941 Quarterly Federal Tax Return
Use this option to generate a report to prepare your 941 Quarterly Federal Tax Return. The report produced corresponds with the format issued by the IRS. In addition, this option gives you the ability to:
Modify the percentages used for the report and re-run the return for a prior year. The current percentages display in the Load Information section of the Load page.
Generate detailed reports by check or a summary report by employee, which displays the FICA, Medicare, or Federal Tax amounts. These reports can be used to reconcile the 941 Quarterly Federal Tax Return that will be submitted to the IRS.
Menu path
From the Human Resources menu, select Reports. From the Periodic menu, select 941 Quarterly Federal Tax Return.
Action bar
The action bar on the Quarterly Federal Tax Return page includes the following items:
Action | Description |
|---|---|
Employer Setup | Define employer records using Federal Tax ID. If you have multiple Federal Tax IDs, you can associate pay groups to each one to assign employee data. |
Load | Review and adjust percentages and create the data for the report. |
Reports | Generate reports for:
|
Employer Setup
Complete the Employer Setup before you run the Load option for your first report.
Select a record to edit and click Accept, or click Add new.
Enter or edit fields as needed.
Click Accept.
Employer Setup fields and descriptions
Field | Description |
|---|---|
Employer Federal Tax ID | Enter the Federal Tax ID. If you have more than one, create separate records for each. The field formats the ID automatically. The limit is nine digits in format 99-9999999. The field is required. |
Employer Name | Enter the district name. The limit is 30 characters. The field is required. |
Trade Name | Optional field to enter a trade name, if different from the employer name. The limit is 30 characters. |
Address | Two lines to enter the address. The limit for each line is 35 characters. The field is required. |
City | Enter the city. The limit is 22 characters. The field is required. |
State | Select a state abbreviation from the list. The field is required unless Foreign Address is selected. |
Zip Code | Enter the zip code. The limit is 10 characters. Enter a five-digit zip code or add the zip code extension in 99999-9999 format. |
Foreign Address | If the address is outside of the U.S., select Foreign Address. The State and Zip Code fields will not be required if this is selected. |
Foreign Country Code | Enter the foreign country code. The limit is two characters. The field is required if Foreign Address is selected. |
Foreign Province/County | Enter the province or county for the address. The limit is 22 characters. The field is required if Foreign Address is selected. |
Foreign Postal Code | Enter the foreign postal code. The limit is 15 characters. The field is required if Foreign Address is selected. |
Deposit Schedule | The deposit schedule followed. Valid values:
The default is M - Monthly. |
Pay Groups | Select one or more pay groups associated with the Federal Tax ID. Click Check All to select all pay groups. |
Load
Action bar
Action | Description |
|---|---|
Modify Percentages | Displays the Load - Modify Percentages page. |
Load employee information
Modified percentages are only retained while you are still in the Load option. If you exit the 941 Quarterly Federal Tax Return page and then access the option again, your percentages will reset to the defaults from the FICA Tax and Deduction tables.
These percentages are only used for the 941 Quarterly Federal Tax Return report. They are not used for the FICA, Medicare, or Federal Tax reports.
On the 941 Quarterly Federal Tax Return - Load page, review the percentages to be used for the load process.
If the percentages are not correct, or if you want to load data for a prior quarter that used different percentages:
From the action bar click Modify Percentages and make the needed edits. The percentages default from:
FICA Tax Codes
Employee FICA Percentage
Employer FICA Percentage
Employee Medicare Percentage
Employer Medicare Percentage
Deduction Table record for *AM (Additional Medicare)
Employee Medicare Additional Percentage
Employee Medicare Additional Gross
Click Accept. It returns to the Load page with the edited percentages.
Enter the required information.
Select the Reporting Year.
Select the Reporting Quarter.
Select an Employer Federal Tax ID.
Enter a start and end date for the Check Issue Date Range.
Enter a start and end date for the Check Void Date Range.
In the Pay Runs field, enter all pay run codes for the pay period that includes the 12th of the last month in the quarter. This field is used to get the count of employees that appears on the 941 Quarterly Federal Tax Return. If all pay was issued in one pay run, enter the appropriate code. To enter multiple codes, use the pipe symbol to separate the codes, for example, A12|B12|C12.
1st Quarter - March
2nd Quarter - June
3rd Quarter - September
4th Quarter - December
Click Accept.
If data was already loaded for the selected quarter for the same Federal Tax ID, a confirmation dialog appears. Click Yes to proceed or No to cancel.
941 Quarterly Federal Tax Return detail
The 941 Quarterly Federal Tax Return detail tabs display the information that will be included in a report for the selected quarter and Federal Tax ID in the format of the IRS form.
From the 941 Quarterly Federal Tax Return page, perform a Search for existing records.
Select a record and click Accept.
Review the information on each tab. Edit fields if needed.
Click Accept to save changes.
Reports
From the 941 Quarterly Federal Tax Return page, from the action bar click Reports.
Select the Report Type:
941 Federal Tax Return Report: Generates a report that corresponds with the format issued by the IRS.
FICA Tax Report: Generates the FICA wages, employee tax, and employer-paid amounts for checks issued during the date ranges entered in the Report Criteria section.
Medicare Tax Report: Generates the Medicare wages, employee tax, and employer-paid amounts for checks issued during the date ranges entered in the Report Criteria section.
Federal Tax Report: Generates the Federal wages and employee tax for checks issued during the date ranges entered in the Report Criteria section.
If you selected FICA, Medicare, or Federal Tax Report, make the following selections:
Employee Detail:
Employee includes:
Employee Number
Employee Name
Taxable wages: Total wages from all checks for the employee within the entered range
Taxes paid: Total taxes from all checks for the employee within the entered range
Employee/Detailed Check includes:
Employee Number
Employee Name
Check Number
Taxable wages: For the individual check number
Taxes paid: For the individual check number
Date issued
Date voided (if applicable)
Report Sort:
Department/Name sorts by department first, then employee name within a department
Name sorts by employee name
In the Report Criteria, select the Reporting Year that should appear on the 941 Quarterly Federal Tax Return report.
Select the Reporting Quarter that applies:
1 - 1st quarter
2 - 2nd quarter
3 - 3rd quarter
4 - 4th quarter
Select the Employer Federal Tax ID that should appear on the 941 Quarterly Federal Tax Return report. This is not required for the FICA, Medicare, or Federal Tax reports.
In the Check Issue Date Range and Check Void Date Range fields:
If you select Report Type 941 Federal Tax Return Report, the system defaults the start and end dates of the quarter and the fields are read-only.
If you select one of the other report types, you must enter a date range in either the Check Issue Date Range or Check Void Date Range. The defaults are based on the year and quarter entered but can be edited.
Click Accept.
In the Print window, enter settings for generating the 941 return and select the output destination. The default file names and output options for the reports are:
941 Federal Tax Return Report: irs941.rpt sends to File or Screen.
FICA Tax Report: ficatax.rpt sends to File, Screen, or Excel.
Medicare Tax Report: medtax.rpt sends to File, Screen, or Excel.
Federal Tax Report: fedtax.rpt sends to File, Screen, or Excel.
Click OK.
Voided Check Report
If voided checks are included, a list of voided checks will be generated. The default file name is irs941voids.rpt.