Must You Deposit Your Taxes?

If your total taxes after adjustments and nonrefundable credits (Form 944, line 9) are less than $2,500 for the year, you can pay the taxes with your return. To avoid a penalty, you should pay in full and file on time. You don’t have to deposit the taxes. However, you may choose to make deposits of these taxes even if your liability is less than $2,500. If your liability for these taxes is $2,500 or more, you’re generally required to deposit the taxes instead of paying them when you file Form 944. See the Federal Tax Deposit Requirements for Form 944 Filers chart, later. If you don’t deposit the taxes when required, you may be subject to penalties and interest.

The $2,500 threshold at which federal tax deposits must be made is different from the amount of annual tax liability ($1,000 or less) that makes an employer eligible to file Form 944. Form 944 filers whose businesses grow during the year may be required to make federal tax deposits (see chart next), but they will still file Form 944 for the year.

$2,500 or more for the quarter You must deposit monthly or semiweekly depending on your deposit schedule. But, if you accumulate $100,000 or more of taxes on any day, you must deposit the tax by the next business day. See section 11 of Pub. 15.

See section 11 of Pub. 15 for information about payments made under the accuracy of deposits rule.

When you make deposits depends on your deposit schedule, which is either monthly or semiweekly, depending on the amount of your tax liability during the lookback period. The lookback period for Form 944 filers is different from the lookback period for Form 941 filers, so your deposit schedule may have changed. For more information, see section 11 of Pub. 15. If you’re a monthly schedule depositor and accumulate a $100,000 tax liability on any day during the deposit period, you become a semiweekly schedule depositor on the next day and remain so for at least the rest of the calendar year and for the following calendar year. The $100,000 tax liability threshold requiring a next-day deposit is determined before you consider any reduction of your liability for nonrefundable credits.