Schedule B (Form 941) Report of Tax Liability for Semiweekly Schedule Depositors – 2015

What Schedule B (Form 941) Is For

Schedule B (Form 941) is an attachment to your quarterly Form 941 that reports your exact tax liability by date throughout the quarter. Think of it as a detailed calendar showing when you incurred payroll tax obligations—not when you deposited them, but when you actually paid wages to employees.

This schedule is specifically required for semiweekly schedule depositors—businesses that accumulated more than $50,000 in employment taxes during a specific lookback period. The IRS uses Schedule B to verify that you deposited your federal employment taxes (withheld income tax, Social Security, and Medicare taxes) on time according to your payroll dates. It's essentially a daily accounting ledger that matches your tax liabilities to your wage payment dates, helping the IRS determine whether you followed the proper deposit schedule and timeline.

Unlike monthly depositors who simply report their monthly totals on the main Form 941, semiweekly depositors must track and report their tax liability for each individual day they paid wages during the quarter. This detailed reporting allows the IRS to calculate whether deposits were made within the required timeframe based on the semiweekly deposit rules.

When You’d Use Schedule B (Late/Amended)

Original Filing Situations

You must file Schedule B with your Form 941 if you meet any of these criteria for 2015:

You reported more than $50,000 in total employment taxes during your lookback period (July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014 for calendar year 2015)
You accumulated a tax liability of $100,000 or more on any single day during the current quarter or the prior calendar year (triggering the next-day deposit rule and automatic semiweekly depositor status)
You were classified as a semiweekly schedule depositor based on the previous year's activity

Late Filing

If you're filing a late 2015 Form 941 in 2025, you still must attach Schedule B if you were a semiweekly depositor during that quarter. Late filing doesn't change your depositor classification. You'll face penalties for late filing (5% per month of unpaid taxes, up to 25%) and late payment, but the Schedule B requirement remains. Common reasons for late filing include discovering unfiled returns during business transactions, responding to IRS notices, or preparing for audits.

Amended Filing

To correct errors on a previously filed Schedule B, you may file an amended version if you've been assessed a failure-to-deposit (FTD) penalty and can demonstrate that your tax liability was actually reported correctly but perhaps allocated to wrong dates. However, most corrections to employment tax issues require filing Form 941-X (Adjusted Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return) rather than amending Schedule B directly. You cannot use Schedule B to change your total tax liability amount—only to correct when specific liabilities occurred.

Key Rules for 2015

Tax Rates

For 2015, the Social Security tax rate was 6.2% each for employer and employee (12.4% total) on wages up to $118,500 per employee. Medicare tax was 1.45% each for employer and employee (2.9% total) with no wage limit. Additional Medicare Tax of 0.9% applied only to employee wages exceeding $200,000 (employer share not applicable).

Semiweekly Deposit Schedule

Once classified as a semiweekly depositor, you must deposit taxes based on when you paid wages:

For wages paid Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday → deposit by the following Wednesday
For wages paid Saturday, Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday → deposit by the following Friday

$100,000 Next-Day Rule

If you accumulated $100,000 or more in tax liability on any single day, you must deposit that tax by the next business day, regardless of your normal deposit schedule. This rule automatically converts you to a semiweekly depositor for the remainder of the calendar year and the following year.

Business Day Definition

Deposits are due on business days only. Business days exclude Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays recognized in the District of Columbia. If a deposit due date falls on a non-business day, the deadline extends to the next business day.

Lookback Period

Your 2015 deposit schedule was determined by your total Form 941 tax liability from July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014. Adjustments made later on Form 941-X do not affect this lookback calculation—only the amounts originally reported count.

Electronic Deposit Requirement

All federal tax deposits for 2015 had to be made electronically through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) or same-day wire transfer. Paper payments were not accepted for deposits.

Step-by-Step (High Level)

Step 1: Gather Your Payroll Records

Collect detailed records showing every date you paid wages during the quarter, including regular paydays, bonuses, and any other compensation. You need the exact dates and the total employment taxes owed for each date.

Step 2: Calculate Daily Tax Liability

For each pay date, calculate the total tax liability by adding:

Federal income tax withheld from employees
Employee Social Security tax (6.2% of wages up to $118,500 per employee)
Employer Social Security tax (6.2% matching)
Employee Medicare tax (1.45% of all wages)
Employer Medicare tax (1.45% matching)
Additional Medicare Tax withholding (0.9% on wages over $200,000, employee portion only)

Step 3: Match Quarter on Form and Schedule

At the top of Schedule B, check the box for the correct quarter (1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th quarter of 2015). This must match the quarter shown on your Form 941.

Step 4: Enter Employer Information

Fill in your business name and Employer Identification Number (EIN) exactly as they appear on Form 941. Consistency is critical for IRS processing.

Step 5: Report Tax Liability by Date

Schedule B contains three monthly sections with individual date entries. Locate each date you paid wages and enter your total tax liability for that specific date in the corresponding box. Enter dollar amounts without dollar signs or decimal points (the form has preprinted decimal points). If you paid wages multiple times on the same date, combine the amounts.

Step 6: Total Each Month

Calculate the sum of all liability entries for each month and enter the monthly totals in the designated boxes. Add all three monthly totals together—this grand total must exactly match line 10 of your Form 941 (Total taxes after adjustments).

Step 7: Verify and Attach

Double-check that your Schedule B total equals Form 941 line 10. Verify all dates are correct and correspond to actual wage payment dates, not deposit dates. Attach Schedule B to page 2 of Form 941 and file together.

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Mistake #1: Confusing Payment Dates with Deposit Dates

Schedule B requires tax liability dates (when wages were paid), not deposit dates (when you transferred funds to the IRS). Many employers incorrectly enter the dates they made deposits. Solution: Always use your payroll register dates, not your EFTPS transaction dates.

Mistake #2: Total Doesn't Match Form 941 Line 10

The Schedule B grand total must exactly equal Form 941 line 10. Even a one-cent discrepancy will trigger IRS correspondence. Solution: Before filing, verify your math on both forms. If amounts don't match, review your daily entries and Form 941 calculations for errors.

Mistake #3: Filing Schedule B When Not Required

Monthly depositors should not file Schedule B. Only semiweekly depositors must file it. Filing unnecessary schedules can confuse IRS processing. Solution: Confirm your depositor status based on your lookback period before preparing Schedule B.

Mistake #4: Using the Wrong Tax Year Form

Always use the 2015 revision of Schedule B for 2015 quarters. Using a form from a different year can cause processing errors and rejection. Solution: Download forms directly from IRS.gov and verify the revision date.

Mistake #5: Incorrect Social Security Wage Base Limit

For 2015, Social Security tax only applied to the first $118,500 of each employee's wages. Once an employee exceeded this amount, no additional Social Security tax was due, though Medicare tax continued. Solution: Track each employee's year-to-date wages and stop calculating Social Security tax once they reach $118,500.

Mistake #6: Not Accounting for Multiple Paydays in One Day

If you have multiple payrolls on the same date (perhaps for different employee groups), combine all the tax liability for that date into a single Schedule B entry. Solution: Sum all tax liability for each date before making entries.

Mistake #7: Forgetting to Check the Quarter Box

The quarter designation at the top of Schedule B must be marked. Missing this box can cause the IRS to misapply your return. Solution: Always check the appropriate quarter box as your first step.

What Happens After You File

IRS Processing (3-6 Weeks)

The IRS will process your Form 941 with attached Schedule B and match your reported tax liability against your actual EFTPS deposit records. This reconciliation verifies whether deposits were timely based on the semiweekly schedule rules.

Potential Outcomes

Clean Acceptance: If your Schedule B dates align with your deposits within the allowed timeframes, your return processes without issue. You'll receive confirmation if filed electronically, or no correspondence if filed by mail (indicating acceptance).
Failure-to-Deposit (FTD) Penalty Assessment: If the IRS determines that deposits weren't made on time based on your Schedule B dates, you'll receive Notice CP207 or a similar penalty notice. FTD penalties range from 2% (1-5 days late) to 15% (after 10 days or if paid directly instead of deposited) of the underpaid amount. These penalties are separate from late filing or late payment penalties.
Matching Discrepancy: If your Schedule B total doesn't match Form 941 line 10, the IRS will send Notice CP10 or CP12 showing the adjustment. You may need to file Form 941-X to correct the error if the IRS's adjustment is incorrect.

Record Retention

Keep copies of Schedule B along with your Form 941 and supporting payroll records for at least four years from the due date of the return or the date taxes were paid, whichever is later. The IRS can audit employment tax returns for up to three years (or more if significant underreporting occurs).

Coordination with Other Reports

The IRS will eventually reconcile your four quarterly Forms 941 against your annual Form W-3 and individual Forms W-2. Ensure that wage totals and tax amounts are consistent across all these forms to avoid triggering additional inquiries.

Penalty Abatement

If you receive an FTD penalty but have reasonable cause (such as relying on erroneous IRS advice, natural disaster, death or serious illness), you can request abatement using Form 843 (Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement). First-time penalty abatement may also be available if you have a clean compliance history for the past three years.

FAQs

Q1: I'm a new employer in 2015. Do I need to file Schedule B?

New employers are automatically classified as monthly depositors for their first year because their lookback period is considered zero. You don't need to file Schedule B unless you trigger the $100,000 next-day deposit rule during the quarter, which would immediately convert you to a semiweekly depositor.

Q2: Can I correct Schedule B errors after filing Form 941?

If you've already filed and need to correct tax liability dates to dispute an FTD penalty, you may be able to file an amended Schedule B. However, if the total tax amount is wrong, you must file Form 941-X instead. Contact the IRS or consult the Instructions for Form 941-X for guidance.

Q3: What if my total tax liability for the quarter was under $2,500?

If your line 10 on Form 941 is less than $2,500 for the current or preceding quarter and you didn't incur a $100,000 next-day deposit obligation, you're exempt from deposit requirements and can pay with your return. In this case, you don't file Schedule B even if you were previously a semiweekly depositor.

Q4: Do I report the date I deposited taxes or the date I paid wages?

Always report the date you paid wages to employees. Schedule B is about when tax liability was incurred (the payday), not when you deposited money to the IRS. The IRS uses your reported wage dates to determine if your actual deposits were timely.

Q5: I have two payrolls that fall in different semiweekly periods. How do I report this?

Report each payroll on its actual payment date on Schedule B. If you paid wages on Tuesday and again on Friday of the same week, those would be separate entries on different dates because they fall into different semiweekly deposit periods (Tuesday falls in the Saturday-Tuesday period; Friday falls in the Wednesday-Friday period).

Q6: What happens if I hit the $100,000 threshold mid-quarter?

You must deposit the $100,000+ liability by the next business day. From that day forward, you become a semiweekly depositor for the rest of the quarter, the remainder of the calendar year, and all of the following calendar year. You must file Schedule B for the quarter in which this occurred.

Q7: Where can I find the 2015 Schedule B form and instructions?

The 2015 Schedule B is included as part of Form 941. Download it from the IRS website at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-prior/f941--2015.pdf. Instructions are in the Instructions for Form 941 (Rev. January 2015). For deposit rules, see Notice 931 (Rev. October 2015).

Additional Resources

IRS Publication 15 (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide
IRS Notice 931, Deposit Requirements for Employment Taxes
Form 941-X for correcting previously filed returns
EFTPS enrollment and support: www.eftps.gov or 1-800-555-4477
IRS Employment Tax Questions: 1-800-829-4933

This guide is based on official 2015 IRS forms and instructions available at IRS.gov. Always consult current IRS guidance or a tax professional for specific situations.