Quick Reference Guide for
  Understanding

FEDERAL

TAX

DEPOSITS

The ABCs

of
  FTDs

WHAT ARE FTDs & WHY 
ARE THEY IMPORTANT?
FTDs (Federal Tax Deposits) for Forms 941 and 944 are 
made up of taxes withheld from your employees' salaries 
(Trust Fund), and the employer’s share of FICA (Social 
Security and Medicare) taxes. 
Agricultural employers file annual Form 943, with rules 
similar to Form 941. See Publication 51, Agricultural 
Employer's Tax Guide. 
FTDs for Form 940 are paid by the employer to provide for 
unemployment compensation to workers who have lost 
their jobs.
These taxes need to be paid as they become due in order 
to avoid a penalty.

               WHEN  

               TO MAKE  

               DEPOSITS
A

FOR FORMS 941 AND 944 DEPOSITS
›  Make the deposit any time by the due date.
 or
›  For your convenience make a deposit the same day you 
 make payroll.
If you are a new employer and have never filed Form 941 or 
944, you are a Monthly Schedule Depositor for the first calen-
dar year of your business. Monthly Schedule Depositors should 
deposit taxes from all of their paydays in a month by the 15th 
of the next month, even if they pay wages every week. Howev-
er, any employer who has accumulated $100,000 in payroll 
taxes during a deposit period must make a deposit by the next 
business day. Business days include every calendar day other 
than Saturdays, Sundays, or legal holidays. The term "legal 
holiday" means any District of Columbia legal holiday.  Previ-
ously, legal holidays included statewide legal holidays.   
›  If your Form 944 total taxes for the year are less than 
 $2,500, they can be paid with the return or deposited by 
 the return due date. See the Form 944 instructions for deposit 
 requirements if your total taxes for the year are expected to 
 reach $2,500 or more.
›  If your total taxes on Form 941 for the current quarter or the 
 preceding quarter are less than $2,500, and you did not 
 incur a $100,000 next-day deposit obligation in the current 
 quarter, and you filed your tax return on time, you may 
 pay the taxes with the timely filed return or deposit by the 
 return due date.   Otherwise, you’ll need to determine which 
 deposit schedule to follow.

 ›  If you have filed only Form 941, you can determine your 
   deposit schedule using the “Lookback Period” table below.
 ›  If you filed Form 944 for 2017 or 2018, or if you are filing Form 
   944 for 2019, your lookback period is the calendar year 2017. 
            Form 941 Lookback Period for Calendar Year 2019
   2017 2018                                To determine your 
   July 1       Oct 1     Jan 1    Apr 1    deposit schedule for 
   to to to to                              Calendar Year 2019, 
    Sep 30      Dec 31    Mar 31   Jun 30   you look back to this 
   ——— ——— ——— ———                          four quarter period.
    3rd Qtr     4th Qtr   1st Qtr  2nd Qtr

 1.  Add the total taxes (line 12 of Forms 941) reported during the 
   Lookback Period.
 2.  Determine your deposit schedule.

 Monthly Schedule Depositors:
   If the total taxes you 
   reported in the Lookback       Then you are a: 
   Period were: 
   $50,000 or less                Monthly Schedule Depositor
   More than $50,000              Semiweekly Schedule Depositor

 ›  Deposit each month’s taxes by the 15th day of the month after 
   wages are paid (for example, taxes from paydays during July 
   are deposited by August 15).

 Semiweekly Schedule Depositors:
 ›  For wages paid on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday, 
   deposit by the following Friday.
 ›  For wages paid Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, deposit by 
   the following Wednesday.

 Remember!
 ›  Deposit rules are based on when wages are paid, not earned. 
   For example, Monthly Schedule Depositors with wages earned 
   in June but paid in July, deposit August 15.
 ›  If the due date for a deposit falls on a non-business day, the 
   deposit is considered timely if it is made by the close of the next 
   business day.

WHEN TO MAKE FORM 940 DEPOSITS?
›  If the tax liability is $500 or less and it is the end of the first, 
 second, or third quarter, the tax is carried over to the next 
 quarter.
›  If the fourth quarter tax liability is $500 or less, the tax is due 
 by the return due date.
›  If the tax liability is over $500 and it is the end of any quarter, 
 then the tax must be deposited by the last day of the follow-
 ing month.

           HOW  

           TO MAKE  

           DEPOSITS
 B

1.  Federal Tax Deposits (FTDs) are made through the Electronic 
 Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS). EFTPS is a free service 
 provided by the Department of Treasury. It is a convenient 
 and efficient method of paying all your federal taxes. You 
 may make your tax deposit payments through the Internet at 
 www.eftps.gov or call EFTPS  Voice Response System at 1-800-
 555-3453. For added convenience EFTPS is available 24 hours 
 a day, seven days a week.
 New employers receiving a new Employer Identification 
 Number (EIN) that have a federal tax obligation are 
 automatically enrolled in EFTPS to make their Federal Tax 
 Deposits.
 When new employers receive their EIN, they will also receive 
 a separate mailing containing an EFTPS Personal Identification 
 Number (PIN) and instructions for activating their enrollment.
2.  As of January 1, 2011, all deposits are made electronically. 

           WHERE  

           TO MAKE  

           DEPOSITS
C

1.  Federal Tax Deposits can be made electronically through 
EFTPS by phone 1-800-555-3453 or visit www.eftps.gov. You 
should initiate your payment no later than 8:00 p.m. Eastern 
Time the day before your deposit is due.

FOR MORE INFORMATION  
ON FTDs, REFER TO:
EFTPS Customer Service 1-800-555-4477 
EFTPS at www.eftps.gov
www.irs.gov
Publication 15, Circular E,  
Employer’s Tax Guide
Publication 966, Electronic Choices for Paying All 
Your Federal Taxes
Your tax professional

WHO MUST MAKE 
DEPOSITS?
Employers filing Form 941, Employer’s QUARTERLY Feder-
al Tax Return, with $2,500 or more tax in the current 
quarter, and $2,500 or more tax reported in the prior 
quarter, or less than $2,500 in the prior quarter and a  tax 
liability that reached $100,000 or more within a deposit 
period of the current quarter. If your Form 941 is filed late, 
you must make timely deposits.
Employers filing Form 944, Employer's ANNUAL Federal 
Tax Return, with $2,500 or more tax due per year.
Employers filing Form 940, Employer’s Annual Federal 
Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return, with over $500 tax 
due per quarter.
If you are required to make deposits, do not send tax 
payments with your tax return or directly to the IRS.

WHAT TAXES 
MUST BE DEPOSITED?
›  Income tax withheld from employees
›  FICA (Social Security and Medicare) tax withheld from 
 employees, plus the employer’s portion.
›  FUTA (Federal Unemployment Tax)

NOW, LETS LOOK AT THE 
EASY ABCs OF FTDs

ELECTRONIC FEDERAL 
TAX PAYMENT SYSTEM 
(EFTPS)
Q  What is EFTPS?
A  EFTPS is a tax payment system provided free by the 
 U.S. Department of the Treasury. EFTPS makes paying 
 federal taxes easy and convenient. By using EFTPS, 
 taxpayers make their federal tax payments electron-
 ically from the convenience of office or home via the 
 Internet or phone.
Q  Who can use EFTPS?
A  Anyone who pays federal taxes may voluntarily 
 enroll in and use EFTPS.  Taxpayers who are required 
 to deposit taxes must make all their federal tax depos-
 its electronically.
Q  How do you enroll?
A  New employers are automatically enrolled in EFTPS 
 Express Enrollment. If you would you like to enroll 
 call EFTPS Customer Service at 1-800-555-4477 or visit 
 www.eftps.gov.
Q  What is Express Enrollment?
A  Express Enrollment allows new business taxpayers 
 with a federal tax obligation to begin making their 
 FTDs more quickly and accurately with EFTPS. When 
 they receive an Employer Identification Number (EIN) 
 from the IRS, they will be enrolled in EFTPS so they can 
 make all their payments electronically, online or by 
 phone.
Q  Can businesses still use FTD Coupons?
A  Starting January 1, 2011, taxpayers cannot use FTD 
 coupons.

 Publication 3151 (Rev. 11-2018 ) Catalog Number 26404W 
 Department of Treasury Internal Revenue Service www.irs.gov