Ever wonder how soon after payroll are federal taxes due? We’ve got you covered with all the basics you need to maintain your payroll tax compliance.
Payroll taxes are government-mandated withholdings employers collect from each employee’s gross pay when processing payroll. The collected amounts are sent to federal, state, and local authorities who use the funds to support various government programs.
For example, federal payroll taxes (a.k.a. employment taxes) primarily fund Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment benefits.
Payroll taxation rates vary by tax type and responsible party. Some are paid exclusively by the employee or employer, and some are shared between both. To show compliance with these mandates, employers must file quarterly or annual tax returns. At the federal level, this usually involves Forms 941, 944, and 940.
Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes were created by the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA), originally a 1935 Social Security Act (SSA) provision. Unlike income or unemployment taxes, FICA taxes are paid by the employee and the employer.
The 2024 FICA rate is 15.3% of an employee’s paycheck, split evenly (7.65%) between the employer and employee. Most of each half (6.20% or 12.4% of the total 15.3%) goes to Social Security until the employee’s annual wages hit the Social Security Wage Base Limit ($176,100 in 2025).
In other words, after an employee’s yearly wages exceed that wage base limit, the excess wages they earn until the end of the calendar year aren’t subject to Social Security taxes.
The remaining FICA tax portion (1.45% of each half or 2.9% of the total 15.3%) goes to Medicare, which has no wage base limit. If, however, an employee’s annual wages are over $200,000 and they file their tax returns as an individual, they’ll have to pay an additional 0.9% Medicare tax.
Married employees who earn over $250,000 annually and file jointly (or $125,000 annually and file separately) must also pay this additional Medicare tax.
| Tax | Employee Tax | Employer Tax | Total Tax Rate |
| Social Security | 6.20% | 6.20% | 12.4% |
| Medicare | 1.45% | 1.45% | 2.9% |
| FICA Taxes (overall) | 7.65% | 7.65% | 15.3% |
Federal unemployment payroll taxes were created by the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) of 1939 and are paid solely by employers. Most states, however, also impose their own State Unemployment Insurance (SUI) taxes for employers.
The 2024 FUTA payroll tax rate and wage base limit are 6.0% and $7,000, respectively, but employers may claim a tax credit of up to 5.4% if they aren’t located in a credit reduction state (i.e., California or New York). In other words, employers receiving the credit shouldn’t pay more than $42 per employee yearly (0.6% x $7,000).
Regardless, the IRS uses three tests to determine if an organization is exempt from unemployment taxes, each of which is based on the type of worker the organization employs.
| Test | Criteria |
| General Test | Employers are subject to unemployment taxes if they paid more than $1,500 in wages during any quarter of the year or had one or more employees for at least some part of a day across any 20 different weeks of the year. |
| Household Employee Test | Employers are subject to unemployment taxes if they paid $1,000 or more in cash to household workers (i.e., employees who performed household work in a private home, local college club, or local fraternity or sorority chapter) in any quarter of the year. |
| Farmworkers Test | Employers are subject to unemployment taxes if they paid $20,000 or more in cash to farmworkers in any quarter of the year or employed ten or more farmworkers at least some part of a day across any 20 different weeks of the year. |
When processing payroll, employers typically collect income and employment taxes at the same time, but the two differ in a few ways.
Workers can calculate how much they owe by using the IRS’ Tax Withholding Estimator. While employers usually pay income taxes on each employee’s behalf when depositing payroll taxes, an employee may have multiple income sources that must also be accounted for.
After collecting federal payroll and income taxes, employers must remit them to the government by certain deposit dates, which vary based on the tax type.
Per IRS guidance, FICA and income tax deposits are due semiweekly or monthly based on when an organization files its federal tax returns (i.e., annually or quarterly) and how much the filed returns reported during the organization’s lookback period.
Conversely, unemployment tax deposits are due quarterly unless the total collected tax is $500 or less. In such cases, an organization may wait to deposit the funds the following quarter.
| Tax | Deposit Schedule | Deadline* | Examples |
| FICA/Income | Semiweekly |
If employees were paid Wednesday – Friday, tax deposits are due the following Wednesday. If employees were paid on a Saturday – Tuesday, tax deposits are due the following Friday. |
If employees were paid on Thursday the 3rd, tax deposits are due by Wednesday the 9th. If employees were paid on Sunday the 13th, tax deposits are due by Friday the 18th. |
| Monthly | The 15th day of the month following the month in which the employees were paid. |
If employees were paid on April 30 for hours worked that month, tax deposits are due on May 15. If employees were paid on May 1 for hours worked in April, tax deposits are due on June 15. |
|
| Unemployment | Quarterly | The final day of the month following the end of the quarter. |
Q1 (January – March) ends on March 31, so tax deposits are due by April 30. Q3 (July - September) ends on September 30, so tax deposits are due by October 31. |
*If a deposit date falls on a weekend or federal holiday, the deposit may instead be made the next business day.
Overdue tax deposits incur penalties based on how late the deposit is finally made.
Organizations must first confirm (or apply for) their Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN).
With this information, the IRS requires payroll tax deposits to be made as Electronic Fund Transfers (EFTs), which employers can do using the Department of Treasury’s free Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS).
Finally, organizations must also file annual and quarterly tax returns to verify they’re withholding and depositing the correct employment tax amounts. Similar to the deposit due dates, the deadlines for filing tax returns vary by tax type.
The IRS prefers employers to file their tax returns electronically, either directly or through an approved Modernized e-file (MeF) provider. Paper submissions, however, are also accepted and should be mailed to the designated IRS office based on the employer’s location and intent.
Refer to the IRS’ online tax calendar for information on semiweekly tax deposit dates.
| Date | Item(s) Due |
|---|---|
|
January 15, 2024 |
Monthly FICA and income tax deposit
|
|
January 31, 2024 |
Q4 (Form 941) or annual (Form 944) FICA and income tax returns Annual unemployment tax returns (Form 940) Quarterly unemployment tax deposit |
|
February 15, 2024 |
Monthly FICA and income tax deposit |
|
March 15, 2024 |
Monthly FICA and income tax deposit |
|
April 15, 2024 |
Monthly FICA and income tax deposit |
|
April 30, 2024 |
Q1 FICA and income tax returns (Form 941) Quarterly unemployment tax deposit |
|
May 15, 2024 |
Monthly FICA and income tax deposit |
|
June 17, 2024 |
Monthly FICA and income tax deposit |
|
July 15, 2024 |
Monthly FICA and income tax deposit |
|
July 31, 2024 |
Q2 FICA and income tax returns (Form 941) Quarterly unemployment tax deposit |
|
August 15, 2024 |
Monthly FICA and income tax deposit |
|
September 16, 2024 |
Monthly FICA and income tax deposit |
|
October 15, 2024 |
Monthly FICA and income tax deposit |
|
October 31, 2024 |
Q3 FICA and income tax returns (Form 941) Quarterly unemployment tax deposit |
|
November 15, 2024 |
Monthly FICA and income tax deposit |
|
December 16, 2024 |
Monthly FICA and income tax deposit |
Managing and filing payroll taxes can be a complex and time-consuming task, particularly for large workforces. Mistakes can lead to severe and costly consequences.
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