Form 941: Instructions for Filing Your Quarterly Return

Form 941, the Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return, is a document businesses use to report payroll taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). If you pay wages to employees, you are generally required to file this form. It accounts for federal income tax withheld from employee paychecks and reports the employee and employer shares of Social Security and Medicare taxes, collectively known as FICA taxes.

Filing Deadlines and Deposit Schedules

Form 941 is due by the last day of the month that follows the end of a quarter. The specific deadlines are April 30 for the first quarter, July 31 for the second, October 31 for the third, and January 31 for the fourth. If a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the filing deadline shifts to the next business day.

Your tax deposit schedule, which dictates when you must pay the taxes you report, is determined separately from the filing deadline. This schedule can be either monthly or semi-weekly, and the IRS assigns it based on your total tax liability during a specific “lookback period.” The lookback period is a four-quarter span ending on June 30 of the prior year. If you reported $50,000 or less in taxes during this period, you are a monthly depositor; if you reported more than $50,000, you must deposit taxes on a semi-weekly basis. New employers are typically assigned a monthly schedule for their first calendar year.

Required Information and Form Completion

Before beginning Form 941, you must gather specific payroll data from the quarter. This includes the total number of employees paid, the total wages and tips paid, and the amount of federal income tax withheld. You will also need records of taxable Social Security and Medicare wages. For 2025, the Social Security tax applies to a wage base limit of $176,100 per employee. There is no wage base limit for Medicare tax.

Line 1 requires the number of employees who received wages during the pay period that includes the 12th of the third month of the quarter. Line 2 is for reporting the total compensation paid to all employees during the quarter, and Line 3 is for the federal income tax withheld from that compensation. Lines 5a through 5d are used to calculate and report the taxable Social Security and Medicare wages and the resulting taxes.

Part 2 of the form is where you report your tax liability according to your deposit schedule. Monthly depositors will enter their total tax liability for each of the three months in the quarter. Semi-weekly depositors have a more detailed requirement and must complete Schedule B, “Report of Tax Liability for Semiweekly Schedule Depositors,” which breaks down tax liability by payday. This schedule is then attached to your Form 941.

Submitting Your Form and Tax Payments

You can submit the completed Form 941 by mail or electronically through an IRS-approved software provider. If mailing a paper copy, use the correct address from the IRS website, which varies by location and whether a payment is included.

Making the associated tax payments is a separate action. Most businesses are required to deposit payroll taxes using the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS). This online system requires enrollment and allows you to schedule payments from a business bank account. After submitting your return and payment, retain a copy of the completed Form 941 for your business records.

Correcting a Filed Form 941

If you discover an error on a previously filed Form 941, you must use Form 941-X, “Adjusted Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return or Claim for Refund,” to make the correction. This form is used to correct both underreported and overreported taxes. You should file Form 941-X as soon as you find the mistake.

The process requires you to detail the amounts as originally reported, the corrected amounts, and the difference, along with a detailed explanation for the changes. If you underreported taxes, file Form 941-X by the due date for the quarter in which you discovered the error and pay any additional tax owed to avoid penalties. For overpayments, you have three years from the date the original Form 941 was filed, or two years from the date you paid the tax, to file a claim for refund.