Instructions for Schedule B (2020)

Instructions for Schedule B

(Form 941)

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

(Rev. September 2020)

Use with the January 2017 revision of Schedule B (Form 941)

Report of Tax Liability for Semiweekly Schedule Depositors

Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code

unless otherwise noted.

Amended Schedule B. If you have been assessed a

failure-to-deposit (FTD) penalty, you may be able to file an

amended Schedule B. See Correcting Previously

Reported Tax Liability, later.

Future Developments

For the latest information about developments related to

Schedule B and its instructions, such as legislation

enacted after they were published, go to IRS.gov/

Form941.

What’s New

Adjusting tax liability for nonrefundable credits

claimed on Form 941, lines 11a, 11b, and 11c. See

Adjusting Tax Liability for Nonrefundable Credits Claimed

on Form 941, Lines 11a, 11b, and 11c, later, for updated

instructions on how to report on Schedule B adjustments

to your tax liabilities for the qualified small business

payroll tax credit for increasing research activities, the

credit for qualified sick and family leave wages, and the

employee retention credit.

Adjusting tax liability for the deferred amount of social security tax that you pay or deposit in the same

quarter it was deferred. See Adjusting Tax Liability for

the Deferred Amount of Social Security Tax That You Pay

or Deposit in the Same Quarter It Was Deferred, later, for

instructions on how to report your tax liabilities on

Schedule B if you defer social security tax and

subsequently pay or deposit that deferred amount in the

same quarter it was deferred.

Reminders

Schedule B is filed with Form 941 or Form 941-SS.

References to Form 941 in these instructions also apply to

Form 941-SS, Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax

Return (American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of

the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin

Islands), unless otherwise noted.

Reporting prior period adjustments. Prior period

adjustments are reported on Form 941-X, Adjusted

Employer's QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return or Claim for

Refund, or Form 944-X, Adjusted Employer's ANNUAL

Federal Tax Return or Claim for Refund, and aren’t taken

into account when figuring the tax liability for the current

quarter.

When you file Schedule B with your Form 941,

Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return, don’t

change your current quarter tax liability by adjustments

reported on any Form 941-X or 944-X.

Sep 24, 2020

General Instructions

Purpose of Schedule B

These instructions tell you about Schedule B. To

determine if you’re a semiweekly schedule depositor, see

section 11 of Pub. 15, Employer's Tax Guide, or section 8

of Pub. 80, Federal Tax Guide for Employers in the U.S.

Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Federal law requires you, as an employer, to withhold

certain taxes from your employees’ pay. Each time you

pay wages, you must withhold—or take out of your

employees’ pay—certain amounts for federal income tax,

social security tax, and Medicare tax. You must also

withhold Additional Medicare Tax from wages you pay to

an employee in excess of $200,000 in a calendar year.

Under the withholding system, taxes withheld from your

employees are credited to your employees in payment of

their tax liabilities.

Federal law also requires employers to pay any liability

for the employer share of social security and Medicare

taxes. This share of social security and Medicare taxes

isn’t withheld from employees.

On Schedule B, list your tax liability for each day. Your

tax liability is based on the dates wages were paid. Your

liability includes:

• The federal income tax you withheld from your

employees' pay, and

• Both the employer and employee share of social

security and Medicare taxes.

Don't reduce your liability reported on Schedule B by

the deferred amount of any employer or employee share

of social security tax reported on Form 941, line 13b. See

the Caution under Total Liability for the Quarter, later.

Don’t use Schedule B to show federal tax deposits. The

IRS gets deposit data from electronic funds transfers.

Cat. No. 38683X

Enter Your Tax Liability by Month

The IRS uses Schedule B to determine if you’ve

deposited your federal employment tax liabilities

CAUTION on time. If you're a semiweekly schedule

depositor and you don’t properly complete and file your

Schedule B with Form 941, the IRS may propose an

“averaged” FTD penalty. See Deposit Penalties in section

11 of Pub. 15 or section 8 of Pub. 80 for more information.

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Schedule B is divided into the 3 months that make up a

quarter of a year. Each month has 31 numbered spaces

that correspond to the dates of a typical month. Enter your

tax liabilities in the spaces that correspond to the dates

you paid wages to your employees, not the date payroll

liabilities were accrued or deposits were made.

For example, if your payroll period ended on December

31, 2019, and you paid the wages for that period on

January 6, 2020, you would:

• Go to Month 1 (because January is the first month of

the quarter), and

• Enter your tax liability on line 6 (because line 6

represents the sixth day of the month).

Who Must File?

File Schedule B if you’re a semiweekly schedule

depositor. You’re a semiweekly schedule depositor if you

reported more than $50,000 of employment taxes in the

lookback period or accumulated a tax liability of $100,000

or more on any given day in the current or prior calendar

year. If you became a semiweekly schedule depositor

during the quarter, you must complete Schedule B for the

entire quarter. See section 11 of Pub. 15 or section 8 of

Pub. 80 for more information. The $100,000 tax liability

threshold requiring a next-day deposit is determined

before you consider any reduction of your liability for

nonrefundable credits. See IRS.gov/ETD for more

information.

Make sure you have checked the appropriate box

TIP in Part 2 of Form 941 to show that you’re a

semiweekly schedule depositor.

Example 1. Cedar Co. is a semiweekly schedule

depositor that pays wages for each month on the last day

of the month. On December 24, 2019, Cedar Co. also

paid its employees year-end bonuses (subject to

employment taxes). Cedar Co. must report employment

tax liabilities on Schedule B for the fourth quarter

(October, November, December), as follows.

Don’t complete Schedule B if you have a tax

liability on Form 941, line 12, that is less than

CAUTION $2,500 during the quarter.

!

Month

1 (October)

2 (November)

3 (December)

3 (December)

When Must You File?

Schedule B is filed with Form 941. Therefore, the due date

of Schedule B is the same as the due date for the

applicable Form 941. In some situations, Schedule B may

be filed with Form 941-X. See Form 941-X, later, for

details.

Lines for dates wages were paid

line 31 (pay day, last day of the month)

line 30 (pay day, last day of the month)

line 24 (bonus paid December 24, 2019)

line 31 (pay day, last day of the month)

Example 2. Fir Co. is a semiweekly schedule depositor

that pays employees every other Friday. Fir Co.

accumulated a $20,000 employment tax liability on each

of these pay dates: January 3, 2020; January 17, 2020;

January 31, 2020; February 14, 2020; February 28, 2020;

March 13, 2020; and March 27, 2020. Fir Co. must report

employment tax liabilities on Schedule B as follows.

Don’t file Schedule B as an attachment to Form 944,

Employer's ANNUAL Federal Tax Return. Instead, if

you’re a semiweekly schedule depositor that is required to

file a report of tax liability with Form 944, use Form 945-A,

Annual Record of Federal Tax Liability.

Specific Instructions

Month

1 (January)

2 (February)

3 (March)

Completing Schedule B

Enter Your Business Information

Carefully enter your employer identification number (EIN)

and name at the top of the schedule. Make sure that they

exactly match the name of your business and the EIN that

the IRS assigned to your business and also agree with the

name and EIN shown on the attached Form 941 or Form

941-X.

Lines for dates wages were paid

lines 3, 17, and 31

lines 14 and 28

lines 13 and 27

Example 3. Elm Co. is a new business and monthly

schedule depositor for 2020. Elm Co. paid wages every

Friday and accumulated a $2,000 employment tax liability

on January 17, 2020. On January 24, 2020, and on every

subsequent Friday during 2020, Elm Co. accumulated a

$110,000 employment tax liability. Under the deposit

rules, employers become semiweekly schedule

depositors on the day after any day they accumulate

$100,000 or more of employment tax liability in a deposit

period. Elm Co. became a semiweekly schedule depositor

on January 25, 2020, because Elm Co. had a total

accumulated employment tax liability of $112,000 on

January 24, 2020. For more information, see section 11 of

Pub. 15 or section 8 of Pub. 80.

Elm Co. must complete Schedule B as shown next and

file it with Form 941. Don't check the second box on Form

Calendar Year

Enter the calendar year that applies to the quarter

checked.

Check the Box for the Quarter

Under Report for this Quarter at the top of Schedule B,

check the appropriate box of the quarter for which you’re

filing this schedule. Make sure the quarter checked on the

top of the Schedule B matches the quarter checked on

your Form 941 or Form 941-X.

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Instructions for Schedule B (Form 941) (Rev. 9-2020)

is used. Consistent with the entries on Schedule B, the

payroll tax credit should be taken into account in making

deposits of employment tax. If any payroll tax credit is

remaining at the end of the quarter that hasn’t been used

completely because it exceeds the employer share of

social security tax for the quarter, the excess credit may

be carried forward to the succeeding quarter and allowed

as a payroll tax credit for the succeeding quarter. The

payroll tax credit may not be taken as a credit against

income tax withholding, Medicare tax, or the employee

share of social security tax. Also, the remaining payroll tax

credit may not be carried back and taken as a credit

against wages paid from preceding quarters. For more

information about the payroll tax credit, go to IRS.gov/

ResearchPayrollTC.

941, line 16, even though Elm Co. was a monthly

schedule depositor until January 25, 2020.

Month

1 (January)

1 (January)

2 (February)

3 (March)

Lines for dates wages were paid

line 17

lines 24 and 31

lines 7, 14, 21, and 28

lines 6, 13, 20, and 27

Amount to report

$2,000

$110,000

$110,000

$110,000

Total Liability for the Quarter

To find your total liability for the quarter, add your monthly

tax liabilities.

Tax Liability for Month 1

+ Tax Liability for Month 2

+ Tax Liability for Month 3

Total Liability for the Quarter

Example. Rose Co. is an employer with a calendar tax

year that filed its timely income tax return on April 15,

2020. Rose Co. elected to take the qualified small

business payroll tax credit for increasing research

activities on Form 6765. The third quarter of 2020 is the

first quarter that begins after Rose Co. filed the income tax

return making the payroll tax credit election. Therefore,

the payroll tax credit applies against Rose Co.'s share of

social security tax on wages paid to employees in the third

quarter of 2020. Rose Co. is a semiweekly schedule

depositor. Rose Co. completes Schedule B by reducing

the amount of liability entered for the first payroll payment

in the third quarter of 2020 that includes wages subject to

social security tax by the lesser of (1) its share of social

security tax on the wages, or (2) the available payroll tax

credit. If the payroll tax credit elected is more than Rose

Co.'s share of social security tax on the first payroll

payment of the quarter, the excess payroll tax credit

would be carried forward to succeeding payroll payments

in the third quarter until it is used. If the amount of the

payroll tax credit exceeds Rose Co.'s share of social

security tax on wages paid to its employees in the third

quarter, the excess credit would be treated as a payroll

tax credit against its share of social security tax on wages

paid in the fourth quarter. If the amount of the payroll tax

credit remaining exceeded Rose Co.'s share of social

security tax on wages paid in the fourth quarter, it could be

carried forward and treated as a payroll tax credit for the

first quarter of 2021.

Your total liability for the quarter must equal

line 12 on Form 941; therefore, don't reduce your

CAUTION total liability reported on Schedule B by the

deferred amount of the employer or employee share of

social security tax, the refundable portion of the credit for

qualified sick and family leave wages, or the refundable

portion of the employee retention credit. The deferred

amount of the employer or employee share of social

security tax reported on Form 941, line 13b, doesn't reflect

deferred liabilities, but instead postponed due dates for

payment. See the Instructions for Form 941 for more

information.

!

Adjusting Tax Liability for Nonrefundable

Credits Claimed on Form 941, Lines 11a, 11b,

and 11c

Semiweekly schedule depositors must account for

nonrefundable credits claimed on Form 941, lines 11a,

11b, and 11c, when reporting their tax liabilities on

Schedule B. The total tax liability for the quarter must

equal the amount reported on Form 941, line 12. Failure to

account for the nonrefundable credits on Schedule B may

cause Schedule B to report more than the total tax liability

reported on Form 941, line 12. Don't reduce your daily tax

liability reported on Schedule B below zero.

Nonrefundable portion of credit for qualified sick and

family leave wages (Form 941, line 11b). The

nonrefundable portion of the credit for qualified sick and

family leave wages is limited to the employer share of

social security tax on wages paid in the quarter that is

remaining after that share is first reduced by any credit

claimed on Form 941, line 11a, for the qualified small

business payroll tax credit for increasing research

activities, and/or any credit to be claimed on Form 5884C, line 11, for the work opportunity credit for qualified taxexempt organizations hiring qualified veterans. In

completing Schedule B, you take into account the entire

quarter's nonrefundable portion of the credit for sick and

family leave wages (including the qualified health plan

expenses and employer share of Medicare tax allocable

to those wages) against the liability for the first payroll

payment of the quarter, but not below zero. Then reduce

the liability for each successive payroll payment in the

quarter until the nonrefundable portion of the credit is

Qualified small business payroll tax credit for increasing research activities (Form 941, line 11a).

The qualified small business payroll tax credit for

increasing research activities is limited to the employer

share of social security tax on wages paid in the quarter

that begins after the income tax return electing the credit

has been filed. In completing Schedule B, you take into

account the payroll tax credit against the liability for the

employer share of social security tax starting with the first

payroll payment of the quarter that includes payments of

wages subject to social security tax to your employees.

The credit may be taken to the extent of the employer

share of social security tax on wages associated with the

first payroll payment, and then to the extent of the

employer share of social security tax associated with

succeeding payroll payments in the quarter until the credit

Instructions for Schedule B (Form 941) (Rev. 9-2020)

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You may reduce your deposits by the amount of

used. Any credit for qualified sick and family leave wages

that is remaining at the end of the quarter because it

exceeds the employer share of social security tax for the

quarter is claimed on Form 941, line 13c, as a refundable

credit. The refundable portion of the credit doesn’t reduce

the liability reported on Schedule B. For more information

about the credit for qualified sick and family leave wages,

including the dates for which the credit may be claimed,

go to IRS.gov/PLC.

TIP the nonrefundable and refundable portions of the

credit for qualified sick and family leave wages,

the nonrefundable and refundable portions of the

employee retention credit, and any deferred employment

taxes. For more information on reducing deposits, see

Notice 2020-22, 2020-17 I.R.B. 664, available at

IRS.gov/irb/2020-17_IRB#NOT-2020-22; Notice 2020-65,

2020-38 I.R.B. 567, available at IRS.gov/irb/

2020-38_IRB#NOT-2020-65; and IRS.gov/ETD. Also see

IRS.gov/ERC and IRS.gov/PLC for more information,

including examples, about reducing deposits.

Example. Maple Co. is a semiweekly schedule

depositor that pays employees every other Friday. In the

third quarter of 2020, Maple Co. had pay dates of July 10,

July 24, August 7, August 21, September 4, and

September 18. Maple Co. paid qualified sick and family

leave wages on August 7 and August 21. The

nonrefundable portion of the credit for qualified sick and

family leave wages for the quarter is $10,000. On

Schedule B, Maple Co. will use the $10,000 to reduce the

liability for the July 10 pay date, but not below zero. If any

nonrefundable portion of the credit remains, Maple Co.

applies it to the liability for the July 24 pay date, then the

August 7 pay date, and so forth until the entire $10,000 is

used.

Adjusting Tax Liability for the Deferred Amount

of Social Security Tax That You Pay or Deposit

in the Same Quarter It Was Deferred

If you defer the employer and/or employee share of social

security tax and subsequently pay or deposit that deferred

amount in the same quarter it was deferred, you should

report the amount of the payment or deposit on

Schedule B on the date of the payment or deposit and not

the date of liability.

For example, if you're a semiweekly schedule depositor

that has an employment tax liability of $10,000 every 2

weeks in the third calendar quarter of 2020 and you defer

$2,000 of the employer's share of social security tax from

your first deposit, but deposit your deferred amount of

$2,000 together with your last deposit of $10,000 during

the same calendar quarter, you would report $8,000 for

your first tax liability on your Schedule B ($10,000 minus

$2,000) and $12,000 for your last liability on Schedule B

($10,000 plus $2,000).

Nonrefundable portion of employee retention credit

(Form 941, line 11c). The nonrefundable portion of the

employee retention credit is limited to the employer share

of social security tax on wages paid in the quarter that is

remaining after that share is first reduced by any credit

claimed on Form 941, line 11a, for the qualified small

business payroll tax credit for increasing research

activities; any credit to be claimed on Form 5884-C,

line 11, for the work opportunity credit for qualified taxexempt organizations hiring qualified veterans; and/or any

credit claimed on Form 941, line 11b, for the

nonrefundable portion of the credit for qualified sick and

family leave wages. In completing Schedule B, you take

into account the entire quarter's nonrefundable portion of

the employee retention credit against the liability for the

first payroll payment of the quarter, but not below zero.

Then reduce the liability for each successive payroll

payment in the quarter until the nonrefundable portion of

the credit is used. Any employee retention credit that is

remaining at the end of the quarter because it exceeds the

employer share of social security tax for the quarter is

claimed on Form 941, line 13d, as a refundable credit.

The refundable portion of the credit doesn’t reduce the

liability reported on Schedule B. For more information

about the employee retention credit, including the dates

for which the credit may be claimed, go to IRS.gov/ERC.

For more information about the deferral of the employer

and employee share of social security tax, including the

dates the payment may be deferred, see the Instructions

for Form 941 and IRS.gov/ETD.

Correcting Previously Reported Tax Liability

Semiweekly schedule depositors. If you’ve been

assessed an FTD penalty for a quarter and you made an

error on Schedule B and the correction won’t change the

total liability for the quarter you reported on Schedule B,

you may be able to reduce your penalty by filing an

amended Schedule B.

Example. You reported a liability of $3,000 on day 1 of

month 1. However, the liability was actually for month 3.

Prepare an amended Schedule B showing the $3,000

liability on day 1 of month 3. Also, you must enter the

liabilities previously reported for the quarter that didn’t

change. Write “Amended” at the top of Schedule B. The

IRS will refigure the penalty and notify you of any change

in the penalty.

Example. Maple Co. is a semiweekly schedule

depositor that pays employees every other Friday. In the

third quarter of 2020, Maple Co. had pay dates of July 10,

July 24, August 7, August 21, September 4, and

September 18. Maple Co. paid qualified wages for the

employee retention credit on August 7 and August 21. The

nonrefundable portion of the employee retention credit for

the quarter is $10,000. On Schedule B, Maple Co. will use

the $10,000 to reduce the liability for the July 10 pay date,

but not below zero. If any nonrefundable portion of the

credit remains, Maple Co. applies it to the liability for the

July 24 pay date, then the August 7 pay date, and so forth

until the entire $10,000 is used.

Monthly schedule depositors. You can file a

Schedule B if you have been assessed an FTD penalty for

a quarter and you made an error on the monthly tax

liability section of Form 941. When completing

Schedule B for this situation, only enter the monthly totals.

The daily entries aren’t required.

Where to file. File your amended Schedule B, or, for

monthly schedule depositors, your original Schedule B at

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Instructions for Schedule B (Form 941) (Rev. 9-2020)

the address provided in the penalty notice you received. If

you're filing an amended Schedule B, you don’t have to

submit your original Schedule B.

corrected tax (Form 941, line 12, combined with any

correction reported on Form 941-X, line 23) for the

quarter, less any previous abatements and interest-free

tax assessments.

Form 941-X

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We ask for the

information on Schedule B to carry out the Internal

Revenue laws of the United States. You’re required to

give us the information. We need it to ensure that you’re

complying with these laws and to allow us to figure and

collect the right amount of tax.

You may need to file an amended Schedule B with Form

941-X to avoid or reduce an FTD penalty.

Tax decrease. If you’re filing Form 941-X for a quarter,

you can file an amended Schedule B with Form 941-X if

both of the following apply.

1. You have a tax decrease.

2. You were assessed an FTD penalty.

You’re not required to provide the information

requested on a form that is subject to the Paperwork

Reduction Act unless the form displays a valid OMB

control number. Books or records relating to a form or its

instructions must be retained as long as their contents

may become material in the administration of any Internal

Revenue law. Generally, tax returns and return

information are confidential, as required by Code section

6103.

File your amended Schedule B with Form 941-X. The total

liability for the quarter reported on your amended

Schedule B must equal the corrected amount of tax

reported on Form 941-X. If your penalty is decreased, the

IRS will include the penalty decrease with your tax

decrease.

Tax increase—Form 941-X filed timely. If you’re filing a

timely Form 941-X showing a tax increase, don’t file an

amended Schedule B, unless you were assessed an FTD

penalty caused by an incorrect, incomplete, or missing

Schedule B. If you’re filing an amended Schedule B, don’t

include the tax increase reported on Form 941-X.

The time needed to complete and file Schedule B will

vary depending on individual circumstances. The

estimated average time is 2 hours, 53 minutes.

If you have comments concerning the accuracy of this

time estimate or suggestions for making Schedule B

simpler, we would be happy to hear from you. You can

send us comments from IRS.gov/FormComments. Or you

can send your comments to Internal Revenue Service,

Tax Forms and Publications Division, 1111 Constitution

Ave. NW, IR-6526, Washington, DC 20224. Don’t send

Schedule B to this address. Instead, see Where Should

You File? in the Form 941 instructions.

Tax increase—Form 941-X filed late. If you owe tax

and are filing a late Form 941-X, that is, after the due date

of the return for the return period in which you discovered

the error, you must file an amended Schedule B with Form

941-X. Otherwise, the IRS may assess an “averaged”

FTD penalty.

The total tax reported on the “Total liability for the

quarter” line of the amended Schedule B must match the

Instructions for Schedule B (Form 941) (Rev. 9-2020)

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