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

From the brief of Thursday, October 29, 2026 · No. 16

From the daily brief

Q3 Form 941 is due Oct. 31, a Saturday, so file by Monday Nov. 2

If you have employees, your third-quarter payroll tax return falls on a weekend this year. The IRS lets you file the next business day.

By Carter Josephson · · 1 min read

What happened

The IRS lists Oct. 31 as the due date for the third-quarter Form 941, the quarterly payroll tax return. Oct. 31, 2026 is a Saturday, and the IRS says a return due on a weekend may be filed the next business day, which is Monday, Nov. 2.

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

This is routine, but a weekend due date is when owners assume someone else has it covered. If you run payroll through Gusto, QuickBooks Payroll, ADP or similar, the provider usually files the 941 for you, and the work is one check that it went out. If your bookkeeper or you file it by hand, the date matters. The IRS also says that if you deposited all of your taxes on time and in full, you get 10 more calendar days to file. Take a 20-person electrical contractor with a part-time bookkeeper. The 941 itself takes about an hour once payroll reports are final, and a late filing adds IRS penalties and notices on top of what you owe. Care if you have W-2 employees. Ignore it if you have only contractors and no payroll. The effect is small if your payroll provider files for you; it is a missed-deadline risk if nobody does.

What to do
Ask your vendor

By Friday, Oct. 30, ask your payroll provider or bookkeeper to confirm in writing that the Q3 Form 941 is filed or scheduled, and that all Q3 tax deposits were made.

What it costs
What it costs
Confirming with provider or bookkeeper
15 min at $50/hr (about $13)
Filing a 941 yourself if nobody has
1 hr at $50/hr (about $50)
Bookkeeper to file or fix a late return, assume 2 hrs at $75/hr
$150
Doing nothing
$0 if your provider files automatically; if nobody files, IRS late-filing penalties and notices start after Nov. 2
Sources
irs.gov (primary)

Questions owners ask

What if I deposited my payroll taxes on time?

The IRS says that if you deposited all taxes when due, you have 10 additional calendar days to file the return.

Does this apply if I only pay contractors?

No. Form 941 covers wages paid to employees. Contractors are reported on Form 1099.

Three to five of these, every weekday morning.

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