This article is for admins with the required permissions who need to update their tax deposit schedule.
If you got an agency notice that your deposit schedule changed, update it in Gusto right away using the instructions in this article.
You can learn how to update other company-specific information in our edit company details article.
If you need to change your state deposit schedule, learn how here.
Based on your historical tax payments, the IRS will assign your company a deposit schedule for tax payments (either semi-weekly or monthly). They'll also assign a specific payroll tax return to file—either Form 941 or Form 944.
We'll default to depositing on the faster semi-weekly schedule to prevent late tax payments, penalties, and tax delinquency notices.
Important: If you specifically instructed us to deposit using the monthly schedule, you must contact us if the IRS changes your schedule to semi-weekly. If not done immediately, there may be penalties and interest assessed for late tax deposits. These would be the employer's responsibility to pay. To contact us, sign in to your Gusto account and click the help icon in the top-right corner of the page.
Your deposit schedule is based on a lookback period—the amount of employment taxes you reported during a specific past time frame.
Semi-weekly depositors:
Reported more than $50,000 in employment taxes during the lookback period
Deposit due dates depend on payday:
Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday payday: Deposit due the following Wednesday
Saturday, Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday payday: Deposit due the following Friday
Monthly depositors:
Reported $50,000 or less in employment taxes during the lookback period
Taxes for one month are due by the 15th of the following month (for example, January payroll taxes are due by February 15).
Next-day deposit:
If you accumulate $100,000 or more in federal taxes on any single day, the deposit is due the next business day.
Your company becomes a semi-weekly depositor for the rest of the current year and the entire following year.
Lookback period
The lookback period determines your company's deposit schedule for the current year.
Form 941 filers: A 12-month period covering four quarters, ending June 30 of the prior year
Form 944 filers: The second prior calendar year
To prevent late filings, we'll file the quarterly Form 941 for:
Existing customers
New customers that run payroll with us in the first quarter (Q1) of each year
Form 941 helps avoid incorrect filings, IRS notices, and potential penalties. The IRS allows some small businesses to file Form 944 annually, but filing requirements can change mid-year without notice. Because of this, we proactively use Form 941.
If you joined us after Q1, confirm which form the IRS assigned and set up your customer account using the IRS-assigned form requirement.
We'll automatically file Form 941 the following year, and you'll no longer need to confirm the requirement each year.
As a reminder, we'll default to depositing on the faster semi-weekly schedule to prevent late tax payments, penalties, and tax delinquency notices.
To update your federal filing form:
Go to Taxes & Compliance.
Select Tax setup.
Under Federal Tax Setup, click Edit.
Click Schedule a future change. Contact us if you cannot find this. To contact us, sign in to your Gusto account and click the help icon in the top-right corner of the page.
Select the Effective Date of the new filing form.
Wait until October 1 or after to make changes that go into effect the following year.
Enter the future filing form change you received on your IRS notice.
Click Save.
The IRS allows certain small businesses to file annually on Form 944 instead of quarterly on Form 941. While this may seem like a benefit for small employers, the IRS may change your filing requirement mid-year, which could result in notices and penalties if returns are late.
Filing more frequently (on Form 941) is the best way to prevent that from happening, and it costs the same, no matter how frequently we file (quarterly or annually).
Important: You may not be able to edit your deposit schedule if:
We handle your schedule automatically (only for certain states). We use the fastest deposit schedule available to avoid late payments.
You have no active employees in that state.
A deposit schedule (also called a filing frequency) is how often your company needs to pay taxes to a state. Each year, the state may change your schedule based on how much tax you paid the year before. If this happens, you’ll usually get a notice from the state at the end of the year.
If you made a mistake while entering your deposit schedule in Gusto, you can edit it.
To edit your state tax deposit schedule:
Go to Taxes & Compliance.
Click Tax setup.
Find the state name and click Manage Taxes.
Find Tax Account Details.
Look for Deposit Schedule or Filing Frequency and click edit.
Click Make a correction.
Update the schedule with the correct information.
If you get a deposit schedule for the upcoming year, you can add it in Gusto.
Note: Changes for the next year need to be entered on or after October 1.
To add a new deposit schedule:
Go to Taxes & Compliance.
Click Tax setup.
Find your state name and click Manage Taxes.
Find Tax Account Details.
Look for Deposit Schedule or Filing Frequency and click edit. You might not see these options if:
We handle your schedule automatically.
You have no active employees in that state.
Click Add a new schedule.
Enter the schedule from the notice.
Set the start date (usually January 1, or the start of a quarter: April 1, July 1, October 1).
Important: If you enter the schedule after the notice deadline, your company may be penalized.
Click Save.
Upload your state notice in Gusto — we’ll take a look and help you fix it.
Changing to a more frequent schedule (for example, quarterly to monthly, or monthly to semi-weekly):
Future payrolls follow the new schedule.
Unpaid taxes from the current period are sent immediately.
Those payments may be considered late.
Changing to a less frequent schedule (for example, semi-weekly to monthly, or monthly to quarterly):
The new schedule applies going forward.
Agencies may send a reminder notice.
No penalties are assessed.
State or local withholding tax deposit schedule notice
These notices let you know of a change to your withholding income tax deposit schedule for a specific agency, and the day it'll become effective. This is usually listed at the top of the notice.
Determine the new withholding tax deposit frequency and update it in Gusto as needed.
IRS withholding tax deposit schedule notice
We default to depositing on the faster semi-weekly schedule to prevent late tax payments, penalties, and tax delinquency notices.
Unless you've specifically contacted Gusto and requested you make your payments monthly, no action is needed.
If you asked us to make monthly payments and need to change it to semi-weekly, you'll need to contact us. If not done immediately, penalties and interest may be assessed for late tax deposits. These would be the employer's responsibility to pay. To contact us, sign in to your Gusto account and click the help icon in the top-right corner of the page.
Common IRS notices you may get
Because we file Form 941 and use the semi-weekly deposit schedule, you may get IRS notices. These are common and typically require no action:
Notice acknowledging Form 941 instead of 944: This is informational only. No action is required.
Notice stating your company is a monthly depositor: The IRS is confirming that semi-weekly deposits were applied in the correct quarter. No action is required.