Do I file Form 941 if I paid no wages this quarter?
Yes, once you have filed your first Form 941, unless you filed a final return or an exception applies. Seasonal employers skip quarters with no wages by checking line 18 on each return they file.
What is the 2026 lookback period?
July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025. If you reported $50,000 or less of taxes in that period you're a monthly schedule depositor for 2026. Over $50,000 makes you a semiweekly depositor.
Can I switch from Form 941 to the annual Form 944?
If you expect 2026 employment taxes of $1,000 or less, you could request it by calling the IRS between January 1 and April 1, 2026, or by a written request postmarked between January 1 and March 16, 2026. You file Form 944 only after the IRS sends written notice.
How do I pay Form 941 taxes?
All federal tax deposits must be made by electronic funds transfer, through EFTPS, IRS Direct Pay or your IRS business tax account. A credit or debit card can pay a balance due on the return but can't be used for deposits.
Aldro
The cheapest way to get your business taxes done: $399 flat.
Business tax filing is $399 USD a year, and it covers everything tax for that year.
How it works
- Tell us about your business. A two-minute form. No payment is collected through it.
- Get your next steps by email. We’ll email you the next steps within one business day. After you sign up we’ll send you a secure upload link for your documents.
- We file it. Our team prepares and files your return. Add bookkeeping for $20 a month if you want it.
What's included
$399 a year covers everything tax for that tax year.
- Every business return for the year. All the federal and state or provincial business returns you need for the tax year: Schedule C, 1065, 1120-S, 1120 and their state returns in the US; T2, or T1 with T2125, in Canada.
- More than one state. Multi-state returns are included at the same price.
- Your personal return. The owner’s personal return (1040 or T1) is included when it’s needed for the business income.
- Quebec. Quebec returns (CO-17, TP-1 and TP-80) are included, and our Quebec pages are in French.
- Extensions and reminders. Extensions (Form 7004 or 4868) and quarterly estimate reminders are included.
- Information returns. 1099-NEC, T4/T4A and T5018 slips are included in the tax price.
- Unfiled past years. Each unfiled prior-year return is $399 per tax year, the same flat price.
- Bookkeeping at $20 a month. Unlimited bank and card accounts, monthly reconciliation and monthly statements.
Payroll processing and sales-tax filing aren’t included in bookkeeping. Prices are in USD. Our team prepares and files your return.
Sources
- IRS: Instructions for Form 941 (Rev. March 2026) · checked October 31, 2026
- IRS: Topic no. 757, Forms 941 and 944 deposit requirements · checked October 31, 2026
- IRS: Publication 15 (2026), Employer's Tax Guide · checked October 31, 2026
- IRS: Publication 15 (2026), Employer's Tax Guide (web) · checked October 31, 2026
- IRS: Forms 940, 941, 944 and 1040 (Sch H) employment taxes FAQ · checked October 31, 2026
- IRS: Topic no. 760, Form 943 · checked October 31, 2026
This guide explains general rules from the sources listed. It isn’t tax advice for your situation.