Your third quarter Form 941 is due at the beginning of November, so here are some ways you can make filing with the IRS an easy thing to check off your list.
Form 941 is the Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return. The IRS requires employers to report the taxes they withhold from their employees’ paychecks for income tax, Social Security, or Medicare each quarter. Here are our top 5 tips for meeting your deadline.
1- Know Your IRS Form 941 Deadline
Form 941 is due four times a year, and it’s time to file again. The deadline is the last day of the month after your quarter ends. The third quarter Form 941 deadline is November 2, 2020.
If you would like to get all your Form 941 due dates on the calendar for 2020, here they are:
Quarter 1-April 30, 2020
Quarter 2- July 31, 2020
Quarter 3- November 2, 2020
Quarter 4- February 1, 2021
2- Get ready for COVID-19 Form 941 changes
Your business has probably filed Form 941 with the IRS more times than you’d like to remember, but this year everyone is filing a newly updated version for the first time.
The IRS recently updated Form 941 to reflect COVID-19 tax relief. Due to these changes, there are now 23 new data-entry fields on Form 941. It’s a good idea to get familiar with what’s new on Form 941, know where to go if you have questions, and make sure to give your business plenty of time to file. If your business accepts any tax credits for COVID-19 tax relief, you will need to fill out the new Worksheet 1. ExpressE-file supports Worksheet 1 and all the other updates on Form 941.
Click here to learn more about the IRS changes on Form 941. For more information about how relief offered under the CARES Act and the FFCRA will be showing up on your Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, click here.
3- Get Your Information Prepared
There is nothing worse than scrambling to get your financial information together right before the deadline. Here’s what you’ll want to have on hand when you file Form 941:
Be ready to enter all your basic employer information such as your Employer Identification Number (EIN), business name, and address. Form 941 also asks for your employee count, wages, and the amount of taxes you withheld. Be prepared to enter your schedule deposit and tax liability for the applicable quarter.
Visit this blog for more information on getting ready to file IRS Form 941.
4- File IRS Form 941 Online
Electronic filing is one of the IRS’s top tips, so we have to include it as well. The IRS recommends e-filing for all your business’s tax filing requirements, and since Form 941 is a quarterly deadline, it’s a great way to save your business a lot of time.
You can still choose to paper file Form 941 by printing out your form and mailing it to the IRS, but e-filing eliminates extra paperwork, long mailing wait times, and processing delays. During the current COVID-19 global health emergency, the IRS is encouraging e-filing as they work to enforce social distancing and catch up on backed up mail.
5- Choose an E-file Provider
Especially with so many new sections to complete on IRS Form 941, an e-file provider can be a valuable resource for your business. Tax software gives your business what it needs to eliminate last-minute mistakes and file on time.
ExpressE-file is IRS-approved and offers an easy and affordable filing solution. Our software catches errors before the IRS does by checking all your information before transmitting it. We also offer U.S.-based expert tax support.
When you’re ready to file Form 941, ExpressE-file is here to help.
