Add These Important 2016 Employment Tax Due Dates To Your Calendar!

Do you run a small business? Are you self-employed? Are you counting down the days to the New Year? Well, it’s almost 2016 which means……a new year of employment tax due dates!

Employers must report tips, wages and other methods of compensation to the IRS via the appropriate forms. Here is a brief list of each of those forms and due dates. For a more in-depth look, check out the IRS’s site here.

By January 31

• Form 940- if you deposited all of the FUTA tax when due, you have 10 additional calendar days to file.
• Form 943 - if you paid wages to one or more farmworkers and those wages were subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes or federal income tax withholding.
• Form 944 - if the IRS has notified you in writing to File Form 944. Remember, the IRS only contacts people via writing. They will never call you. Read more about that here.
• Form 945 – if you need to report any non-payroll income tax withheld in the previous year. If you deposited all taxes when due, you have 10 additional calendar days to file.
• Form W-2- to report all compensation forms paid to an employee.

By February 28

• Copy A of all paper Forms 1099 with Form 1096 to the IRS.
• Copy A of all paper Forms W-2 with Form W-3 to the Social Security Administration (SSA).
• File paper Form 8027 to the IRS.

By March 31 (electronic forms only)

• File electronic Forms 1099 and 8027 to the IRS.
• File electronic Forms W-2 to the SSA.

By April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31

• File Form 941 (quarterly) for the fourth quarter of the previous calendar year. If you deposited all taxes when due, you have 10 additional calendar days from January 31 to file the appropriate return.

Deposit Due Dates

There are two schedules for depositing federal income tax withheld and employer and employee Social Security and Medicare Taxes: monthly and semi-weekly. Your schedule is based on the total tax liability reported on Form 941 during a lookback period. A lookback period begins July 1 and ends June 30. If you reported $50,000 or less during this time you are a monthly depositor. If it was $50,000 or more, you’re semi-weekly. Line 10 on Form 941 is where this is reported. For a month in-depth look at lookback periods and deposit due dates, click here. We realize that’s a lot of dates to remember, so as a best practice, we suggest creating calendar reminders, creating a personal tax calendar or bookmarking this or any of the IRS pages. Happy filing!