Payroll Tax Deposit Schedules: Monthly vs Semiweekly Rules

Your federal payroll tax deposit schedule is set by the lookback period, not by how often you pay employees. Under IRS Publication 15, employers that reported $50,000 or less in taxes during the lookback period deposit monthly; those above $50,000 deposit semiweekly. Any day's liability of $100,000 or more must be deposited by the next business day.

Key takeaways

  • For 2026, a Form 941 filer's lookback period is July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025.
  • Monthly depositors deposit by the 15th of the following month; semiweekly depositors deposit by Wednesday or Friday depending on the payday.
  • Hitting $100,000 in accumulated liability on any day makes a monthly depositor a semiweekly depositor for the rest of that year and all of the next.
  • Late deposit penalties run from 2% to 15%, and the trust fund recovery penalty can reach responsible individuals personally.
  • Deposit dates are based on when wages are paid, not when they are earned or accrued.

How does the lookback period determine your deposit schedule?

Before each calendar year, you must determine which schedule applies. Publication 15 (2026) says a Form 941 filer looks at the total taxes reported on Form 941, line 12, for the four quarters in the lookback period, which runs from July 1 two years back through June 30 of the prior year.

Filer typeLookback period for 2026Monthly if total wasSemiweekly if total was
Form 941 filerJuly 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025$50,000 or lessMore than $50,000
Form 944 or Form 943 filerCalendar year 2024$50,000 or lessMore than $50,000
Form 941 filer who filed Form 944 in 2024 or 2025Calendar year 2024$50,000 or lessMore than $50,000
New employer (Form 941)Treated as zeroMonthly for the first calendar yearOnly if the $100,000 rule is triggered

Two details trip up finance teams. First, Publication 15 says adjustments made on Form 941-X do not change lookback period liability; the amounts originally reported control. Second, the schedule has nothing to do with payroll frequency. A company that pays weekly can be a monthly depositor, and a company that pays monthly can be a semiweekly depositor.

Growth is the usual reason a company changes schedules. Publication 15's own example shows an employer with $48,000 in its 2025 lookback period (monthly for 2025) and $51,000 in its 2026 lookback period (semiweekly for 2026). Recalculate every fall, once the June 30 quarter is final, so payroll can update its calendar before January.

What are the monthly and semiweekly deposit deadlines?

Monthly schedule depositors deposit employment taxes on payments made during a month by the 15th day of the following month. Semiweekly schedule depositors follow the payday table below.

Payday falls onDeposit due by
Wednesday, Thursday or FridayThe following Wednesday
Saturday, Sunday, Monday or TuesdayThe following Friday

Publication 15 adds several rules that matter in practice:

  • Business days only. If a deposit falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, it is timely if made by the close of the next business day. Only District of Columbia legal holidays count; statewide holidays do not delay deposits.
  • Three business days. Semiweekly depositors always have at least three business days after the semiweekly period closes, with an extra day for each legal holiday in that window.
  • Quarter boundaries. If two paydays in one semiweekly period fall in different quarters, make two separate deposits, even though both are due the same day.
  • Schedule B. Semiweekly depositors must complete Schedule B (Form 941) and file it with Form 941.

How does the $100,000 next-day deposit rule work?

If you accumulate $100,000 or more in taxes on any day during a deposit period, you must deposit by the next business day, whether you are a monthly or semiweekly depositor. The threshold is measured before any reduction for nonrefundable credits.

Publication 15 explains how accumulation works. You do not carry liability across the end of a deposit period, so $95,000 on a Tuesday plus $10,000 on Wednesday does not trigger the rule for a semiweekly depositor. Once you reach $100,000, you stop accumulating at the end of that day and start fresh the next day.

The consequence for monthly depositors is lasting: a monthly depositor that accumulates $100,000 on any day becomes a semiweekly depositor the next day, for at least the rest of the calendar year and the following year. This is common at companies that pay a large annual bonus or process a big equity event through payroll. Plan these runs with the tax team in advance, because the next-day deposit leaves no room for a missed approval.

Scenario: annual bonus run

A company that is normally a monthly depositor pays annual bonuses on a Friday, and the bonus run alone produces more than $100,000 in withholding and FICA. The deposit is due the next business day, Monday. From Saturday on, the company is a semiweekly depositor for the rest of the year and the next, so payroll must also switch its calendar and start filing Schedule B.

When are Form 941 and Form 940 due?

FormWhat it reportsDue dateExtended date if fully deposited on time
Form 941Quarterly federal income tax withholding, social security and MedicareLast day of the month after the quarter (April 30, July 31, October 31, January 31)10th day of the second month after the quarter
Form 940Annual FUTA taxJanuary 31 (the 2025 return was due February 2, 2026)February 10 if all FUTA tax was deposited when due

FUTA follows different deposit rules from Form 941 taxes. Publication 15 states the 2026 FUTA rate is 6.0% on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages, reduced to 0.6% with the maximum 5.4% state credit. Figure FUTA quarterly; if the quarter's liability, plus any amount carried forward, is over $500, deposit it by the last day of the month after the quarter. At $500 or less you may carry it to the next quarter.

If your total Form 941 liability for the current or prior quarter is less than $2,500 and you did not trigger the $100,000 rule, you may pay with a timely filed return instead of depositing. Use this exception carefully: Publication 15 warns that if you are unsure the current quarter will stay under $2,500, you should deposit under the regular rules. For a primer on how these taxes differ from income tax, see income tax vs payroll tax.

What are the penalties for late payroll tax deposits?

PenaltyApplies to
2%Deposits made 1 to 5 days late
5%Deposits made 6 to 15 days late
10%Deposits made 16 or more days late, before 10 days after the first IRS notice; also amounts paid directly to the IRS or with the return instead of deposited
15%Amounts still unpaid more than 10 days after the first IRS notice or the day you receive notice and demand for immediate payment

Lateness is counted in calendar days from the due date. Penalties do not apply when the failure was due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect. Publication 15 also has an accuracy of deposits rule: no penalty applies to a shortfall that does not exceed the greater of $100 or 2% of the amount due, provided you make it up by the shortfall makeup date.

The trust fund recovery penalty is the one executives should know about. It equals 100% of unpaid withheld income, social security and Medicare taxes, and the IRS can assess it against any responsible person who willfully fails to collect, account for or pay them. That can include officers, employees who sign checks, and accountants.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can our payroll provider make deposits for us?

Yes. Publication 15 says you can arrange for a payroll service, tax professional or financial institution to make electronic deposits for you. You remain responsible for the deposits, though, so confirm your EFTPS account shows each payment. Our article on whether HR or finance should manage payroll covers who should own that check.

How must deposits be made?

All federal tax deposits must be made by electronic funds transfer, through EFTPS, IRS Direct Pay or your IRS business tax account. Publication 15 says EFTPS accepts same-day payments of $1 million or less submitted before 3:00 p.m. Eastern on a business day; larger payments must be submitted by 8:00 p.m. Eastern the day before the due date.

Do state payroll taxes follow the same schedule?

No. Each state sets its own withholding and unemployment tax deposit schedules, and thresholds rarely match the federal ones. Multi-state employers often have several different calendars running at once; our guide to multi-state payroll with conflicting tax rules explains how to manage them.

Can a deposit penalty be waived the first time?

Possibly. Publication 15 says that if you filed the return on time, the IRS may waive deposit penalties for an inadvertent failure in the first quarter you were required to deposit, or the first time after your deposit frequency changed, subject to net worth and size limits. Reasonable cause relief is also available.

Next steps for payroll and finance teams

  1. Each fall, total Form 941 line 12 for the lookback quarters and confirm next year's schedule.
  2. Load the deposit calendar, including DC legal holidays, into payroll and treasury systems.
  3. Flag any payroll run likely to exceed $100,000 in tax liability and plan next-day funding.
  4. Reconcile EFTPS confirmations with Form 941 and Schedule B every quarter.
  5. Document who is responsible for deposits and their backup.

Explore related topics in our payroll and compliance guides. This article is general information, not tax advice; confirm figures in the current Publication 15 before each year begins.

Last reviewed: October 2026.

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