When are federal and Arizona state payroll tax deposits due?
Your federal deposit schedule depends on your depositor status, which the IRS determines using a lookback period. The lookback period covers four quarters starting July 1 two years ago through June 30 of the prior year. If your total payroll tax liability during that window was $50,000 or less, you’re a monthly depositor. Over $50,000, you’re a semi-weekly depositor.
Monthly depositors owe their federal payroll taxes by the 15th of the month following the pay period. If you run payroll in March, those taxes are due by April 15th. Semi-weekly depositors follow a different rhythm. Paydays that fall on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday require deposits by the following Wednesday. Paydays that fall on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday require deposits by the following Friday. If the due date lands on a bank holiday, you get until the next business day.
Regardless of depositor status, every employer files Form 941 quarterly to report wages paid and taxes withheld. Quarterly deadlines are April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31. These are reporting deadlines, not payment deadlines. Your actual tax deposits should already be made by the time you file the return.
Arizona is simpler for most small businesses. State income tax withholding gets deposited quarterly using Form A1-QRT. Quarterly returns are due by the last day of the month following the quarter’s end, which means April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31. Larger employers with higher withholding amounts may be required to deposit more frequently, but the quarterly schedule applies to the majority of small businesses in Phoenix and across the Valley.
Arizona also requires an annual reconciliation using Form A1-R, due by February 28 of the following year. This form summarizes the total wages paid and withholding deposited for the entire year. It needs to match your quarterly filings, so keeping your records consistent throughout the year prevents problems at reconciliation time.
The penalties for late federal deposits add up fast. A deposit that’s one to five days late gets hit with a 2% penalty. Six to fifteen days late jumps to 5%. More than fifteen days late is 10%. And if you don’t deposit within 10 days of receiving a first notice from the IRS, the penalty reaches 15%. Arizona penalties are less severe but still worth avoiding.
The best way to stay on top of these deadlines is to build them into your calendar and not rely on memory. If you’re running payroll yourself, set reminders for every deposit and filing date. If the deadlines and depositor rules feel like a lot to manage, outsourcing to a full-service payroll provider takes the guesswork out of it entirely. Tax deposits get calculated and submitted automatically, and quarterly filings happen on schedule without you chasing dates.
Missing a deposit deadline once is an expensive lesson. Missing them repeatedly gets you on the IRS’s radar in ways that create real headaches. If you’re a business owner in Phoenix trying to handle this alongside everything else, our healthcare practice bookkeeping services and payroll support across all industries are designed to keep you compliant so you can focus on running the business.
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