Balancivo · Payroll and taxes
Prepare the Form 941 worksheet
Fill in your quarterly Form 941 figures from posted pay runs, record tax deposits, sign off, lock and mark it filed.
Who can do this: Owners.
Read the transcript
Each quarter, the Form 941 worksheet fills itself in from your posted pay runs. On the Payroll page, click Form 941. The first time, enter your employer details at the bottom: your EIN, your legal name, and your address. Choose your deposit schedule, Monthly or Semiweekly, and click Save employer details. Back at the top, pick the quarter from the Quarter list. It starts on the quarter whose return is due next. Click any line to see exactly which paychecks make it up. Under Deposits, record each tax deposit you made through EFTPS, and click Add deposit. Your deposits add up to line 13. Click Save worksheet. Then check the box, confirm who reviewed it, and click Sign off. Click Lock worksheet. Locking freezes the figures, the deposits, and the quarter's pay runs. Balancivo doesn't file for you. After you file with the IRS, set the Filed on date and click Mark filed.
Form 941 is the report you send the IRS every quarter showing wages paid, income tax withheld, and Social Security and Medicare taxes. Balancivo fills in a line-by-line worksheet from your posted pay runs, by pay date. You or your tax professional then enter the figures in IRS e-file or payroll software, or on the paper form. Balancivo doesn't file it for you.
Before you start
- Post every pay run for the quarter. See Run payroll.
Steps
- Go to Payroll and click Form 941. You can also open it from the Form 941 helper on the Summary tab.
- Add your Employer details. The first time, open Employer details and enter the EIN, Legal name (as the IRS has it), address, City, State and ZIP code. Choose your Deposit schedule (Monthly or Semiweekly), then click Save employer details.
- Pick the Quarter. It starts on the quarter whose return is due next.
- Check the lines. Click a line's description to see which paychecks make it up. Read anything marked Before locking, Check or Note.
- Record your deposits. Under Deposits for, enter the Date deposited and Amount for each EFTPS deposit, plus the EFTPS confirmation (optional), and click Add deposit. They add up to line 13.
- Enter adjustments if you have any. Open Adjustments and credits you enter for lines 8, 9, 11a or an overpayment from last quarter. Most people have none. Each amount needs a note.
- Save and sign off. Under Review, lock and file, click Save worksheet. Then check I checked each line against our payroll records and deposits., confirm Reviewed by, add the tax professional if you have one, and click Sign off.
- Click Lock worksheet. Locking freezes the worksheet, its deposits and the pay runs dated in the quarter.
- File it, then mark it filed. After you file with the IRS, set Filed on and click Mark filed.
Good to know
- Form 941 is due the last day of the month after each quarter: April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31. When that day falls on a weekend, the worksheet shows the following Monday. It doesn't adjust for legal holidays. If every deposit was made on time, the IRS allows until the 10th of the next month. A reminder shows on the worksheet in the last 15 days.
- Line 16 shows your tax liability by month, or by payday on Schedule B for semiweekly depositors. If line 12 is under $2,500, you can usually pay with the return.
- You can't lock while anything is marked Before locking, such as missing employer details.
- If something changes after you save, the worksheet tells you, and Save changes clears the sign-off.
- To change a locked or filed worksheet, open Unlock to make changes, type why you're unlocking, and click Unlock. The reason is kept in History. If you already filed, a correction goes on Form 941-X.
- Download CSV and Print or save PDF give you copies for your records or your tax professional.
- This is a worksheet, not an IRS form. Confirm the figures with a qualified tax professional before filing.