Who Must File Form 941?

If you pay wages subject to federal income tax withholding or social security and Medicare taxes, you must file Form 941 quarterly to report the following amounts.

• Wages you’ve paid.

• Tips your employees reported to you.

• Federal income tax you withheld.

• Both the employer and the employee share of social security and Medicare taxes.

• Additional Medicare Tax withheld from employees.

• Current quarter’s adjustments to social security and Medicare taxes for fractions of cents, sick pay, tips, and group-term life insurance.

• Qualified small business payroll tax credit for increasing research activities.

Don’t use Form 941 to report backup withholding or income tax withholding on nonpayroll payments such as pensions, annuities, and gambling winnings. Report these types of withholding on Form 945, Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax. Also, don’t use Form 941 to report unemployment taxes. Report unemployment taxes on Form 940, Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return.

After you file your first Form 941, you must file a return for each quarter, even if you have no taxes to report, unless you filed a final return or one of the exceptions listed next applies.

Exceptions Special rules apply to some employers.

• If you received notification to file Form 944, Employer’s ANNUAL Federal Tax Return, you must file Form 944 annually; don’t file Form 941 quarterly.

• Seasonal employers don’t have to file a Form 941 for quarters in which they have no tax liability because they have paid no wages. To tell the IRS that you won’t file a return for one or more quarters during the year, check the box on line 18 every quarter you file Form 941. See section 12 of Pub. 15 for more information.

• Employers of household employees don’t usually file Form 941. See Pub. 926 and Schedule H (Form 1040) for more information.

• Employers of farm employees don’t file Form 941 for wages paid for agricultural labor. See Form 943 and Pub. 15 for more information.

If none of these exceptions apply and you haven’t filed a final return, you must file Form 941 each quarter even if you didn’t pay wages during the quarter. Use IRS e-file, if possible.

Requesting To File Forms 941 Instead of Form 944, or Requesting To File Form 944 Instead of Forms 941

Requesting to file Forms 941 instead of Form 944. Employers that would otherwise be required to file Form 944 may contact the IRS to request to file quarterly Forms 941 instead of annual Form 944. To request to file quarterly Forms 941 to report your social security and Medicare taxes for the 2026 calendar year, you must either call the IRS at 800-829-4933 between January 1, 2026, and April 1, 2026, or send a written request postmarked between January 1, 2026, and March 16, 2026. After you contact the IRS, the IRS will send you a written notice that your filing requirement has been changed to Forms 941. You must receive written notice from the IRS to file Forms 941 instead of Form 944 before you may file these forms. If you don’t receive this notice, you must file Form 944 for calendar year 2026.

Requesting to file Form 944 instead of Forms 941. If you’re required to file Forms 941 but believe your employment taxes for calendar year 2026 will be $1,000 or less, you may request to file Form 944 instead of Forms 941 by calling the IRS at 800-829-4933 between January 1, 2026, and April 1, 2026, or sending a written request postmarked between January 1, 2026, and March 16, 2026. After you contact the IRS, the IRS will send you a written notice that your filing requirement has been changed to Form 944. You must receive written notice from the IRS to file Form 944 instead of Forms 941 before you may file this form. If you don’t receive this notice, you must file Forms 941 for calendar year 2026.

Where to send written requests. Written requests should be sent to:

Department of the Treasury Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service or Internal Revenue Service Ogden, UT 84201-0038 Cincinnati, OH 45999-0038

If you would mail your return filed without a payment to Ogden, as shown under Where Should You File , later, send your request to the Ogden address shown above. If you would mail your return filed without a payment to Kansas City, send your request to the address for Cincinnati shown above. For more information about these procedures, see Rev. Proc. 2009-51, 2009-45 I.R.B. 625, available at IRS.gov/irb/2009-45_IRB#RP-2009-51 .

Instructions for Form 941 (Rev. 3-2026) 5

What if You Reorganize or Close Your Business?

If You Sell or Transfer Your Business...

If you sell or transfer your business during the quarter, you and the new owner must each file a Form 941 for the quarter in which the transfer occurred. Report only the wages you paid.

When two businesses merge, the continuing firm must file a return for the quarter in which the change took place and the other firm should file a final return.

Changing from one form of business to another—such as from a sole proprietorship to a partnership or corporation—is considered a transfer. If a transfer occurs, you may need a new EIN. See Pub. 1635 and section 1 of Pub. 15 for more information.

File Form 941 only once for each quarter. If you filed electronically, don’t file a paper Form 941. For more information about filing Form 941 electronically, see Electronic filing and payment, earlier.

Your Form 941 is due by the last day of the month that follows the end of the quarter.

When To File Form 941

The quarter includes... Quarter ends

Form 941 is due

Attach a statement to your return with:

• The new owner’s name (or the new name of the business);

• Whether the business is now a sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation;

• The kind of change that occurred (a sale or transfer);

• The date of the change; and

• The name of the person keeping the payroll records and the address where those records will be kept.

If Your Business Has Closed...

If you permanently go out of business or stop paying wages to your employees, you must file a final return. To tell the IRS that Form 941 for a particular quarter is your final return, check the box on line 17 and enter the final date you paid wages. Also attach a statement to your return showing the name of the person keeping the payroll records and the address where those records will be kept.

See Terminating a business in the General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 for information about earlier dates for the expedited furnishing and filing of Forms W-2 when a final Form 941 is filed.

If you participated in a statutory merger or consolidation, or qualify for predecessor-successor status due to an acquisition, you should generally file Schedule D (Form 941), Report of Discrepancies Caused by Acquisitions, Statutory Mergers, or Consolidations. See the Instructions for Schedule D (Form 941) to determine whether you should file Schedule D (Form 941) and when you should file it.