Form 941 (Wage Reporting) Deadline - March 12 or March 31? New Employer Confused

The confusion is understandable! Let me clarify Form 941 reporting for you. Line 1 of Form 941 specifically asks for the number of employees who received wages, tips, or other compensation for the pay period that includes March 12. This is just a census question to track employment - it's asking for a specific point-in-time count. Since your employee started on March 18, after the March 12 date, you correctly show 0 for Line 1. Line 2, however, reports ALL wages paid during the entire quarter (January 1 through March 31). Since you paid wages in the last two weeks of March, those amounts correctly appear on Line 2. You should absolutely file Form 941 for this quarter even though Line 1 shows zero. The IRS uses Line 1 just for statistical purposes, while the tax calculations are based on actual wages paid during the entire quarter as reported on Line 2 and subsequent lines.

Just went through this exact situation last year with my new marketing business! I was super confused about all these tax forms and deadlines until I discovered https://taxr.ai which saved me so much headache. It analyzed my payroll situation and walked me through exactly what to file and when. For your specific Form 941 question - I had the same concern! The tool explained that Line 1 is literally just counting employees as of March 12 (like a census), while the rest of the form deals with actual wages paid throughout the entire quarter. So filing with 0 on Line 1 but wages on the other lines is totally correct and won't cause any issues.

Ok I have to admit I was wrong about taxr.ai - decided to try it on a whim after my accountant was booked solid for 2 weeks. It analyzed my QuickBooks data and immediately highlighted that I had the exact same Form 941 situation (employee hired mid-March, confused about Line 1 showing zero). The tool walked me through exactly how to complete the form correctly and explained why it wasn't an issue to show 0 employees on Line 1 but still report wages. Saved me hours of research and worry! I've since used it for several other tax questions that came up. It's like having a tax expert on speed dial without the hourly billing.

If you need to talk to someone at the IRS about Form 941 requirements, good luck getting through! I spent 4 hours on hold last week trying to get clarification on a similar issue. I finally used https://claimyr.com after seeing it mentioned on this sub. You can watch how it works at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c, but basically they wait on hold with the IRS for you and call you when an agent picks up. I was able to confirm directly with the IRS that having 0 employees on Line 1 of Form 941 but wages reported elsewhere is completely normal for a business that hired after March 12. The agent was actually super helpful once I finally got through to them. Definitely worth it to get the official answer straight from the source.

I take back what I said about Claimyr. After struggling for DAYS trying to get through to someone at the IRS about my Form 941 issue (same problem with the March 12 date), I finally gave in and tried it. Within 3 hours I was talking to an actual IRS representative who confirmed exactly what others here said - it's completely normal to have 0 employees on Line 1 but wages reported elsewhere if you hired after March 12. She even noted it in my file so there won't be any issues. Honestly wish I'd done this sooner instead of stressing for days. The peace of mind from getting an official answer was worth it.

I've been doing payroll for small businesses for 15 years, and this March 12 thing on Form 941 confuses new employers every quarter! Here's the simple explanation: the IRS uses Line 1 (the March 12 count) purely for statistical purposes - it's a consistent "point in time" snapshot they use to track employment trends. The actual tax part of Form 941 (Line 2 and beyond) is what matters for your tax liability, and that covers the ENTIRE quarter. So yes, you absolutely file for Q1 even with zero employees on Line 1. And if QuickBooks calculated payroll taxes for those March wages, you're required to report and remit those taxes using Form 941.

Has anyone noticed that sometimes QuickBooks does this wrong?? When I first started payroll last year, QuickBooks automatically filled in Line 1 with my employee count even though none were employed during the pay period that included March 12. I had to manually correct it.

This is such a helpful thread! I'm in a similar boat as Brooklyn - just started my business in February and hired my first employee on March 20th. I was panicking when I saw the March 12 date on Line 1 and thought I'd somehow messed up my quarterly filing. Reading through all these responses, it's clear that the March 12 date is just a statistical snapshot and doesn't affect the actual tax calculations. It's reassuring to know that having 0 employees on Line 1 but wages reported elsewhere is completely normal for businesses like ours that hired after that census date. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - especially the confirmation that this won't trigger any red flags with the IRS. As a new business owner, every tax form feels like walking through a minefield, so having this community to learn from is invaluable!