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Internal Revenue Service

Fill out Form 941 online

Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return

Form 941 is the quarterly return an employer files with the IRS to report wages paid, tips employees reported, federal income tax withheld, and both the employer and employee shares of social security and Medicare tax. It also compares the tax for the quarter with the deposits already made, to show a balance due or an overpayment. This edition (Rev. March 2026) is for 2026; the IRS expects it to be used for all four quarters of the year. Page 3 is the Form 941-V payment voucher.

Fill out Form 941Blank form from the IRS

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Edition
Rev. March 2026
Pages
3
Fillable fields
116
Checked against the IRS
November 8, 2026

GuruPDF is not affiliated with the Internal Revenue Service. This page explains the form in plain words; it is not legal or tax advice. Always check the official instructions before you file.

Who uses Form 941

  • Employers who pay wages subject to federal income tax withholding or to social security and Medicare tax
  • Employers who have filed a Form 941 before, who must file every quarter even with no taxes to report, unless they filed a final return or an exception applies
  • Seasonal employers, for the quarters in which they pay wages
  • Section 3504 agents, certified professional employer organizations (CPEOs) and other third parties filing an aggregate return for several employers

Before you start

  • Your employer identification number (EIN), the legal business name used when you applied for it, any trade name, and your address
  • Payroll records for the quarter: wages, tips reported by employees, taxable fringe benefits and federal income tax withheld
  • The number of employees paid for the pay period that includes March 12, June 12, September 12 or December 12, depending on the quarter
  • A record of the federal tax deposits you made for the quarter and any overpayment applied from an earlier quarter
  • Your tax liability for each month of the quarter, or a completed Schedule B (Form 941) if you are a semiweekly schedule depositor
  • Your bank routing and account numbers, if you want an overpayment refunded by direct deposit

How to fill out Form 941

  1. Top of page 1: employer details and quarter

    Enter your EIN, your name (not your trade name), any trade name, and your address. Do not use a social security number or ITIN. Under "Report for this Quarter of 2026", check the one quarter you are reporting. Check a box under "Aggregate Return Filers Only" only if you file an aggregate return as a section 3504 agent, a CPEO or another third party; agents and CPEOs must attach Schedule R (Form 941). Enter your name and EIN again at the top of page 2.

  2. Part 1, lines 1 to 4: employees, wages and income tax

    Line 1 is the number of employees who received wages, tips or other compensation for the pay period including March 12 (quarter 1), June 12 (quarter 2), September 12 (quarter 3) or December 12 (quarter 4). Do not count household employees, farm employees, pensioners, active members of the U.S. Armed Forces, or employees in nonpay status for that pay period. Line 2 is wages, tips and other compensation, the amounts that also go in box 1 of employees' Forms W-2. Line 3 is the federal income tax you withheld. Check line 4 only if none of the wages, tips and other compensation are subject to social security or Medicare tax, then go to line 6. Employers in American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico skip lines 2 and 3 unless they have employees subject to U.S. income tax withholding.

  3. Part 1, lines 5a to 5f: social security and Medicare tax

    In Column 1 of lines 5a to 5d, enter taxable social security wages, taxable social security tips, taxable Medicare wages and tips, and wages and tips subject to Additional Medicare Tax withholding. Multiply each by the rate printed on the form and enter the result in Column 2. Line 5e is the total of Column 2. Line 5f is tax due on unreported tips under a section 3121(q) Notice and Demand from the IRS.

  4. Part 1, lines 6 to 12: adjustments and credits

    Line 6 adds lines 3, 5e and 5f. Lines 7, 8 and 9 are this quarter's adjustments for fractions of cents, sick pay, and tips and group-term life insurance; use a minus sign for an adjustment that lowers the tax. Line 10 combines lines 6 through 9. Line 11 is the qualified small business payroll tax credit for increasing research activities, and you must attach Form 8974 if you enter an amount there. Line 12 is line 10 minus line 11 and cannot be less than zero.

  5. Part 1, lines 13 to 15e: deposits, balance due or overpayment

    Line 13 is your total deposits for the quarter, including overpayments applied from a prior quarter or from Form 941-X, 941-X (PR) or 944-X filed this quarter. If line 12 is more than line 13, enter the difference on line 14. If line 13 is more, enter the difference on line 15a and check one box on line 15b to apply it to your next return or have it refunded. To have a refund deposited to your bank account, fill in the routing number (15c), account type (15d) and account number (15e).

  6. Part 2, line 16: deposit schedule and tax liability

    Check one of the three boxes. The first box is for a small total liability, under the conditions printed on the line. The second box is for an employer who was a monthly schedule depositor for the entire quarter: enter the tax liability for Month 1, Month 2 and Month 3, and the total, which must equal line 12. The third box is for an employer who was a semiweekly schedule depositor for any part of the quarter, who completes Schedule B (Form 941) and attaches it. Enter liabilities by the dates wages were paid, not by the dates deposits were made.

  7. Parts 3 to 5: business status, designee and signature

    In Part 3, check line 17 and enter the final date you paid wages if the business closed or stopped paying wages, and attach the statement the instructions describe; check line 18 on every return you file if you are a seasonal employer. Leave Part 3 blank if neither applies. In Part 4, choose Yes to name a specific person the IRS may talk to about this return, with their phone number and a 5-digit PIN, or choose No. In Part 5, an authorized person signs, prints their name and title, and enters the date and a daytime phone number. A paid preparer completes the Paid Preparer Use Only section.

After you fill it out

Send the signed return to the IRS. The mailing address depends on your location and on whether you include a payment, so check the current address on the IRS where-to-file page for Form 941. The instructions ask employers to pay a balance due electronically; if you pay by check or money order, complete the Form 941-V voucher on page 3 and send it with the payment and the return, without stapling them together. The IRS also accepts Form 941 through its e-file program, using IRS-approved software or a tax professional; if you file electronically, do not also mail a paper return.

Signing: Both pages must be completed and the return signed in Part 5 by the person the instructions authorize for your type of business, such as the owner of a sole proprietorship or the president, vice president or another authorized principal officer of a corporation. Corporate officers or authorized agents may sign by rubber stamp, mechanical device or software under Rev. Proc. 2005-39, while a paid preparer must sign a paper return by hand.

Watch out for

  • Federal tax deposits must be made by electronic funds transfer. If you are required to deposit and instead pay the tax with Form 941, you may be charged a penalty, and Form 941-V must not be used to make deposits.
  • File only one Form 941 for each quarter. If you filed electronically, do not also file a paper Form 941. CPEOs must generally file Form 941 and Schedule R (Form 941) electronically.
  • Never make an entry on both line 14 and line 15a.
  • A monthly schedule depositor's total liability on line 16 must equal line 12. If it does not, your deposits and payments may not be counted as timely.

Questions about Form 941

When is Form 941 due?

By the last day of the month after the quarter ends: April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31. If you deposited all the tax for the quarter on time and in full, you may file by the 10th day of the second month after the quarter. If a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, you may file on the next business day.

Do I file Form 941 for a quarter with no wages?

Yes, in most cases. After your first Form 941, you must file every quarter even if you have no taxes to report, unless you have filed a final return or an exception applies, such as being a seasonal employer who checks line 18.

Who does not use Form 941, and what does it not cover?

Employers the IRS has notified to file Form 944 file that annual return instead. Employers of household employees don't usually file Form 941 (see Schedule H (Form 1040)), and wages paid for farm work are not reported on it (see Form 943). Backup withholding and withholding on pensions, annuities or gambling winnings go on Form 945, and federal unemployment tax goes on Form 940.

How do I fix a mistake on a Form 941 I already filed?

Use Form 941-X, which is filed separately from Form 941. The instructions also say to use Form 941-X to correct an adjustment reported on an earlier Form 941.

How should I enter amounts?

Do not enter dollar signs or decimal points, and always show cents, even when they are zero. Leave any line with a value of zero blank, except lines 1, 2 and 12. Show negative amounts with a minus sign, or with parentheses if you cannot.

Official information

Page text last reviewed November 7, 2026.

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