TaxBandits Knowledge Base

How to determine my deposit schedule?

The IRS provides two deposit schedules - Monthly and Semiweekly - to help taxpayers determine when to deposit Social Security, Medicare, and withheld federal income taxes. The deposit schedule assigned will depend on your tax liability from the previous year.

Here are the steps to determine your deposit schedule:

Step 1: Determine the Form 941 Lookback Period

The lookback period for Form 941 is divided into four quarters for the calendar year. For the tax year 2024, the lookback period is from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023.

Step 2: Calculate the Total Tax Amount

Sum up the total tax amount reported on Form 941 for the lookback period, which includes contributions to Social Security tax, Medicare tax, and withheld federal income tax.

Step 3: Identify Your Deposit Schedule

Based on the total tax amount, you can determine your deposit schedule:

• Monthly Schedule Depositor:
  • If your total tax amount for the lookback period is $50,000 or less, you are categorized as a monthly schedule depositor. New employers with no employees have a tax liability of zero and are monthly depositors for their first calendar year.
     

Filing 941 in TaxBandits: Check the second box in Part 2 on Form 941, Page 2, enter your monthly tax liabilities, and click 'Save and Continue.' Monthly depositors must generally deposit their taxes by the 15th day of the following month.

 

• Semiweekly Schedule Depositor:
  • If your total tax amount exceeds $50,000, you fall under the semiweekly schedule.
  • Semiweekly depositors must deposit taxes as follows:
    • Payments made on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday are due by the following Friday.
    • Payments made on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday are due by the following Wednesday.
       

Filing in TaxBandits: Check the third box in Part 2 on Form 941, Page 2, click 'Save and Continue,' and complete Schedule B, which must be attached to your Form 941.

 

• Minimum Tax Liability
  You are classified under minimum liability if any of the following conditions apply:
  • Your tax liability is less than $2,500.
  • Your net tax liability for the calendar year is less than $2,500.
  • In the current quarter, you have not incurred a $100,000 next-day deposit obligation. 
     

Filing in TaxBandits: If you meet any of these conditions or if Line 12 of Form 941 Page 2 is less than $2,500, check the first box in Part 2 on Form 941 Page 2. Select 'Apply to next return' or 'Send a refund' based on your needs, and continue with the filing.