A quarter end Form 941 checklist for bookkeeping teams, including Schedule B

This page is general information, not legal advice. About Form 941, the current Form 941 PDF, the Instructions for Form 941, the Schedule B instructions and form, Publication 15, and the employment tax due dates page are the texts to read. This page does not invent a deposit schedule for a client, and it does not state penalty dollar amounts.

Employers use Form 941 to report federal income, social security, and Medicare taxes withheld from employees' paychecks, and to report the employer's share of social security and Medicare taxes. Do not use Form 941 to report unemployment taxes. (About Form 941)

File Form 941 if you paid wages subject to employment taxes, for each quarter, by the last day of the month that follows the end of the quarter. If you timely deposited all taxes when due, then you have 10 additional calendar days to file the return. If the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, you may file on the next business day. (Employment tax due dates)

Federal tax deposits must be made by electronic funds transfer. An EFT can be made using EFTPS, IRS Direct Pay, or an IRS business tax account. (Instructions for Form 941) How a client enrolls is the EFTPS enrollment checklist, not this page.

Before anyone prepares Form 941, reconcile the payroll register for the quarter to wages, federal income tax withheld, social security, and Medicare on the draft return, and to deposits already made. Line 13 is total deposits for this quarter. The IRS matches amounts reported on your four quarterly Forms 941 with Form W-2 amounts totaled on Form W-3. (Instructions for Form 941)

File Schedule B (Form 941) if you are a semiweekly schedule depositor. You are a semiweekly depositor if you reported more than $50,000 of employment taxes in the lookback period, or accumulated a tax liability of $100,000 or more on any given day in the current or prior calendar year. (About Form 941)

Before the beginning of each calendar year, determine which type of deposit schedule you must use. If you reported $50,000 or less in taxes during the lookback period, you are a monthly schedule depositor. If you reported more than $50,000 of taxes during the lookback period, you are a semiweekly schedule depositor. If you are a monthly schedule depositor and accumulate a $100,000 tax liability on any day during the deposit period, you become a semiweekly schedule depositor on the next day. See section 11 of Publication 15 for the lookback period and the next day deposit rule.

If you are a semiweekly schedule depositor, you must complete Schedule B (Form 941) and submit it with Form 941. Do not file Schedule B with Form 941 if you are a monthly schedule depositor. Do not complete Schedule B if you have a tax liability on Form 941, line 12, that is less than $2,500 during the quarter. On Schedule B, list your tax liability for each day based on the dates wages were paid, not the dates deposits were made. Your total liability for the quarter must equal line 12 on Form 941. (Instructions for Schedule B (Form 941))

Check one of the boxes on Form 941, line 16. Line 16 is a summary of monthly tax liability, not a summary of deposits. If you are a semiweekly schedule depositor and enter liabilities on line 16 instead of on Schedule B, the instructions warn that an averaged failure to deposit penalty may be assessed. (Instructions for Form 941, Schedule B (Form 941) PDF)

Complete both pages of Form 941 and sign on page 2. If you use a paid preparer, the paid preparer must complete and sign the paid preparer section. File Form 941 only once for each quarter. If you filed electronically, do not file a paper Form 941. Store the filed copy and the acknowledgement. (Form 941 PDF)

If you discover an error on a previously filed Form 941, make the correction using Form 941-X. Form 941-X is filed separately from Form 941. This page does not walk through Form 941-X.

Form 940 is the annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return, not a quarterly Form 941. Use Form 940 to report your annual FUTA tax. Only employers pay FUTA tax. Do not collect or deduct FUTA tax from employees' wages. File Form 940 with the IRS to report taxable FUTA wages paid in the previous year. If you deposited all the FUTA tax when due, then you have 10 additional calendar days to file Form 940. (About Form 940, Employment tax due dates)

The monthly close that should already have payroll tied out is the month end close checklist. January W-2 work sits on the year end payroll W-2 checklist.

One row per client and quarter.

• Payroll register ties to Form 941 lines before anyone files.
• Deposits tie to line 13.
• Line 16 or Schedule B matches line 12.
• Schedule B is attached only when the instructions require it.
• A person has reviewed and the paid preparer section is complete if a paid preparer prepared the return.
• The filed copy and acknowledgement are in the client folder.

Download the Form 941 quarter end checklist and client roster. The tax season operator can draft the chase when deposits or a reviewer signoff are still missing. Your staff approve what goes out. Your CPA reviews and signs every return.