Minds → Payroll & Employment Tax → What employment tax returns must employers file? Answer in under 100 words. Cite only eCFR (www.ecfr.gov) sources.

US Federal

What employment tax returns must employers file? Answer in under 100 words. Cite only eCFR (www.ecfr.gov) sources.

Under 26 CFR 31.6011(a)-1, every employer must file employment tax returns for FICA wages. Form 941 is the prescribed quarterly return for non-agricultural wages; Form 944 is the annual return for qualifying small employers with annual employment tax liability of $1,000 or less. Form 943 covers agricultural wages, and Schedule H (Form 1040) reports FICA taxes for domestic workers. Additional forms apply by jurisdiction and for unemployment tax (Form 940) and tipped income.

Last verified: 2026-08-27 · Sources checked: 3/3 resolving · Next scheduled review: 2026-11-25

Details / How it works

Under 26 CFR 31.6011(a)-1, every employer paying FICA wages is required to file a return. The form prescribed depends on the type of wages and the employer’s annual tax liability:

Form 941 – Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return, used by most employers for non-agricultural, non-domestic wages.
Form 944 – Employer’s ANNUAL Federal Tax Return, available to qualifying small employers (annual employment tax liability of $1,000 or less).
Form 943 – Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return for Agricultural Employees, for FICA wages paid for agricultural labor.
Schedule H (Form 1040) – Household Employment Taxes, for FICA wages paid for domestic service under section 3510.
Form 941-SS / Form 941-PR – Quarterly returns for employers in U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or Puerto Rico.
Form 940 – Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return, required when domestic wages are included on Form 941, 943, or 944.

Employers must also furnish statements to employees under section 6051 and comply with information reporting under section 6041.

Numbers & thresholds

Item	Form	Frequency	Threshold / Applicability
Non-agricultural FICA wages	Form 941	Quarterly	Default return for employers
Small employer annual program	Form 944	Annual	Estimated annual employment tax liability of $1,000 or less
Agricultural wages	Form 943	Annual	Wages for agricultural labor
Domestic service wages	Schedule H (Form 1040)	Annual	Domestic service as defined in section 3510
U.S. possessions	Form 941-SS / 941-PR	Quarterly	Principal place of business in covered possession
Federal unemployment tax	Form 940	Annual	When domestic wages reported on 941/943/944

Exceptions & edge cases

Employers who do not otherwise have an income tax filing obligation may file Schedule H (Form 1040) as a separate return; otherwise it is filed as an attachment to Form 1040.
Qualified small employers may opt in or out of the Form 944 program under the procedures of Revenue Procedure 2009-51.
Returns must be filed in the period wages are actually paid, or constructively paid under § 31.3121(a)-2.
Adjustments and refunds of employment taxes are governed by IRC sections 6205, 6402, 6413, and 6414.

Sources

[1]U.S. Government Publishing Office / Internal Revenue Service — 26 CFR 31.6011(a)-1 — Returns required under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act · as of 2026-08-27
[2]U.S. Government Publishing Office / Internal Revenue Service — 26 CFR 31.3401(a)-1 — Definition of wages for income tax withholding · as of 2026-08-27
[3]U.S. Government Publishing Office / Internal Revenue Service — 26 CFR 31.3402(a)-1 — Requirement of income tax withholding from wages · as of 2026-08-27

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