941

Filing IRS Form 941 in QuickBooks Online

Form 941, the Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, reports income taxes, Social Security tax, and Medicare tax withheld from employees’ paychecks, as well as the employer’s share of Social Security and Medicare tax. Even if you pay your payroll taxes monthly, you must file this form quarterly.

Understanding your filing schedule

Regardless of how often you make your federal tax deposits (monthly or semi-weekly), your filing schedule for Form 941 is always quarterly. The quarters end on March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31.

The IRS determines your tax liability based on the date you pay your employees, not the pay period dates. For example, if employees worked in February but were paid in March, the IRS considers that tax liability to have occurred in March.

How to file Form 941

You can prepare and file your federal payroll forms directly in QuickBooks Online.

1. Select Taxes from the left navigation menu.
2. Go to the Payroll tax tab.
3. Select Annual Form 941 (or the specific quarterly filing link) under the Forms section.
4. Select Create Form.
5. Review the data for accuracy. Select Check for Errors to identify any issues that need resolving before submission.
6. Once the form is correct, select Submit Form to file it electronically.

We recommend filing your Form 941 at the same time you make your last liability payment for the quarter to ensure your records are up to date.

Printing previously filed forms

If you need to print a copy of a Form 941 you have already filed:

1. Go to Taxes > Payroll tax.
2. In the Filings history or the Forms section, locate the filed form.
3. Select View or Print to open the PDF copy.

Mailing Form 941

If you choose not to file electronically, or if you are required to mail a paper copy, the correct mailing address depends on your state and whether you are including a payment.

• With a payment: Refer to the IRS instructions for “Where to File Your Taxes for Form 941 - With Payment.”
• Without a payment: Refer to the IRS instructions for “Where to File Your Taxes for Form 941 - Without Payment.”

You can find the specific addresses for your state on the IRS website.

Form availability

Intuit updates federal tax forms in QuickBooks Online as soon as they are available from the IRS. Forms for the upcoming year are typically added after the previous quarter ends. If you do not see the form for the new quarter immediately, check back after the current quarter closes.