Payroll Tax Deposits: When the IRS Would Like Its Money, Please and Thank You

When it comes to federal payroll tax deposits, employers usually fall into one of two groups: either monthly depositors or semiweekly depositors.

This does not mean how often you run payroll. It means when your payroll taxes are due.

So, paying employees every two weeks does not automatically make you a semiweekly depositor because payroll has a special talent for making simple things sound confusing.

What Is a Monthly Depositor?

A business is generally a monthly depositor if it reported $50,000 or less in federal payroll tax liability during the IRS lookback period.

Monthly depositors usually deposit payroll taxes by the 15th day of the following month.

Example: payroll taxes from wages paid in July are generally due by August 15.

What Is a Semiweekly Depositor?

A business is generally a semiweekly depositor if it reported more than $50,000 in federal payroll tax liability during the IRS lookback period.

Semiweekly does not mean twice a week. Annoying? Yes. Accurate? Also yes.

Instead, the due date depends on the payday:

PAYDAY DEPOSIT DUE

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday Following Wednesday

Saturday, Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday Following Friday

What Is the Lookback Period?

The lookback period is the 12-month period the IRS uses to decide which deposit schedule applies.

For most Form 941 employers, the 2026 lookback period is generally:

July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025

That includes payroll tax liability from:

Q3 2024, Q4 2024, Q1 2025, and Q2 2025

If the total is $50,000 or less, you are generally monthly.
If the total is more than $50,000, you are generally semiweekly.

What Is Payroll Tax Liability?

Payroll tax liability is the amount of payroll taxes your business is responsible for depositing.

In general, this includes:

Federal income tax withheld from employees
Employee Social Security and Medicare taxes
Employer Social Security and Medicare taxes

In plain English, it’s the payroll tax total that determines your deposit schedule — because the IRS likes details—a lot.

Quick Example

If your payroll tax liability during the lookback period totaled $41,500, you would generally be a monthly depositor.

If it totaled $54,500, you would generally be a semiweekly depositor.

One Important Exception

If your business accumulates $100,000 or more in payroll tax liability on any day during a deposit period, the taxes are generally due by the next business day.

Apparently, payroll always has one more “fun little rule” hiding nearby.

Final Thought

The main thing to remember is that your deposit schedule is based on payroll tax liability, not on how often you pay employees.

Monthly: $50,000 or less during the lookback period.
Semiweekly: More than $50,000 during the lookback period.

And “semiweekly” still does not mean twice a week. Simple would have been nice, but here we are.