IRS Form 941 is Revised for
First Quarter, 2021
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The IRS Finalized Form 941 for the First Quarter, 2021
Updated on September 8, 2022 - 10:30 AM by Admin, TaxBandits
Last year, we saw many revisions to the Form 941. The revisions still continue as the IRS released the new Form 941 for the first quarter of 2021. But, this is really a minor change, and you don’t have to worry about the complications in filing. The changes were made only in the two lines.
In this article, we cover the following topics:
1. Overview of Form 941
The IRS Form 941 is used by the majority of employers to report the federal income, Medicare, and social security taxes withheld from their employees’ wages, tips, and other compensation. This form is also used for employer’s to calculate their shares of Medicare and social security taxes.
2. IRS revisions for Form 941 for 2020
Due to the pandemic, the IRS updated Form 941 multiple times in 2020. The changes were made in 941 for Q2, Q3, and Q4. The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Relief Act was passed on December 27, 2020, extending the tax credits introduced in the CARES Act earlier this year.
This means that the Form 941 for the first quarter of 2021 will remain very similar to the version used by employers in the third and fourth quarters of 2020. The one exception being the deferment of the employee share of social security taxes. Employers no longer have the option to defer these taxes, so the two lines on the form for reporting these deferments are no longer needed.
3. Changes in Form 941 for Quarter 1, 2021
The following two lines have been changed as a result of the end of deferring the employee share of social security. Line 13b and Line 24.
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Line 13b for 3rd and 4th Quarters, 2020
Line 13b allows employers to enter the deferred amount of employer and employee shares of social security tax.
IRS Form 941 Line 13b for quarters 3 and 4, 2020
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Line 13b for 1st Quarter, 2021
Line 13b is reserved for future use
This line was updated in the third quarter of 2020 to report the total amount of deferred social security taxes, i.e., both employer and employer share. This is no longer needed, as employers can no longer defer their employees’ share of social security taxes. There is no longer any need to report any information on this line.
IRS Form 941 Line 13b
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Line 24 for 3rd and 4th Quarters, 2020
Line 24 is used to enter the deferred amount of the employee share of social security tax.
IRS Form 941 Line 24 for quarters 3 and 4, 2020
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Line 24 for 1st Quarter, 2021
Line 24 is reserved for future use
This line was used to report the employee share of deferred social security taxes, which is included in line 13b. As the payroll tax deferral is no longer applicable for the first quarter of 2021, this line is now reserved for future use. There is no need to report anything in this line either.
IRS Form 941 Line 24
4. Completing Form 941 for the first quarter, 2021 with TaxBandits
All the recent changes announced by the IRS in Form 941 for the first quarter of 2021 have been incorporated in TaxBandits. So, you can begin to e-file Form 941 at TaxBandits securely. In addition to Form 941, we also support Form 940, 943, 944, 945, 1099 series, and W-2. We offer manual upload and bulk upload features to make data upload easy. While e-filing forms like 1099-MISC or 1099-NEC, you can directly import information from QuickBooks or XERO to TaxBandits. Most importantly, we audit every form against the IRS business rules. Once forms are transmitted to the IRS, we will keep you updated with the status of your return.
5. Deadlines to file Form 941 for the 2021 tax year
The deadline to file Form 941 for 2021 will be the end of the month following the close of the quarter:
| Quarter | Reporting Period | Due Date |
|---|---|---|
| Quarter 1 | Jan, Feb, and Mar |
April 30, 2021 |
| Quarter 2 | Apr, May, and Jun | August 02, 2021 |
| Quarter 3 | Jul, Aug, and Sep | November 01, 2021 |
| Quarter 4 | Oct, Nov, and Dec | January 31, 2022 |
If the due date falls on any federal holiday, then the next business day will be the filing deadline.
Click here to learn more about IRS Form 941 Due Dates for the 2021 Tax Year.
6. Filing Form 941 with zero taxes through TaxBandits
We know that this sudden pandemic has forced many businesses to halt their production for some time. If employers have not paid any wages to employees during the quarter, the taxes will be zero. Even if businesses have zero taxes to report, the IRS expects them to file Form 941. Therefore, TaxBandits has created an exclusive feature where you don’t have to enter zeros throughout the form. Just select the quarter and select “I don’t have taxes to report”. By doing so, you will be redirected to the summary page. Thus, eliminating the need to enter 0s on each and every line. From the 3rd quarter of 2020, e-filers can easily file Form 941 reporting zero taxes. To learn more about reporting zero taxes on Form 941, click here.
7. Further Information
The changes that we discussed above are also applicable to Form 941-PR and Form 941-SS. If you have any questions regarding Form 941, please visit our FAQs.
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