What will Form 941 for the First Quarter of 2022 Look Like?

An overview of Form 941 updates for Q1 of 2022.

Now that all of the year-end deadlines are behind us, it’s time to start thinking about the first quarter of 2022. Believe it or not, your deadline for quarterly Form 941 will be here before you know it!

As many of the COVID-19 tax relief measures put in place on Form 941 expire, this has left employers wondering what the form will look like for the first quarter.

Here is an overview of Form 941 and an overview of all the expected changes based on this IRS Draft.

Background Information on Form 941

Form 941 is a quarterly IRS tax form that is used to report the federal income taxes, social security tax, and Medicare tax that employers are required to withhold from employees’ paychecks.

As the IRS requires businesses that pay wages subject to federal income tax withholding to file Form 941, it is a common filing requirement for most businesses.

Why is the Form 941 being Updated for 2022?

In short, the US Government put in place financial assistance programs to help businesses offset the harsh effects of the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic. This relief was laid out in legislation like the CARES Act and later the American Rescue Plan.

This resulted in employers being able to claim advances on credits for qualified sick and family leave, COBRA premium assistance, and employee retention. Now that these programs have reached their end, the additional fields added on Form 941 are no longer necessary.

Form 941 is beginning to look more like it did pre-Covid, which ultimately means a shorter, simpler form.

What Fields of Form 941 have been Revised for 2022?

These are the lines that have been updated for the first quarter of 2022, compared to the lines from the fourth quarter of 2021.

Line No.	2022 Q1 Form 941	2021 Q4 Form 941
Line 11c	Reserved for future use	Nonrefundable portion of employee retention credit
Line 13d	Reserved for future use	Refundable portion of employee retention credit
Line 13h	Reserved for future use*Form 7200 will no longer be needed.	Total advances received from filing Form 7200 for the quarter
Line 13i	Reserved for future use	Total deposits and refundable credits less advances
Line 18	Indicate that you are a seasonal employer that doesn’t have to file a return for every quarter of the year	Line 18a:Indicate that you are a seasonal employer and you don’t have to file a return for every quarter of the yearLine 18b:If you are eligible for the employee retention credit solely because your business is a recovery startup business
Line 21	Reserved for future use	Qualified wages for the employee retention credit
Line 22	Reserved for future use	Qualified health plan expenses for the employee retention credit

What about Form 941 Worksheets for 2022?

There will still be three Worksheets total for the first quarter of 2022. These Worksheets include:

Worksheet 1: Calculate the Credit for qualified sick and family leave wages paid in 2022 for leave taken after March 31, 2020, and before April 1, 2021.

Worksheet 2: Calculate the Credit for qualified sick and family leave wages paid in 2022 for leave taken after March 31, 2021, and before October 1, 2021.

Worksheet 3: Calculate COBRA Premium Assistance Credit.

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