The IRS released: a revised 2021 Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, and its instructions; instructions for Schedule B, Report of Tax Liability for Semiweekly Schedule Depositors; and Schedule R, Allocation Schedule for Aggregate Form 941 Filers, and its instructions.
The revised forms and instructions address how to treat revisions to the COVID-19 tax credits and the new COBRA premium assistance credit, created by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
What’s New
The Form 941 instructions now include five worksheets to calculate the credits. Many lines have been added to Form 941 to account for changes made by the ARPA and to calculate the COBRA premium assessment credit.
Use the Correct Version
The previous version of Form 941 (revised in March 2021) should only be used to report taxes for the first quarter of 2021. Form 941 (revised in June 2021) should not be used to report taxes for any quarter ending before April 1, 2021.
Updates for Schedules B, R
The IRS also updated the instructions for Form 941, Schedule B, and the Form 941, Schedule R, and its instructions to reflect the changes made to the Form 941.
Complete coverage of the Form 941 changes will be available in the July edition of Payroll Currently, published on July 2.
To learn more about federal and state laws, regulations, and information to keep your company's payroll operations in compliance, check out Payroll Source Plus!
Jyme Mariani, Esq., is Managing Editor of Payroll Currently and Payroll Information Resources for the APA.