How to print old 940/941 tax forms from QuickBooks Pro for my business loan application

Thanks for the quick response! I followed your steps but when I get to the "Employees & Payroll" section, I don't see "Payroll Forms" or "Tax Forms" as an option. I'm using QuickBooks Pro 2020 if that makes a difference. Am I missing something?

For QuickBooks Pro 2020, the path is slightly different. Try this instead: Click on "Employees" in the main menu, then select "Payroll Tax Forms & W-2s," then "Process Payroll Forms." From there, you should see a list of available forms including 940 and 941. Select the form you need, choose the appropriate year/quarter, and you should be able to access and print them. If you still don't see these options, it's possible you weren't using the QuickBooks payroll service during those years. In that case, you might need to contact the IRS directly for copies of your filed forms.

Does taxr.ai work with other accounting software too? I use Xero and have a similar issue trying to gather forms for an SBA loan.

I'm skeptical about uploading my company's financial data to some random website. How secure is this? And does it really find forms that aren't showing up in QuickBooks itself?

Yes, it works with most major accounting software including Xero. You just upload your exported data file and it processes everything, identifying all the tax forms and organizing them chronologically. Regarding security, I had the same concern initially. They use bank-level encryption and don't store your data after processing. As for finding forms, it doesn't create new forms if they don't exist, but it can extract data from your accounting records to show what should have been filed, which helped me identify a quarter where my accountant had made an error.

How does this actually work? Seems fishy that they can somehow get through when nobody else can. Do they have some inside connection at the IRS?

This sounds like a scam. There's no way to "skip the line" with the IRS. And even if you did get through, the IRS would still take weeks to send you anything. I seriously doubt they faxed you documents same day.

They don't have special connections at the IRS - they use an automated system that continually calls and navigates the IRS phone tree, essentially waiting on hold for you. When they finally get through to an agent, they connect the call to your phone. It's just technology handling the frustrating hold time. And yes, the IRS can actually fax tax transcripts same-day once you verify your identity with the agent. They can't send actual copies of returns immediately, but for loan purposes, the transcripts are usually what lenders need anyway since they show what was actually processed by the IRS.

This is actually really helpful! I just checked my EFTPS account and can see all my payment history going back 5 years. Does this show the actual tax form details or just the payment amounts?

It doesn't show the complete form details, just the payment amounts, dates, and tax period. Most lenders want to see the consistency of payments rather than all the details on the forms. If they need the full breakdowns (like wages paid, taxable amounts, etc.), you'll still need the actual forms. But for proof that you've been filing and paying, the EFTPS records are usually sufficient.

In QuickBooks Online, it's under "Taxes" then "Payroll Tax" - but only if you're using QBO Payroll. If you used a third-party payroll service, those forms wouldn't be in QBO. You'd need to get them from your payroll provider.

This is such valuable advice, especially about checking if the payroll service was actually active! I had a similar issue where I thought my forms were "lost" but it turned out I had switched from Enhanced Payroll to doing payroll manually partway through 2021, so only some quarters were stored in QuickBooks. The comprehensive packet approach is brilliant too - I wish I had thought of that. My lender kept asking for additional documentation piece by piece, which dragged out my approval process. Having everything organized upfront (forms, payment confirmations, bank statements) would have saved weeks. Quick question though - when you say IRS transcripts are easier to obtain, do you mean through the online transcript service or by calling? I've heard mixed things about whether the online system has employment tax transcripts available.

Great question about IRS transcripts! The online Get Transcript system (irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript) does have employment tax transcripts available, but they're listed under "Business Transcripts" rather than individual transcripts. You'll need your EIN and the primary authorized person's SSN to access them. The online system typically shows transcripts for the current year plus the past 3-4 years, so for 2021-2022 forms you should be covered. What's nice is you can download them immediately as PDFs rather than waiting for mail delivery. However, if you need transcripts going back further or run into technical issues with the website, calling is still your backup option. One heads up though - make sure you're logged in as the primary authorized person on your business account with the IRS, otherwise you won't see the business transcript options even with the correct EIN and SSN.