If you have employees, you report their wages and the taxes you withhold to the IRS every quarter on Form 941. Late filing and late deposits both carry penalties, so the dates and deposit schedule matter.
This guide explains who files, the quarterly due dates, the 2026 payroll tax rates and wage base, how the deposit schedule works and how to fix or close out a return, using the IRS Instructions for Form 941 (Rev. March 2026).
The IRS says that if you pay wages subject to federal income tax withholding or Social Security and Medicare taxes, you must file Form 941 quarterly. It reports the wages you paid, tips your employees reported, federal income tax you withheld, both the employer and employee shares of Social Security and Medicare taxes and Additional Medicare Tax withheld from employees. After your first return you must file for every quarter, even if you have no taxes to report, unless you are a seasonal employer or filing your final return. If the IRS has notified you in writing to file Form 944 (the annual return), you file that annually and not Form 941 quarterly. Do not use Form 941 for backup withholding or income tax withholding on nonpayroll payments such as pensions, annuities and gambling winnings.
| Quarter | Quarter ends | Form 941 due | If all taxes were deposited on time |
|---|---|---|---|
| January to March | March 31 | April 30 | May 10 |
| April to June | June 30 | July 31 | August 10 |
| July to September | September 30 | October 31 | November 10 |
| October to December | December 31 | January 31 | February 10 |
Form 941 is due by the last day of the month after the quarter ends. If you made timely deposits in full payment of the quarter's taxes you may file by the 10th day of the second month after the quarter ends. The IRS treats a return as filed on time if the envelope is properly addressed, has enough postage and is postmarked on or before the due date. File once per quarter, electronically if you filed that way. If a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, you may file on the next business day. In this cycle that applies to the third quarter of 2026, because October 31, 2026 is a Saturday (so November 2, 2026), and to the fourth quarter, because January 31, 2027 is a Sunday (so February 1, 2027); those two weekday results are our calendar check of the IRS rule. The dates in the last column are our application of the IRS's 10th-day rule.
| Tax | Employer | Employee | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Security | 6.2% | 6.2% | $184,500 of wages in 2026 |
| Medicare | 1.45% | 1.45% | No wage base limit |
| Additional Medicare Tax | None | 0.9% withheld on wages over $200,000 | Per employee per calendar year |
The IRS says that on line 5a you multiply taxable Social Security wages by 0.124 (both shares combined) and stop once an employee's wages and tips reach $184,500 for the year, while Medicare tax continues on all wages. Household workers are covered once paid $3,000 or more in cash wages in 2026, and election workers once paid $2,500 or more. See our FUTA guide for the separate unemployment tax and our pay stub guide for the employee side.
Next-year note (2027): according to the Social Security Administration's 2027 cost-of-living adjustment fact sheet, announced October 14, 2026, the Social Security wage base is $192,300 for 2027. It does not change the $184,500 limit that applies to 2026 wages and the Form 941 returns for 2026.
Federal tax deposits must be made by electronic funds transfer, using the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS), IRS Direct Pay or your IRS business tax account, or through a third party. Your deposit schedule depends on the tax you reported during the previous four-quarter lookback period, July 1 of the second preceding year through June 30 of the preceding year. If you reported $50,000 or less you are a monthly schedule depositor; more than $50,000 and you are a semiweekly schedule depositor. A monthly depositor who accumulates a $100,000 tax liability on any day becomes a semiweekly depositor the next day. If your total taxes after adjustments and nonrefundable credits (line 12) are less than $2,500 for the current quarter or for the prior quarter, and you did not incur a $100,000 next-day deposit obligation during the current quarter, you do not have to deposit; you must pay in full with a timely filed return or deposit by the return due date to avoid a penalty. The IRS says that if you are not sure the current quarter will be under $2,500 you should use the semiweekly or monthly rules to avoid failure-to-deposit penalties.
| Item (first quarter) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Wages subject to Social Security and Medicare | $90,000 |
| Income tax withheld | $12,000 |
| Social Security, both shares (12.4%) | $11,160 |
| Medicare, both shares (2.9%) | $2,610 |
| Taxes before adjustments | $25,770 |
This is our illustration of how the 0.124 rate on line 5a and the 1.45% Medicare rate for each of employer and employee add up; real returns also include tips, adjustments and credits. Because this quarter's total is over $2,500, the small-liability pay-with-the-return option does not apply and your lookback period determines whether you deposit monthly or semiweekly.
To correct a filed return use Form 941-X, Adjusted Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return or Claim for Refund, which can be filed electronically. If you permanently stop paying wages, check the box on line 17 of your last Form 941 and enter the final date you paid wages, and attach a statement naming who keeps the payroll records.
IRS: Instructions for Form 941 (Rev. March 2026), IRS: Form 941.