Form 941 payment due dates run on a different calendar from the return itself. The tax deposits are due either monthly or semi-weekly throughout the quarter based on the size of your payroll history, while the Form 941 return is filed four times a year. Mixing up the two is one of the most common payroll mistakes, and the penalties climb quickly.
Which Deposit Schedule Applies to You
Your deposit frequency for the whole calendar year is set by a “lookback period” covering four consecutive quarters from July 1 two years ago through June 30 of the prior year. For calendar year 2026, that period runs from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025.1IRS. Notice 931 – Deposit Requirements for Employment Taxes
- Reported $50,000 or less in the lookback period: monthly depositor for the entire calendar year.
- Reported more than $50,000: semi-weekly depositor for the entire calendar year.
The classification holds for the full year. It doesn’t shift quarter to quarter based on your current payroll, though the $100,000 next-day rule described below can override it mid-year.1IRS. Notice 931 – Deposit Requirements for Employment Taxes
New employers with no filing history for the lookback period are treated as having zero prior liability, which makes them monthly depositors by default for the first calendar year, unless they hit the $100,000 threshold on any single day.2Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 757, Forms 941 and 944 – Deposit Requirements
One detail catches many employers off guard: liability arises on the date wages are actually paid, not the date the work was performed or the date payroll was accrued on your books. A pay period ending December 31 with checks issued January 6 creates a January liability.3Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Schedule B (Form 941)
Monthly Deposit Due Dates
If you are a monthly depositor, all payroll taxes accumulated during a calendar month are due by the 15th of the following month. The number of pay periods in the month doesn’t matter. Every January liability is due by February 15, every February liability by March 15, and so on.4Internal Revenue Service. Employment Tax Due Dates
When the 15th falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, the deposit is due the next business day. This schedule stays in place all year unless you trigger the $100,000 next-day rule.
Semi-Weekly Deposit Due Dates
Semi-weekly depositors follow a tighter calendar tied to the day wages are paid:
- Wages paid Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday: deposit due the following Wednesday.
- Wages paid Saturday, Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday: deposit due the following Friday.
The IRS guarantees semi-weekly depositors at least three banking days to make each deposit. If a federal holiday falls within that window, the due date shifts forward one day for each holiday.4Internal Revenue Service. Employment Tax Due Dates
Quarter-end boundaries don’t change anything. If a payday at the end of one quarter creates a deposit obligation that lands in the next quarter, that deposit still follows the normal semi-weekly rule.
Shortfall Safe Harbor
Semi-weekly and next-day depositors have a small margin for error. If a deposit falls short by the greater of $100 or 2% of the required amount, no penalty applies as long as you make up the difference by the shortfall make-up date. For semi-weekly deposits, that make-up date is the first Wednesday or Friday on or after the 15th of the month following the month the original deposit was due.5eCFR. 26 CFR 31.6302-1 – Deposit Rules for Taxes Under FICA and Withheld Income Taxes
The $100,000 Next-Day Rule
Accumulate $100,000 or more in federal tax liability on any single day and the entire amount is due by the close of the next business day. This applies whether you’re normally a monthly or semi-weekly depositor.6Internal Revenue Service. Publication 15 – Employer’s Tax Guide
Triggering the rule has a lasting effect. You automatically become a semi-weekly depositor for the rest of the current calendar year and all of the following calendar year.2Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 757, Forms 941 and 944 – Deposit Requirements
The $2,500 Exception: Pay With the Return
Very small employers can skip the deposit schedule. If your total tax liability for the current quarter (or the prior quarter) is less than $2,500, and you haven’t triggered the $100,000 rule, you can pay the full amount with a timely-filed Form 941 rather than making separate deposits.6Internal Revenue Service. Publication 15 – Employer’s Tax Guide
The threshold is based on total tax liability, including both the employer and employee shares of Social Security and Medicare plus the withheld income tax. It adds up faster than most people expect.
How to Submit the Payment
All federal payroll tax deposits must be made electronically. Free options include the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS), IRS Direct Pay for businesses, and the IRS business tax account portal. Your financial institution can also send an ACH credit or same-day wire, though those services may carry a fee.7Internal Revenue Service. Depositing and Reporting Employment Taxes
Through EFTPS or the IRS online tools, the payment must be scheduled by 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time the day before the deposit due date. Anything initiated after that cutoff counts as a next-business-day payment.8EFTPS. Welcome to EFTPS Online
Missed the 8:00 p.m. cutoff and the deposit is due tomorrow? A same-day wire through your bank may save you from a late penalty. Download the IRS same-day taxpayer worksheet, complete it, and take it to your financial institution. A separate worksheet is required for each tax period or form type, and you should confirm your bank’s own cutoff time in advance.9Internal Revenue Service. Same-Day Wire Federal Tax Payments
Quarterly Return Filing Deadlines
The Form 941 return itself is due by the last day of the month after each quarter ends:
- First quarter (January–March): April 30
- Second quarter (April–June): July 31
- Third quarter (July–September): October 31
- Fourth quarter (October–December): January 31 of the following year
If any of these dates falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.10Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 941
Employers who deposited every dollar of tax due on time during the quarter get an extra 10 calendar days to file the return. If you made every first-quarter deposit on schedule, your filing deadline shifts from April 30 to May 10.4Internal Revenue Service. Employment Tax Due Dates
Penalties If a Payment Is Late
The IRS penalty for a late deposit escalates with how many days overdue it is:
- 1–5 days late: 2% of the unpaid amount
- 6–15 days late: 5%
- More than 15 days late: 10%
- Still unpaid 10 days after the first IRS delinquency notice: 15%
These percentages apply to the deposit shortfall, not to the entire quarterly liability.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6656 – Failure to Make Deposit of Taxes
Filing the return late carries a separate penalty of 5% of the unpaid tax for each month or partial month the return is overdue, capped at 25%.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6651 – Failure to File Tax Return or to Pay Tax
Interest also runs on unpaid balances. For the first quarter of 2026, the underpayment rate is 7% per year for most businesses, dropping to 6% for the second quarter. Large corporate underpayments are charged two percentage points higher.13IRS. Bulletin No. 2026-8 – Rev. Rul. 2026-5
Trust Fund Recovery Penalty
Withheld payroll taxes are trust fund taxes. They belong to the government the moment they’re withheld, and the employer is holding them in trust. If a business fails to pay them over, the IRS can assess the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty against any individual who was responsible for the company’s tax obligations and willfully failed to deposit the funds. The penalty equals 100% of the unpaid trust fund taxes and is assessed against the person individually, not just the business entity.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6672 – Failure to Collect and Pay Over Tax
Business owners, officers, bookkeepers, and even payroll service contacts have been held liable under this provision. The IRS must send a written notice at least 60 days before assessing the penalty, but the investigation can reach anyone who had authority over the company’s financial decisions.