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Published by J9 Systems. What's new in business tech, and what it means for yours.

From the brief of Wednesday, October 14, 2026 · No. 5

From the daily brief

IRS: September payroll tax deposit due Oct. 15; Form 941 due Nov. 2

Monthly depositors owe September's payroll taxes tomorrow. The Q3 Form 941 follows on Nov. 2.

By Carter Josephson · · 1 min read

What happened

The IRS says monthly depositors must deposit employment taxes on September payments by the 15th day of the next month, which is Oct. 15. Form 941 for the third quarter is due by Oct. 31, which falls on a Saturday this year, so the due date moves to Monday, Nov. 2.

What it means for a 10-to-50-person business

Take a 20-person HVAC company with a $60,000 September payroll. Withheld income tax plus both halves of Social Security and Medicare is roughly $18,000 to $20,000. If that deposit is late, the IRS penalty runs 2% to 15% of the unpaid amount, depending on how late it is. That is $360 to $3,000 on this example. Semiweekly depositors have different dates and deposit by the following Wednesday or Friday. Payroll software usually makes the deposit for you, but only if the funding account has the cash. If you do not know your schedule, your payroll provider or the IRS lookback rules in Publication 15 settle it.

What to do
Try it

Today, open your payroll provider or EFTPS and confirm the September deposit shows as scheduled or paid, and that the bank balance covers it.

What it costs
What it costs
Check deposit status, 0.5 hr
about $25 at $50/hr
Book Form 941 review before Nov. 2, 1 hr
about $50 at $50/hr
Late deposit penalty (2% to 15%)
$360 to $3,000 on a $18,000 deposit
Doing nothing
$0 if payroll software auto-deposits and the account is funded; up to $3,000 if not
Sources
irs.gov (primary)

Three to five of these, every weekday morning.

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