Form 941 is the return most employers file every quarter. It reports the federal income tax withheld from employees' wages, and both the employee and employer shares of Social Security and Medicare tax. An employer files it for each quarter in which it paid wages, and keeps filing it every quarter once it has started - including quarters with no wages - until it files a final return. Employers whose annual employment tax liability is small enough may be told by the IRS to file Form 944 once a year instead; that switch is the IRS's to make, not the employer's.
Report of Tax Liability for Semiweekly Schedule Depositors
Attached by semiweekly schedule depositors to report liability day by day.
Report of Discrepancies Caused by Acquisitions, Statutory Mergers, or Consolidations
Filed when a business combination leaves wage totals that do not reconcile.
Allocation Schedule for Aggregate Form 941 Filers
Filed by an aggregate filer to allocate the return across the clients it files for.
Whether you deposit monthly or semiweekly depends on your lookback period, not on this form. Publication 15 (Circular E) sets the rule, and it is worth checking each year - the schedule can change when your liability does.
IRS Publication 15Yes. Once you have filed a 941 you keep filing every quarter, including quarters with no wages, until you file a final return and mark it as such. Skipping a quarter is treated as a missing return, not as a nil one.
They report the same taxes on different cadences. 941 is quarterly and is the default. 944 is annual and is available only to employers the IRS has notified in writing. You cannot switch to 944 on your own.
With Form 941-X, the Adjusted Employer's QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return or Claim for Refund. It is a standalone form, filed separately - you do not file an amended 941.
No. 941 is about employees and payroll. Payments to independent contractors are reported on Form 1099-NEC, which is an information return and follows a different calendar entirely.