How to Fill Out 941 Form: A Filling and Filing Guide

What Is a 941 Form

To figure out how to file the 941 form IRS, you should first learn the right definition of the document. Form 941 is a quarterly report that lets you return the information on:

• the number of withholdings from your employee federal income taxes based on their Form W-4 copies;
• FICA tax figures for the employer portion;
• the size of withholdings based on Social Security and Medicare wages of the employees;
• tax credits for taking part in relief programs related to COVID-19 pandemic.

Note: If you hire a freelancer, they are not considered as your employees, but rather independent contractors. Therefore you don't need to file form 941 for them.

Employers must know how to file Form 941 to be able to report the correct amount of withholdings to the IRS every tax year. There’s no need to provide a copy of the form to the employees, but it has some extra use cases. You can also use a copy:

• to know the final amount of under- or overpayment by subtracting the amounts that are already paid;
• for accurate total payroll tax liability calculations;
• to adjust amounts due.

If you expect that your federal income tax and FICA tax will be below $ 1,000, you can try to report your tax return on the 944 Form. However, this option can be used only if the IRS permits you to do it. Call the service or send a written request to figure out.

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How to Calculate 941 Tax

How to pay the 941 tax correctly? You have to calculate it first! In part I of the form, you have to state:

• how many employees wages, tips, etc. during the pay period;
• income tax from wages and other compensation.

Use lines 5a-5d to multiply the figures by correct indexes established for the current tax year. If there are no wages, tips, and other compensations, skip and go to line 6.

There are no calculation boxes for lines 6−15, so you have to use a spare sheet of paper and prepare all the related forms and reports for precise calculations. If you don’t want to learn how to complete Form 941 and calculations seem too difficult, you can request help from our tax experts or learn how to e-file 941 in paragraph four.

In Part II, you should check one of the boxes that match your situation. If you check Box 2, you should additionally provide the figures on your tax liability for the quarter and make sure that it’s equal to line 12 of Part I.

In Part III (lines 17−25), you have to provide figures only in those lines that apply to your business. Leave the lines that don’t apply blank. When the boxes are complete, verify the form by signing it correctly.

How to Fill Out 941 Form

First of all, you need to gather all the information required by the form. We recommend preparing in advance as you may discover unpredicted difficulties with getting certain information. Here is the list of what you need:

• Business address, and EIN (Employer Identification Number);
• The proof of the number of employees;Total wages paid through the reportable quarter;
• Taxable Medicare and Social Security wages for the same quarter;
• The total amount of withholdings from employee wages (income tax, Medicare, Social Security);
• Employment tax deposits that have been already made for the reported quarter.

Here are the steps to fill out the 941 form:

1. Provide business information — business name, trade name, EIN, etc. The quarter you’re filing for goes here as well.

2. Part 1 (Lines 1−5d) — this is the part that requires the most focus from you as you have to make precise calculations in lines 5a-6. Lines 1−4 require the exact number of employees who received payments within the quarter, their total wages (tips or other compensations), income tax withheld, etc. You should also report if the wages, tips, or compensations your business paid are not subject to Medicare or/and Social Security taxes.

Fill lines 7−9 if you have any reportable adjustments. After that, you have to fill line 10 by combining lines 6−9 to figure out your total taxes after adjustments. Line 11 requires you to claim the payroll tax credit and attach Form 8974 if your business has it. If you can claim the credit, you have to subtract it from line 10 to calculate the final total tax after adjustments.

If you made any deposits for the quarter, subtract them in line 13. If the result reveals that your liability is higher than the amount of deposit for the quarter, you will have a balance due indicated in line 14. In the opposite situation, calculate the overpayment in line 15.

3. Part 2 — choose the section that applies to your business. Report your monthly tax liability if you choose the second option.

4. Part 3 — select line 17 if your business has closed. If you’re a seasonal employer, choose line 18.

5. Part 4 — provide a designee if needed.

6. Part 5 — before signing the form in this part, make sure to review the entire document for any mistakes.

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How & Where to File 941 Online

Now that you know how to fill out the 941 form with correct numbers, you may be interested in returning the form to the IRS in time and as fast as possible. In this paragraph, we will teach you how to file the 941 online.

First of all, you have to remember Form 941 Schedules. Unlike the majority of other tax forms, this IRS form has to be filed by the last day of the last month of the quarter. For instance, April 30 is the end day for reporting wages paid from January to March. This rule applies to each quarter of the financial year. These due dates also work if you are filing your 941 Form online.

To mail the form, use our platform to complete 941 online and print it to mail directly to the IRS. See the mailing address here. You can also save the form with a PDF and efile it with your favorite tax software.

Now you know how to file form 941 electronically and by mail. Hope these 941 instructions for filling out and completing the form were helpful for you.

FAQ

In this section, we gathered answers to some of the most frequently asked questions received from our readers and customers. Read the answers attentively to know more on how to fill out the 941 tax form.