How to E-File and Pay IRS Payroll Tax Forms 941, 940, and 944 for a Multi-Location Employer
You cannot electronically send Form 941, 940, or 944 directly to the IRS. To e-file IRS payroll tax returns, you transmit through IRS-approved software, a tax professional or electronic return originator, or a reporting agent you authorize on Form 8655, and you remain responsible for the return. If you will sign the return yourself, start the Form 94x online signature PIN at least 45 days before you need it, then reconcile deposits, transmit, and pay any balance due.
Is e-filing Forms 941, 940, and 944 required?
Not for an ordinary employer. The IRS Employment tax due dates page (reviewed April 2026) says Forms 940, 941, 943, 944, and 945 may be filed on paper or through e-file. The instructions for Form 941 (Rev. 03/2026), Form 940 (2025 edition), and Form 944 (2025 edition) each say employers are “encouraged” to file electronically.
Certified professional employer organizations (CPEOs), which are IRS-certified PEOs, must generally e-file Form 941 with Schedule R and Form 940, per IRS Publication 15 (2026). The 10-return e-file rule in 26 CFR 301.6011-2 counts information returns such as the W-2 and the 1099 series, not Forms 940, 941, or 944.
Who can transmit your return, and who stays responsible?
The IRS Form 94x online signature PIN page says, “You cannot electronically send returns directly to the IRS,” and the IRS e-file employment tax forms page (reviewed June 2026) adds that e-filing requires IRS-approved software or a tax professional.
Three routes get a return to the IRS.
* Use IRS-approved e-file software to prepare and transmit the return yourself.
* Hire a tax professional or electronic return originator (ERO) to submit the forms for you. An ERO signs with Form 8879-EMP, the IRS e-file Signature Authorization.
* Authorize a reporting agent on Form 8655. A reporting agent is a third party that uses each client’s employer identification number (EIN) to file separate returns, generally by e-file, and may deposit and pay for the client.
Whichever route transmits the return, you remain responsible. The IRS Third party arrangements page (reviewed September 2026) says a reporting agent “assumes no liability” for the client’s tax duties.
Asure offers a choice for growing multi-location employers that want help with payroll tax filing. The AsureCentral platform covers payroll tax filing for growing employers, with a primary range of 25 to 500 employees and reach to 1,000-plus for multi-state, multi-location, or hourly-workforce complexity. AsureWorks runs on AsureCentral, with Asure specialists doing the work, including payroll tax filing and reporting. Same platform, choice of who does the work. The employer stays responsible to the IRS either way.
Get your signature authorization in place at least 45 days early
The IRS says to allow at least 45 days to receive the Form 94x online signature PIN. The PIN is 10 digits, and registration is completed in your software package (per the IRS PIN page, reviewed October 2025, and the IRS e-file page, reviewed June 2026).
What you need first.
* Choose your transmission route and name the software or professional you will use.
* Decide whether you will sign with the PIN or with Form 8453-EMP.
Steps.
1. Match the signature method to the route. A tax professional or ERO signs with Form 8879-EMP, and a reporting agent acts under your Form 8655 authorization.
2. Register for the Form 94x online signature PIN inside your software package if you will sign the return yourself.
3. Allow at least 45 days for the PIN to arrive.
4. Sign and return the receipt within 10 business days of the letter.
5. If the due date is less than 45 days away and your software offers it, scan and attach Form 8453-EMP, the Employment Tax Declaration for an IRS e-file Return, instead of waiting for a PIN.
What a correct result looks like. A signature method is in place before the return is ready to transmit.
Match your EIN, business name, and deposits before you transmit
E-filing Form 941 depends on three matches. The IRS does not accept an e-filed return without a valid EIN, the business name must match IRS records for that EIN, and the liability you report on line 16 or Schedule B must equal line 12, per the Instructions for Form 941 (Rev. 03/2026).
What you need first.
* Confirm your EIN is valid and the business name matches IRS records for that EIN.
* Collect the deposit confirmations for the quarter from every channel you used.
* Confirm whether you are a semiweekly depositor. For 2026, that means you reported more than $50,000 on Form 941 line 12 from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025 (calendar year 2024 if you filed Form 944 in 2024 or 2025), or, as a monthly depositor, accumulated $100,000 on any day and became semiweekly the next day (as of October 2026, per Pub 15 (2026)).
Steps.
1. Enter your EIN and business name as they appear in IRS records.
2. Compare line 12, Total Taxes After Adjustments and Nonrefundable Credits, with line 13, total deposits.
3. Read line 14 for any balance due and line 15a for any overpayment.
4. Attach Schedule B (Form 941), which reports daily tax liability, only if you are a semiweekly depositor. Monthly depositors must not file it.
5. Check that the monthly liability on line 16, or the daily liability on Schedule B, equals line 12. Otherwise deposits may not be counted as timely, and a semiweekly depositor that omits Schedule B may be assessed an averaged failure-to-deposit penalty.
What a correct result looks like. Line 12 equals the liability shown on line 16 or Schedule B, line 13 reflects deposits you hold confirmations for, and any gap appears as a line 14 balance due or a line 15a overpayment that you can trace.
Transmit by the due date and keep the IRS acknowledgement
These are the due dates for 2026 returns as of October 2026.
Return
Due date
Later due date when all taxes were deposited on time in full
Form 941 for the third quarter of 2026
Monday, November 2, 2026
Tuesday, November 10, 2026
Form 941 for the fourth quarter of 2026
Monday, February 1, 2027
Wednesday, February 10, 2027
Form 940 for 2026
Monday, February 1, 2027
Wednesday, February 10, 2027, if all federal unemployment (FUTA) tax was deposited when due
Form 944 for 2026, only for employers the IRS has notified in writing
Monday, February 1, 2027
Wednesday, February 10, 2027, if all taxes were timely deposited
Form 941 is due the last day of the month after the quarter ends, or the 10th day of the second month after quarter end if all taxes were deposited on time in full, and a due date on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday moves to the next business day (Instructions for Form 941 (Rev. 03/2026)). The dates in the table move because October 31, 2026 and January 31, 2027 fall on a weekend. The Form 940 and Form 944 rows apply the same rule to their January 31 due date, using Pub 15 (2026) and the Form 940 and Form 944 instructions, which are still the 2025 editions as of October 2026.
What you need first.
* Finish the matching checks from the previous section.
* Confirm that your signature method is in place.
Steps.
1. Review the finished return with the person who signs it.
2. Transmit the return through your IRS-approved software, tax professional, or reporting agent by the due date.
3. Look for the IRS acknowledgement, which the IRS says arrives within 24 hours (IRS e-file page).
4. Save the acknowledgement with the quarter’s payment confirmations. Pub 15 (2026) says to keep employment tax records at least four years.
What a correct result looks like. A transmitted return with an IRS acknowledgement saved next to the payment confirmations for the same period.
Pay a balance due when you e-file
The Instructions for Form 941 (Rev. 03/2026) direct employers to pay a balance due on line 14 electronically, and the methods open to you depend on whether you were required to deposit.
What you need first.
* Read line 14 on the finished return for the balance due.
* Confirm whether you were required to deposit. An employer may pay with the return instead when line 12 is less than $2,500 for the current or prior quarter and no $100,000 next-day deposit obligation arose in the current quarter (Pub 15 (2026)).
Steps.
1. Use one method that matches your depositor status. If you were required to deposit, pay by electronic funds transfer (EFT). EFT can be made through EFTPS, IRS Direct Pay for businesses, or the IRS business tax account, all free, or through a provider on your behalf.
2. Add credit card, debit card, check, money order, or electronic funds withdrawal (EFW) to your options if you were not required to deposit, or if you are a monthly depositor paying a shortfall under the accuracy-of-deposits rule.
3. Use EFW to file and pay the balance due in one step through your software or tax professional, and never to make a federal tax deposit.
4. Budget for a processor fee on card payments, which does not go to the IRS. The IRS card payment page (reviewed September 24, 2026) lists fees of $2.10 or $2.15 for debit cards, 1.75% or 1.85% for credit cards, and 2.89% or 2.95% for commercial cards, depending on the processor, with a $2.50 minimum on the percentage fees, and says different fees apply if you pay when you e-file. A card can pay a balance due but never a federal tax deposit.
5. Make a check or money order payable to “United States Treasury” with your EIN, “Form 941”, and the quarter, and send it with Form 941-V. Employers paying by EFT, credit card, or debit card do not file Form 941-V.
What a correct result looks like. The line 14 balance due is paid by a method your depositor status allows.
Does a federal tax deposit count as a filed return?
No. The IRS Employment tax due dates page (reviewed April 2026) says, “Depositing the taxes alone does not report the taxes or relieve you of the requirement to file a return.”
Pub 15 (2026) shows why both actions matter. As of October 2026, the failure-to-file penalty is 5% of the unpaid tax for each whole or part month a return is late, generally up to 25%. The failure-to-deposit penalty ranges from 2% to 15% and is 10% for amounts that should have been deposited but were instead paid directly to the IRS or with the return, outside the payment-with-return exceptions.
E-file Form 940 once a year, and Form 944 only if the IRS has told you to
Form 940 reports FUTA, the federal unemployment tax that only employers pay. Form 944 is the annual alternative to quarterly Form 941 for the smallest employers, with annual liability of $1,000 or less. You file it only if the IRS has notified you in writing, and a Form 944 filer still files Form 940 (IRS annual-filers page, reviewed September 2026).
What you need first.
* Gather the year’s FUTA deposit records and proof of state unemployment tax paid on the same wages.
* Confirm whether you paid wages in more than one state or in a credit reduction state.
Steps.
1. Figure FUTA at 6.0% on the first $7,000 paid to each employee, less a credit of up to 5.4% when state unemployment tax was paid in full, on time, and on the same wages and the state is not a credit reduction state, which leaves 0.6% (Pub 15 (2026), as of October 2026).
2. Figure the state credit on Form 940 itself, on lines 9 to 11 and the worksheet in the Instructions for Form 940 (2025 edition).
3. Complete Schedule A (Form 940) only if you are a multi-state employer or paid wages in a credit reduction state, and enter the credit reduction amount on line 11.
4. Check which states carry a credit reduction, which the Department of Labor determines. For 2025 they were California at 1.2% and the U.S. Virgin Islands at 4.5%, and DOL’s potential 2026 list shows both again, final only after November 10, 2026 (per the DOL FUTA credit reductions page, as of October 2026).
5. Transmit by the due date in the table above and pay any balance due. A Form 940 balance of $500 or less can also be paid by credit or debit card (Instructions for Form 940 (2025 edition)).
What a correct result looks like. Form 940, or Form 944 only on written IRS notice, is transmitted by its due date with an IRS acknowledgement on file, and Schedule A is attached only where multi-state or credit reduction rules required it.
How many returns does a multi-location employer file?
A multi-location employer that files Form 941 online still files one return per quarter per EIN, no matter how many locations the business has. IRS Publication 15 (2026) says, “Employers with multiple locations or divisions must file only one Form 941 per quarter or one Form 944 per year.” Filing more than one return for a period can cause processing delays.
A business should have only one EIN, per the Instructions for Form 941 (Rev. 03/2026). An employer that has more than one and is unsure which to use should write to the IRS office where it files or call 800-829-4933. Combine payroll totals from every location into one quarterly register before you start the matching checks, then file that single return the way a single-location employer would.
Locations in more than one state matter on Form 940, where a multi-state employer completes Schedule A.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I send Form 941 directly to the IRS online?
No. The IRS says you cannot electronically send returns directly to it, so an e-filed return goes through IRS-approved software or a tax professional (IRS PIN page). The IRS e-file page also notes that a fee may be charged.
Can I file Form 941 through EFTPS?
No. EFTPS is a Treasury payment system, and the IRS states that depositing the taxes alone does not report them (Employment tax due dates). File Form 941 through IRS-approved software, a tax professional, or a reporting agent, and make payments through a separate channel such as EFTPS.
How do I get the 10-digit PIN to e-file Form 941?
Register for the Form 94x online signature PIN inside your IRS-approved software package, allow at least 45 days for it to arrive, and sign and return the receipt within 10 business days of the letter. Form 8453-EMP is the alternative (IRS e-file page).
Which payroll tax forms can I e-file?
You can e-file Forms 941, 940, and 944, an amended Form 940, and Form 941-X corrections, per the IRS e-file page. Pub 15 (2026) says the IRS Modernized e-File platform cannot yet be used for Form 944-X, as of October 2026.
Does the 10-return e-file rule apply to Form 941?
No. The 10-return rule in 26 CFR 301.6011-2 counts information returns such as the W-2 and the 1099 series, and the regulation says other returns are not taken into account. Forms 940, 941, and 944 therefore do not count toward the 10, and e-filing them is optional for an ordinary employer.
Talk to an Asure expert
To see which way of working fits how your locations handle payroll tax filing, talk to an Asure expert about AsureCentral or AsureWorks.
