Miss the Second Quarter Form 941 Deadline? Here’s What to Do

July 31, 2017, was the deadline to have 941 Forms reporting second quarter information sent to the IRS. The quarterly business tax form reports the federal income tax, social security tax, and Medicare tax employers are required to withhold from employee wages. It’s also used to calculate and transmit the employer’s portion of Medicare and social security tax. And if you missed the deadline to file it yesterday, you’ve got some work to do!

First: Know What You’re Up Against
The penalties for filing Form 941 and any associated taxes late are no joke, but they’re unfortunately unavoidable at this point. But no need to wallow: just take this as a learning opportunity to file on time next time! Here are the penalties you’ll need to watch out for:

• -Failure to file on time penalty: 5% of the total tax amount due
• -Plus an additional 5% each month the return is late, up to 5 months
• -Late payment penalty: .5% of the unpaid tax amount, charged each month following the payment due date
• -Increases to 1% of the tax amount after 10 days, following a notice from the IRS
• -Caps at 25% of the total tax due
• -Late deposit penalty: 
• -1-5 days late: 2% of the unpaid tax
• -6-15 days late: 5% of the unpaid tax
• -16+ days late: 10% of the unpaid tax
• -After IRS notification: 15% of the unpaid tax, to be paid immediately

Second: E-file & Pay Any Taxes Owed ASAP
As you can see, your penalties will only get worse the longer you wait to file and pay, so it’s important to get that done as soon as possible. Luckily, you can quickly and easily e-file Form 941 – even after the deadline – with ACAwise’s sister product, ExpressTaxFilings! Built by the same people who’ve brought you the ACA compliance and e-filing you trust, ExpressTaxFilings breaks down Form 941 into an interview-style format, helping you get it done faster and with fewer errors.You can even make any tax payments you need while you’re completing your e-filing!

Optional: Apply for a Signature PIN for Faster E-filing
Something you can do to help get your 941 Form e-filing done faster next time is use an Online Signature PIN to e-sign your quarterly return. Instead of having to fill out Form 8453-EMP, all you’ll have to do is enter the IRS-issued 10-digit PIN and e-file your return. It usually takes about 40 days for the entire PIN process to be complete, but you can apply for one as easily as you e-file over at ExpressTaxFilings! Go ahead and apply for one today so you’ll have it in time for the 3rd quarter deadline in October.

So if you haven’t filed your second quarter 941 Form, head on over to ExpressTaxFilings NOW to get it done! They’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have over there and even help you get started. Just give them a call at (704) 684-4751 or send them a live chat or email to [email protected]!