IRS Form 941: Essential Guide to 941 Filing for Churches

This blog breaks down the 941 filing requirements for churches, offering key insights and tips to ensure compliance and avoid potential penalties.

Stephanie Glanville | October 16, 2024 | Read time: 5 minute(s) | Form 94x Series | No Comments

Managing employment taxes can be challenging, and filing Form 941, the quarterly payroll tax return, comes with its own complexities. While compliance with Form 941 is crucial for most businesses, organizations like churches often face uncertainty about their filing requirements.

In this blog, we’ll clarify the 941 filing requirements for churches, providing key insights and tips to help ensure compliance and avoid penalties.

Form 941 – A Quick Recap

Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, is an employer’s tax form used for reporting Federal Income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes withheld from the employees to the IRS.

Amid the wide range of tax forms that every business needs to deal with, Form 941 holds significant importance. Failure to comply with the 941 filing requirements will result in hefty penalties from the IRS.

Are Churches Required to File Form 941?

Yes! Just like all the other businesses, churches have their own 941 filing requirements with slight deviations. Churches with employees must withhold federal income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes from their paychecks and report them to the IRS every quarter by filing Form 941.

However, there are a few exceptions that the churches may need to be aware of.

Firstly, churches are not required to withhold income taxes from ministers. Ministers are typically subject to FICA taxes under the Self-Employed Contribution Act (SECA).

Churches with no employees aren’t required to file Form 941.

941 Information Needed By Churches to Maintain Compliance

Here are the answers to some of the questions that churches may have when it comes to the 941 filing.

Do churches file zero taxes using Form 941?

As mentioned earlier, if the church has only a minister and no employees, then there will be no taxes to report. In such cases, unlike other businesses, churches are not required to file Form 941 with zero taxes.

Do churches pay unemployment taxes?

Churches are always exempt from paying the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA), meaning they are not required to contribute to federal unemployment taxes. However, under the State Unemployment Tax Act (SUTA), the requirements for churches vary from state to state.

While some states offer exemptions, allowing churches to opt out of state unemployment taxes, there are some states that require churches to participate in SUTA. Therefore, it’s important for churches to be aware of state-specific rules to ensure compliance with their tax obligations.

When is the deadline for churches to file Form 941?

The 941 deadline remains the same for all employers, including Churches.

Quarter 1 (Jan, Feb, March) – April 30
Quarter 2 (April, May, June) – July 31
Quarter 3 ( July, August, September) – October 31
Quarter 4 (October, November, December) – January 31

Note: If any of the deadlines above fall on a federal holiday or weekend, the 941 deadline will be the following business day.

TaxBandits Simplifies Form 941 Filing for Churches!

Filing Form 941 on time is essential for every employer, including churches. Having a reliable e-filing platform makes all the difference.

With over a decade of experience simplifying tax compliance for businesses of all sizes, TaxBandits offers a streamlined solution to help churches meet their 941 filing requirements. As the Q3 2024 deadline approaches, now is the perfect time to start e-filing with TaxBandits.

This tax season, TaxBandits features user-friendly upgrades like copying 941 data from previous returns and an integrated EFTPS payment option, making the filing process even easier.

Get started with TaxBandits today and file Form 941 with ease!