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Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Edition 941 for 2026 (Rev. March 2026) 3 pages

Form 941 for 2026 — Employer's QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return

The IRS return employers file every quarter to report income tax withheld and social security and Medicare tax on their employees' pay.

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Form 941 · Employer's QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return
The official Internal Revenue Service (IRS) form, edition 941 for 2026 (Rev. March 2026) — blank
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Form 941 (2026) Employer's QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return — page 1 of 3
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Fill This Form Online Blank PDF from Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

What is Form 941?

Form 941, Employer's QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return, is how most U.S. employers report the federal income tax they withheld from employees' pay, together with both the employer's and the employees' share of social security and Medicare tax, for one calendar quarter. It then reconciles that quarter's tax with the deposits you made and shows either a balance due or an overpayment. The March 2026 revision is the "941 for 2026" used for all four quarters of 2026.

For 2026 the instructions give a social security tax rate of 6.2% each for the employee and the employer (12.4% together, on line 5a and 5b) on wages up to $184,500, and a Medicare rate of 1.45% each (2.9% together, line 5c) with no wage base limit. Additional Medicare Tax withholding (0.9%, line 5d) applies to each employee's wages over $200,000 in the calendar year. New for 2026: the form asks aggregate filers to identify themselves, and an overpayment can be refunded by direct deposit (lines 15c to 15e).

VergeHR walks you through the header, Parts 1 to 5 and the Form 941-V payment voucher, multiplies line 5 column 1 by the rates, adds up lines 5e, 6, 10 and 12, works out line 14 or 15a, checks that your monthly liabilities add up to line 12, and prints your answers into the IRS's own PDF with the cents in their own boxes. You sign it and file it yourself: VergeHR never files anything with the IRS.

Who files it
Employers who withhold income tax or pay wages subject to social security and Medicare tax (seasonal, household and farm employers have their own rules).
How often
Every quarter: by April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31 (next business day if that falls on a weekend or legal holiday).
Sent to
The IRS, e-filed or mailed to the address in the instructions for your state and whether you enclose a payment.
Signatures
The owner, a principal officer, an authorized partner or member, a fiduciary, or an agent with a power of attorney; a paid preparer also signs their box.
Edition
941 for 2026 (Rev. March 2026)
Agency
Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Department of the Treasury

Who needs to fill out Form 941?

  • Businesses with employees, from a single part-time worker to a large payroll, that withhold federal income tax or pay wages subject to social security and Medicare tax.
  • Sole proprietors, partnerships, LLCs and corporations that run their own payroll instead of using a payroll provider that files for them.
  • Seasonal employers, who still file for each quarter they pay wages and tick line 18 for the quarters they don't.
  • Businesses that have closed or stopped paying wages, which file a final return (line 17) with the final date wages were paid.
  • Section 3504 agents, certified PEOs and other third parties filing an aggregate Form 941 for their clients.

When to Use Form 941

  • Once for each quarter of 2026: January to March by April 30, April to June by July 31, July to September by October 31, and October to December by January 31.
  • If you deposited all of the quarter's taxes on time and in full, the instructions allow you to file by the 10th day of the second month after the quarter, for example May 10 for the first quarter.
  • Use the Form 941-V voucher only when you pay a balance due by check or money order with the return. The instructions ask employers to pay electronically where they can.
  • Not for household employees (they go on Schedule H with your Form 1040) or farm workers (Form 943). Small employers the IRS has told to file Form 944 file that annual form instead.

What You Need Before You Start

  • Your EIN, legal business name, trade name and address, exactly as the IRS has them.
  • Payroll totals for the quarter: wages, tips and other compensation, and the federal income tax you withheld.
  • Taxable social security wages and tips, taxable Medicare wages and tips, and any wages over $200,000 subject to Additional Medicare Tax withholding.
  • Any adjustments for fractions of cents, third-party sick pay, and uncollected tax on tips and group-term life insurance.
  • The total federal tax deposits you made for the quarter (from EFTPS or your bank records).
  • If you're a monthly schedule depositor, your tax liability for each month of the quarter. Semiweekly depositors also need Schedule B (Form 941).
  • Your bank's routing and account numbers if you want an overpayment refunded by direct deposit.

What’s On Form 941

The 2026 edition has 3 pages. VergeHR asks for it in 9 parts, and it is signed by Employer:

  1. Employer and quarterEmployer
  2. Aggregate return filers onlyEmployer
  3. Part 1: This quarter's wages and taxesEmployer
  4. Part 2: Deposit schedule and tax liabilityEmployer
  5. Part 3: About your businessEmployer
  6. Part 4: Third-party designeeEmployer
  7. Part 5: Sign hereEmployer
  8. Paid preparer use onlyPaid preparer
  9. Form 941-V payment voucherEmployer

How to fill out Form 941, step by step

1 Header — EIN, name, address and quarter

Enter the EIN, the legal name (not the trade name), any trade name and the address. Tick the one quarter the return is for. Aggregate filers (section 3504 agents, CPEOs, other third parties) also tick their filer type; everyone else leaves that box empty.

2 Lines 1 to 3 — employees, wages and income tax withheld

Line 1 is the number of employees who received pay for the pay period including March 12, June 12, September 12 or December 12, depending on the quarter. Line 2 is total wages, tips and other compensation, and line 3 the federal income tax withheld. The instructions say to enter cents on every line, and to leave blank any line that would be zero, except lines 1, 2 and 12.

3 Lines 4 and 5 — social security and Medicare tax

If none of the wages were subject to social security or Medicare tax, tick line 4 and skip to line 6. Otherwise enter the taxable amounts in column 1 of lines 5a to 5d. VergeHR multiplies them by 0.124, 0.124, 0.029 and 0.009 and adds column 2 for line 5e. Line 5f is only for tax due on unreported tips under a Section 3121(q) Notice and Demand.

4 Lines 6 to 12 — adjustments and credits

Line 6 adds lines 3, 5e and 5f. Lines 7 to 9 are the current quarter's adjustments for fractions of cents, sick pay, and tips and group-term life insurance; they're often negative, entered with a minus sign. Line 10 combines lines 6 to 9. Line 11 is the qualified small business payroll tax credit for increasing research activities from Form 8974, which you attach. Line 12 is line 10 minus line 11, never below zero.

5 Lines 13 to 15 — deposits, balance due or overpayment

Line 13 is your deposits for the quarter, including overpayments applied from a prior quarter or from Forms 941-X, 941-X (PR) or 944-X filed this quarter. If line 12 is larger, the difference is the balance due on line 14; if line 13 is larger, it's an overpayment on line 15a. For an overpayment, choose on line 15b to apply it to your next return or get a refund, and give your routing number, account type and account number for a direct deposit refund.

6 Part 2 — deposit schedule and tax liability

On line 16 tick one box: line 12 under $2,500 (this quarter or the prior quarter) without a $100,000 next-day deposit obligation; monthly schedule depositor for the whole quarter, entering each month's liability (the total must equal line 12); or semiweekly schedule depositor, which means attaching Schedule B (Form 941).

7 Parts 3 to 5 — business, designee and signature

Part 3 is for a business that has closed or stopped paying wages (give the final date wages were paid and attach a statement) or a seasonal employer. Part 4 lets you name a third-party designee who may discuss the return with the IRS, with a 5-digit PIN they choose. Part 5 is the signature, printed name, title and daytime phone; a paid preparer fills in and signs the Paid Preparer Use Only box.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Rounding to whole dollars. The instructions ask for cents on every amount, even when they're zero.
  • A monthly tax liability total on line 16 that doesn't equal line 12.
  • Filling in both line 14 and line 15a. Only one can have an amount.
  • Using a Social Security number instead of the business's EIN, or a name that doesn't match the IRS's records.
  • Entering deposits in the monthly liability boxes. Line 16 is the tax liability for each month, not what you deposited.
  • Being a semiweekly depositor and forgetting Schedule B (Form 941). The IRS may assess deposit penalties based on the information it has.
  • Paying a balance with the return that should have been deposited, which can bring a penalty.
  • Leaving page 2 unsigned. The form says you must complete both pages and sign it.

After You Fill It Out

Check the figures against your payroll records and deposits, then sign and date page 2 by hand (or send it for signature from VergeHR). If a paid preparer did the return, they sign their box too. VergeHR keeps a copy of the filled PDF in Files.

Mail it to the address in the Instructions for Form 941 that matches your state and whether you're enclosing a payment, or have it e-filed. If you owe a balance and aren't required to deposit it, you can pay by check or money order payable to "United States Treasury" with the Form 941-V voucher, writing your EIN, "Form 941" and the tax period on it. Paying electronically means using the "without a payment" address and not sending the voucher.

Keep your payroll records. If you later find an error on a filed Form 941, the correction goes on Form 941-X, not a new Form 941.

Fill Out Form 941 Online with VergeHR

  1. Pick the employee. Choose an employee and VergeHR fills in their name, date of birth, email and other details it already knows.
  2. Answer plain-language questions. One part of the form at a time, with the official help text beside each question — 72 fields in all. Your answers save as you go.
  3. Check the live preview. Watch your answers land on the real Internal Revenue Service (IRS) form, and let VergeHR do any worksheet arithmetic.
  4. Generate the official PDF. VergeHR prints your answers into the agency’s own PDF and files it with that employee’s documents. Sign it, or send it for e-signature.

VergeHR fills the form — it never files or submits anything for you. Deliver the finished form to whoever asked for it, the way the form’s instructions say.

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Form 941: frequently asked questions

Can I fill out Form 941 online?

Yes. VergeHR guides you through every line, works out the social security and Medicare tax, totals and balance due, and prints your answers into the IRS's official PDF, saved in Files. You then sign it and mail it (or e-file it with other software). VergeHR doesn't file with the IRS.

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 quarter's taxes on time and in full, you may file by the 10th day of the second month after the quarter, for example May 10 for the first quarter. A due date on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday moves to the next business day.

What are the social security and Medicare rates for 2026?

The Form 941 instructions give 6.2% each for employee and employer for social security, on wages up to $184,500, and 1.45% each for Medicare, with no wage base limit. That's why line 5a and 5b multiply by 0.124 and line 5c by 0.029. Additional Medicare Tax withholding is 0.9% of each employee's wages over $200,000 (line 5d).

Do I have to fill in cents?

Yes. The instructions say not to round to whole dollars and to show cents on every amount, even when they're zero. VergeHR asks for amounts with cents and prints them in the separate cents boxes.

Should I use the Form 941-V payment voucher?

Only if you pay a balance due by check or money order with the return. The voucher says to pay with the return only if line 12 for this or the prior quarter is under $2,500 (without a $100,000 next-day deposit obligation) and you pay in full with a timely return, or you're a monthly depositor paying under the accuracy of deposits rule. Otherwise the tax must be deposited electronically.

Can I get a refund of an overpayment by direct deposit?

Yes. New for 2026, lines 15c to 15e take your routing number, account type and account number for a direct deposit refund. You can instead tick "Apply to next return" on line 15b.

Who must sign Form 941?

The owner of a sole proprietorship; the president, vice president or another principal officer of a corporation; a responsible and duly authorized partner, member or officer of a partnership or LLC; the fiduciary of a trust or estate; or a duly authorized agent with a valid power of attorney.

Official Sources

VergeHR is not affiliated with or endorsed by Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or any government. This page explains the form in general terms and is not legal, tax or immigration advice. Always read the official instructions, and check that you are using the edition the recipient accepts. Page last reviewed 2026-09-28.

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