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If you’re an employer that withholds more than $1,000 in Social Security, Medicare, and federal income taxes from your employees’ wages, you’ll need to fill out and submit Form 941, the Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return. This form breaks down how much you’ve withheld from your staffers’ paychecks, as well as how much you’re sending in for the employer portion of Social Security and Medicare taxes. This guide provides 941 Instructions 2024 (upcoming tax year) to help you understand and complete the form accurately and on time.
Fast facts about Form 941
- Form 941 is the official form that employers use to report their quarterly income and payroll taxes to the IRS.
- The official name of Form 941 is “Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return.”
- Form 941 is due by the last day of the month following the end of the quarter, and missing this deadline can result in the IRS charging significant penalties and interest.
- Form 941 reports information about your employes’ income tax withholdings, social security taxes, medicate taxes, and more to the IRS each quarter.
The form has undergone some changes in recent years. In February 2022, the IRS issued a new version of Form 941 that employers needed to use beginning with Q1’s tax filings. It was revised to account for the limited availability of Covid-19 employment tax credits and instructions were updated with requirements to claim remaining credits in 2022.
Previously revised in accordance with the American Rescue Plan Act, in June 2021, the previous Form 941 had 23 new (or adjusted) lines. It included lines for the COBRA Premium Subsidy, employers who need to report both the refundable and the non-refundable portions of the employment tax credits for qualified sick and family leave wages, and reconciling payroll tax credits and deferral opportunities available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).
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Download 941 Form 2024 (revised March 2024)→
Above is a fillable PDF version that you can print or download.
Here’s a guide to how the revised 941 works, with instructions for completing yours, and a downloadable PDF of the new form in case you need a copy.
What is Form 941 used for?
A 941 return is used to report payroll tax withholdings such as federal income tax plus Social Security and Medicare (typically called FICA) that are withheld from employees’ paychecks. Your Form 941 filing also reports your business’s quarterly contribution to Social Security and Medicare taxes for all employees. Keep in mind that the 941 is meant to reconcile the amounts deducted from employee paychecks and amounts due from employers, but it is separate from the semiweekly or monthly deposits you are making.
When should Form 941 be filed?
The deadline for filing your 941 is the last day of the month that follows the end of each quarter: April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31. As a business owner, once you file a Form 941 the first time, you must file the form quarterly going forward, even if you have no taxes to report. If your business closes, you must also file a final return for the year the business closed.
The second quarter Form 941 and its schedules, when applicable, are due July 31 (or August 10, if all tax deposits were submitted in a timely manner for the second quarter). The following table will help you visualize the deadlines:
| Quarter includes the months below | Quarter end date | Form 941 is due on the date below |
| January, February, March | March 31 | April 30 |
| April, May, June | June 30 | July 31 |
| July, August, September | September 30 | October 31 |
| October, November, December | December 31 | January 31 |
Based on how much you’ve withheld for taxes, your company will be a either a monthly or semiweekly depositor, and all payments must be made through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System. If your taxes due are less than $2,500, you can pay them when filing the return, but if your tax liability for the quarter is more than $2,500, you will be asked to make a monthly or semiweekly deposit.
How do I know if I need to file a 941?
Depending on how much tax you pay, you may need to file either a Form 941 or a Form 944, which is much simpler than the 941. For example, if you expect to have tax liability less than $1,000 annually, you may be able to file a simpler 944. If you are a new business owner, you’ll be advised on what form to file when you receive your Employer Identification Number (EIN). If you want to dive a little deeper, we’ve also got an overview of how Form 944 works as well as instructions to complete it.
What do you need to complete for the Revised Form 941?
You’ll need to gather the following information:
- 2024 Form 941 (Revised March 2024) – Downloadable PDF
- Your EIN and other basic business information
- The number of employees who received wages, tips, or other compensation in the current quarter
- The amount of wages that have been paid for the quarter
- Any tips reported by employees
- Federal income tax withheld from an employee’s wages
- The employee’s portion of Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld from the employee’s wages
- The amount of Social Security tax or Medicare tax paid by the business
- Any employment taxes retained in anticipation of refundable tax credits or deferral
- If applicable, information on COBRA premium assistance credits
- Any additional Medicare taxes withheld from an employee’s wages
- Current quarter’s adjustments to Social Security and Medicare taxes for fractions of cents, sick pay, tips, and group-term life insurance
- Information about qualified family or sick leave wages paid
941 Instructions 2024 to fill out Form 941
There are five parts that need to be completed on Form 941:
- Part 1 — Information about this quarter (taxes and wages)
- Part 2 — Your deposit schedule and tax liability for this quarter
- Part 3 — Your business
- Part 4 — Approve a third-party designee (optional)
- Part 5 — Signature
Form 941, Part 1:
- Number of employees who received wages, tips, or other compensation for the pay period including: March 12 (Quarter 1), June 12 (Quarter 2), September 12 (Quarter 3), or December 12 (Quarter 4): All employees on your payroll for the specified period need to be included, except the following:
- Employees currently in a non-pay status
- Household employees
- Farm employees (see Form 943)
- Pensioners
- Active members of the Armed Forces
- Wages, tips, and other compensation: Enter the amount of wages, tips, and other taxable compensation paid to employees for the quarter on line 2.
- Federal income tax withheld from wages, tips, and other compensation: Enter the federal income tax you withheld (or were required to withhold) from your employees on this quarter’s wages, including qualified sick leave wages, qualified family leave wages, and qualified wages (excluding qualified health plan expenses) for the employee retention credit; tips; taxable fringe benefits; and supplemental unemployment compensation benefits.
- If no wages, tips, and other compensation are subject to social security or Medicare tax: If the wages paid are not subject to Social Security or Medicare Tax withholding, check the box here and skip ahead to line 6.
- Taxable social security, sick and family leave, and medicare wages, and tips: Lines 5a through 5e are used to report taxable Social Security and Medicare wages and tips, as well as any Additional Medicare Tax withholding.
- 5a. Taxable social security wages: Enter the total of all wages subject to social security taxes, including taxable qualified sick and family leave wages for leave taken after March 31, 2021 that you paid to your employees during the quarter. Enter the amount before payroll deductions. Do not include tips on this line.
- 5b. Taxable social security tips: Enter all tips your employees reported to you during the quarter until the total of the tips and wages for an employee reaches $168,600 (the 2024 Social Security wage base) for the year.
- 5c. Taxable Medicare wages & tips: Enter all wages, tips, sick pay, and taxable fringe benefits that are subject to Medicare tax. Unlike social security wages, there is no limit on the amount of wages subject to Medicare tax.
- 5d. Taxable wages & tips subject to additional medicare tax withholding: Enter all wages, tips, sick pay, and taxable fringe benefits that are subject to Additional Medicare Tax withholding.
- 5e. Total social security and Medicare taxes: Add Column 2 from lines 5a, 5a(i), 5a(ii), 5b, 5c, and 5d 5e.
- 5f. Section 3121(q) Notice and Demand — Enter the tax due from your Section 3121(q) Notice and Demand on line 5f. The IRS issues a Section 3121(q) Notice and Demand to advise an employer of the amount of tips received by employees who failed to report or under-reported tips to the employer. An employer isn’t liable for the employer share of the social security and Medicare taxes on unreported tips until notice and demand for the taxes is made to the employer by the IRS in a Section 3121(q) Notice and Demand.
- Total taxes before adjustments: Add lines 3, 5e, and 5f, and enter the total here. This will total all federal income tax withheld from wages, tips, and other compensation, the total social security and Medicare taxes before adjustments, and any tax due under a Section 3121(q) Notice and Demand.
- Current quarter’s adjustment for fractions of cents: Enter adjustments for fractions of cents due to rounding for both Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld. This may be a positive or a negative adjustment.
- Current quarter’s adjustment for sick pay: Enter Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld and deposited by third-party sick pay payers. Enter a negative adjustment for the employee share of social security and Medicare taxes withheld and deposited by your third-party sick pay payer (if sick pay is paid by a third party). These wages should be included on line 5a, line 5c, and line 5d (if the withholding threshold is met).
- Current quarter’s adjustments for tips and group-term life insurance: Enter a negative adjustment for:
- Any uncollected employee share of social security and Medicare taxes on tips, and
- The uncollected employee share of social security and Medicare taxes on group-term life insurance premiums paid for former employees.
- Total taxes after adjustments: Add Lines 6, 7, 8, and 9 and enter the total here.
- Qualified small business payroll tax credit for increasing research activities: For businesses that qualify, Form 8974 must be filled out and attached to Form 941 to claim the credit. See the IRS for more information on Form 8974 and who is eligible for the credit.
- Total taxes after adjustments and nonrefundable credits: This is the total tax amount that is due. To get this number, subtract line 11g from line 10 and enter the total here (and it cannot be less than zero).
- Total deposits for this quarter, including overpayment applied from a prior quarter, and total deposits for this quarter: Enter the total amount of tax deposits made for the quarter. This includes overpayment applied from a prior quarter, and overpayments applied from the following forms:
- 941-X
- 941-X (PR)
- 944-X
- 944-X (SP) filed in the current quarter
- Balance Due: If line 12 is more than line 13, then tax is due. Subtract 13 from 12, and enter the difference here. This is the amount of tax you owe for the year. If line 12 is not greater than 13, DO NOT enter anything in line 14, and move on to line 15.
- Overpayment: If line 13 is more than line 12, enter the difference on line 15. Never make an entry on both lines 14 and 15. If you deposited more than the correct amount for the quarter, you can choose to have the IRS either refund the overpayment or apply it to your next return. Check only one box on line 15. If you don’t check either box or if you check both boxes, the IRS will generally apply the overpayment to your next return. Regardless of any boxes you check or don’t check on line 15, the IRS may apply your overpayment to any past due tax account that is shown in their records under your EIN. If line 15 is under $1, the IRS will send a refund or apply it to your next return only if you ask them in writing to do so.
Form 941, Part 2
- Tax Liability for the Quarter.
Note: There are no changes to Part 2 of the revised Form 941 (Revised June, 2022, so there are no changes in the instructions for this section.
Based on how much you’ve withheld for taxes, your company will be a monthly or semiweekly depositor, and all payments must be made through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System. If your taxes due are less than $2,500, you can pay them with the return, but if your tax liability for the quarter is more than $2,500, you will be asked to make a monthly or semiweekly deposit.
- If Line 12 is less than $2,500, the prior quarterly return was less than $2,500, and there was no next-day deposit obligation for $100,000, you can check the first box on Line 16.
- If you reported $50,000 or less in taxes during the lookback period, you’re a monthly schedule depositor. Check the second box on line 16 and enter your tax liability for each month in the quarter corresponding with the date of the paid wages, not the date payroll liabilities were accrued or when deposits were made. Add the amounts for each month. Enter the result in the “Total liability for quarter” box.
- If you reported more than $50,000 of taxes for the lookback period, you’re a semiweekly schedule depositor. Check the third box on line 16. You must also complete Schedule B (Form 941) and submit it along with your Form 941. Do not file Schedule B (Form 941) with your Form 941 if you’re a monthly schedule depositor.
Form 941, Part 3:
- If your business has closed or you stopped paying wages: If you go out of business or stop paying wages to your employees, you still must file a final return. Check the box on line 17 (on the right-hand side) and enter the final date you paid wages. You will also need to attach a statement to your return showing the name of the person keeping the payroll records and the address where those records will be kept.
- If you’re a seasonal employer: If you hire employees seasonally — such as for summer or winter only — check the box on line 18 (on the right side of the line). This tells the IRS not to expect four Forms 941 from you throughout the year because you haven’t paid wages regularly. Note: Seasonal employers must file at least one taxable return each year.
OnPay helps us to streamline our small law firm’s payroll process, saving us time dealing with administrative tasks so we can stayed focused on our clients. Payroll with direct deposit is simple, takes only a few minutes, and OnPay handles our 940 and 941 filings with ease. It used to take time away from our practice to manually handle our tax filings and payroll, but it’s now painless.
— Benjamin Sperry, Bruce J Sperry, PA
Form 941, Part 4
Part 4 is used if you want to designate an employee or paid preparer or service to talk with the IRS about Form 941. If you elect yes, you will need to provide the designee’s name and phone number, as well as create a 5-digit PIN to use when talking to the IRS. The authorization will automatically expire one (1) year from the due date (without regard to extensions) for filing your Form 941.
Form 941, Part 5
Complete all information and sign and date the Form 941 — and you’re all set. Note that approved signers for Form 941 include the Sole Proprietor, Corporation President, Vice President, or Principal Officer, Partnership Member or Partner, Owner of an LLC, or Fiduciary of a Trust or Estate.
Be sure to review your return for accuracy and send deposits on or before the due dates. If you use a payroll service provider, your 941 may be completed for your business, so be sure to check on what will be provided to you and to the IRS.
If you have any questions or need additional Form 941 (Revised June 2021) instructions, you can find help on the IRS website or consider contacting a tax professional.
Now that we have covered how to complete and file Form 941, let’s talk about some common questions that arise when companies need to complete it.
What is the penalty for failing to file 941?
The IRS is very strict when it comes to requiring that tax forms be filed promptly and that taxes due are paid on time. As a result, they impose penalties for both failing to file Form 941 (or Form 944, if applicable) and failure to pay any taxes due – and these penalties can be significant. The penalties are calculated as follows:
- Failure to file penalty: failing to file Form 941 can result in the IRS charging a penalty of 5% of any unpaid taxes due for each month (or part of a month) that your return is late, up to a maximum of 25% of the unpaid tax.
- Failure to pay penalty: failing to pay taxes due with Form 941 can result in the IRS charging a penalty of 0.5% of any unpaid taxes due for each month (or part of a month) that the return is late, up to a maximum of 25% of the unpaid tax. Additionally, if you don’t pay the tax within 10 days after receiving either an IRS notice or an intent to levy, that penalty will increase to 1% per month (and would still max out at 25%).
“OnPay makes payroll easy, saves me tons of time and turn-keys everything in one transaction, including direct deposits, 941 deposits and all quarterly and annual filings. We love OnPay!”
— Lisa J. Grissom, Promising Projects
What happens if you don’t file form 941?
If you are required to file Form 941 but neglect to do so, the IRS will start by sending you a letter informing you that they have not received the form. If you owed taxes with Form 941, then the IRS may also send an official notice informing you that you have taxes due and requesting that you file the form as soon as possible. They will also begin to calculate penalties on the taxes they estimate you owe, including both a failure to file penalty and a failure to pay penalty (mentioned above).
If you still do not file the form and pay taxes due, the IRS might decide to seize some of your property as payment for the taxes owed. In this case, they’ll send you a notice of intent to seize property and give you time to prepare for this situation. Property can include wages or other income, bank accounts, business or personal assets, social security benefits, and more.
Does an LLC have to file form 941?
LLCs are called pass-through entities, which means that the income the LLC earns is passed through to the LLC’s members rather than being kept in the company and being paid to employees. Members of an LLC are generally not employees, and if the LLC hasn’t hired any other employees, then the company does not have to file form 941. However, any LLC who hires and pays employees is required to file Form 941(or Form 944, if applicable) and report payment and tax information related to their employees to the IRS each quarter.
This article has been updated with the most up-to-date information available. This article is for informational purposes only and should not be relied on for tax, legal or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors for formal consultation.
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Erin Ellison is the former Content Marketing Manager for OnPay. She has more than 15 years of writing experience, is a former small business owner, and has managed payroll, scheduling, and HR for more than 75 employees. She lives and works in Atlanta.