Form detail
IRS Form 941
Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return
Country
United States
Revision year
2024
Methods
paper, efile
Updated
2026-05-20
Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return
Quarterly report of employee wages, withheld federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare taxes.
Who must file: Employers who withhold federal income tax, Social Security tax, or Medicare tax from employee wages and pay the employer share of FICA.
Practical overview
Form 941 is one of the most penalty-rich forms because it includes both deposit and reporting obligations on overlapping schedules. Deposits are made via EFTPS on a monthly or semi-weekly schedule depending on lookback period, while the return itself is filed quarterly. The trust-fund recovery penalty under Section 6672 makes payroll-tax issues personally collectible against responsible persons.
Practical steps
- Determine your deposit schedule (monthly or semi-weekly) based on the lookback period.
- Make timely deposits via EFTPS by the deposit deadline.
- Compute total wages, withholding, and FICA for the quarter.
- Reconcile deposits against tax liability on Form 941 line 12.
- File Form 941 by the last day of the month following quarter-end.
Due-date notes
April 30, July 31, October 31, January 31 for each respective quarter.
Timing: quarterly
Penalty snapshot
Failure-to-deposit penalties range from 2 to 15 percent depending on lateness; trust-fund recovery penalty equals 100 percent of unpaid withheld tax under Section 6672.
Related citations
Computed from the cross-reference graph. Links open the related entity on this site.
Primary sources
- About Form 941Verified 2026-05-20
- Instructions for Form 941Verified 2026-05-20
Important disclaimer
This library is for general tax education only. Always verify filing obligations, due dates, and tax consequences against the cited primary source or with a qualified tax professional.