Monthly depositors: the 15th
Under 26 CFR 31.6302-1(c)(1), a monthly depositor must deposit each month's employment taxes by electronic funds transfer by the 15th day of the following month. Taxes on wages paid in March 2026 are due April 15, 2026.
Traps:
- March 31 is only the end of the month the wages were paid, not the deadline.
- April 30 is the due date for the first-quarter Form 941 return, not the deposit.
- Wednesday-after-payday deadlines belong to semiweekly depositors, not monthly ones.
Semiweekly depositors: Wednesday or Friday
Under 26 CFR 31.6302-1(c)(2)(i), the deadline depends on the day of the week the crew is paid:
- Payday on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday: deposit by the following Wednesday.
- Payday on Saturday, Sunday, Monday or Tuesday: deposit by the following Friday.
So a Friday payroll is due the following Wednesday, and a Monday payroll is due the following Friday. Switching the two is a listed common error. A way to hold it: the late-week paydays land on the next Wednesday, and the early-week paydays land on the Friday of that week, so each deadline gives a few days to deposit.
The next-day rule is the only faster deadline
The next business day deadline is not a normal semiweekly rule. It applies only when $100,000 or more accumulates on a single day, under 26 CFR 31.6302-1(c)(3), and then the deposit is due by the close of the next day. There is no same-day deposit rule; even the $100,000 rule allows until the close of the next day.
Quick sort
- Monthly depositor: 15th of the following month.
- Semiweekly, Wednesday to Friday payday: following Wednesday.
- Semiweekly, Saturday to Tuesday payday: following Friday.
- $100,000 or more in one day: close of the next day.
When a question gives a deadline like "the 15th of the following month" for a semiweekly depositor, or a Wednesday deadline for a monthly depositor, it has mixed the two schedules.