Businesses pay federal payroll taxes online through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS), a free service run by the U.S. Treasury. After a one-time enrollment at eftps.gov, you log in each pay period, enter the amount you owe, pick the tax form and period, and schedule an ACH debit from your business bank account. Payments must be scheduled by 8 p.m. Eastern Time the day before the deadline to count as timely.1Electronic Federal Tax Payment System. Welcome to EFTPS Online Electronic deposits are required by federal law for essentially all employers.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 6302 – Mode or Time of Collection
What You Need Before You Pay
Gather four things before your first payment:
- Your Employer Identification Number (EIN). Sole proprietors can use a Social Security number instead. If you don’t have an EIN yet, apply at irs.gov.3Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number
- Your business bank account and routing numbers. EFTPS pulls funds directly from that account.
- The form you file. Most employers use Form 941 quarterly. Employers the IRS has notified of an annual liability of $1,000 or less file Form 944 once a year, and you cannot switch between the two on your own.4Internal Revenue Service. Small Business Owners Should Use the Correct Form to Pay Employment Taxes
- The dollar amount to deposit, calculated from that pay period’s payroll.
The deposit covers three things: federal income tax withheld from employees, plus both halves of Social Security and Medicare. Social Security is 6.2 percent from the employee and 6.2 percent from the employer on wages up to $184,500 in 2026.5Social Security Administration. Contribution and Benefit Base Medicare is 1.45 percent from each side with no wage cap.6Social Security Administration. FICA and SECA Tax Rates Once an employee earns more than $200,000 in a calendar year, withhold an extra 0.9 percent Medicare tax from that employee for the rest of the year. Employers don’t match that additional amount.7Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 751, Social Security and Medicare Withholding Rates
Enrolling in EFTPS
Go to eftps.gov and complete the enrollment form with your EIN, legal business name, and bank information. The IRS validates what you submit and mails a Personal Identification Number to your address on file within five to seven business days.1Electronic Federal Tax Payment System. Welcome to EFTPS Online When the PIN arrives, return to the site to set a password and security questions. You can then start scheduling payments.
Because the PIN comes by mail, don’t wait until a deposit is due to enroll. Start the process a couple of weeks ahead of your first payroll.
Making the Payment
Once you’re logged in, choose the option to make a payment, enter the total from your payroll calculation, and select the form (941 or 944) and the tax period the money covers. Then pick a settlement date, which is the day you want the funds pulled from your account. The system shows a summary of the bank account, amount, and date before you confirm. After you submit, EFTPS gives you an acknowledgment number. Save it. That number is your proof the payment was scheduled on time.
You can cancel a scheduled payment through EFTPS up to 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time at least two business days before the settlement date.8Electronic Federal Tax Payment System. Payment Instruction Booklet After that window closes, the payment goes through.
If You Miss the 8 p.m. Cutoff
Two backups exist. You can call EFTPS at 800-555-3453 and pay through the automated phone system, but it uses the same 8 p.m. Eastern cutoff.9Internal Revenue Service. EFTPS: The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System For a same-day payment, download the Same-Day Taxpayer Worksheet from irs.gov, fill it in, and bring it to your bank to initiate a Fedwire transfer to Treasury. Call your bank first: availability, fees, and cutoff times vary.10Internal Revenue Service. Same-Day Wire Federal Tax Payments
How Often You Have to Deposit
The IRS sorts employers into two deposit schedules based on a lookback period, which is generally the 12 months from July 1 two years ago through June 30 of last year.11Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 757, Forms 941 and 944 – Deposit Requirements
- Reported $50,000 or less in employment taxes during the lookback period: monthly depositor. Taxes on wages paid in a given month are due by the 15th of the following month.
- Reported more than $50,000: semiweekly depositor. Taxes on wages paid Wednesday through Friday are due the following Wednesday; taxes on wages paid Saturday through Tuesday are due the following Friday.12Internal Revenue Service. Employment Tax Due Dates
New employers with no lookback history start on the monthly schedule.11Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 757, Forms 941 and 944 – Deposit Requirements
Two exceptions overlay the schedule. If your total employment tax for the quarter is under $2,500, you can skip deposits and pay the balance with your Form 941.13eCFR. 26 CFR 31.6302-1 – Deposit Rules for Taxes Under FICA and Withheld Income Taxes If you ever accumulate $100,000 or more in tax liability on a single day, you must deposit by the next business day no matter which schedule you’re on. Crossing that threshold also moves you to the semiweekly schedule for the rest of the year and the year after.11Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 757, Forms 941 and 944 – Deposit Requirements
FUTA Is a Separate Deposit
Federal unemployment tax (FUTA) runs on its own track. The rate is 6.0 percent on the first $7,000 of each employee’s annual wages, reduced by a credit of up to 5.4 percent if you also pay state unemployment tax, which brings the effective rate to 0.6 percent for most employers. FUTA is paid entirely by the employer with nothing withheld from workers.14Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 759, Form 940 – Employers Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return
FUTA is reported once a year on Form 940, but you deposit it quarterly through EFTPS whenever the quarter’s liability tops $500. The deposit is due by the last day of the month after the quarter ends. If a quarter’s liability is $500 or less, you carry it into the next quarter.14Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 759, Form 940 – Employers Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return
Depositing Isn’t the Same as Filing
Paying on schedule doesn’t file your return for you. Form 941 has quarterly due dates: April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31 of the following year for the four quarters in order.15Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 941 (03/2026) Form 944 is due once a year on January 31. Employers with an annual liability under $2,500 can pay the balance with the return itself.16Internal Revenue Service. Certain Taxpayers May File Their Employment Taxes Annually
What Late Payments Cost
The IRS applies a tiered failure-to-deposit penalty based on how late the deposit is:
- 1 to 5 calendar days late: 2 percent of the unpaid deposit
- 6 to 15 days late: 5 percent
- More than 15 days late: 10 percent
- More than 10 days after the first IRS notice demanding payment: 15 percent
The tiers don’t stack. A deposit 20 days late is penalized at 10 percent, not 2 plus 5 plus 10.17Internal Revenue Service. Failure to Deposit Penalty Filing Form 941 or 944 late is a separate 5 percent penalty on the unpaid tax for each month or partial month the return is overdue, up to 25 percent.18Internal Revenue Service. Failure to File Penalty
Withheld payroll taxes are treated as trust fund money held for the government.19Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 7501 – Liability for Taxes Withheld or Collected Any person responsible for collecting and paying them over, typically an owner, officer, or payroll manager, can be held personally liable for the full withheld amount if they willfully fail to pay. The IRS calls this the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty, and it reaches through the corporation or LLC that would otherwise protect you from business debts.20Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 6672 – Failure to Collect and Pay Over Tax, or Attempt to Evade or Defeat Tax
Asking for Penalty Relief
If you missed a deadline for a reason outside your control, such as a natural disaster, serious illness, or a system failure that blocked a timely electronic payment, you can request reasonable-cause relief. Call the number on the penalty notice or send a written request on Form 843 explaining what happened. Lack of funds or unfamiliarity with the rules typically doesn’t qualify.21Internal Revenue Service. Penalty Relief for Reasonable Cause
Keep Your Confirmation Numbers
Save every EFTPS acknowledgment number. It’s your evidence the deposit was scheduled before the deadline if the IRS ever questions timing. Then check your bank statement after each settlement date to confirm the funds actually left the account. A scheduled payment that the bank rejects for insufficient funds still counts as missed. Federal regulations require you to keep employment tax records, including copies of returns, deposit dates, employee names, Social Security numbers, and wage amounts, for at least four years after the tax is due or paid, whichever is later.22eCFR. 26 CFR 31.6001-1 – Records in General
State Payroll Taxes Are Separate
EFTPS handles federal taxes only. State income tax withholding and state unemployment insurance are collected through each state’s own online portal, run by its department of revenue or labor agency, using a state-assigned employer account number. The steps look similar to the federal ones, but each state sets its own filing frequency, unemployment rate, and taxable wage base. Wage bases run from $7,000 to over $78,000 depending on the state. Each year your state unemployment agency mails you an experience-based rate for the coming year, reflecting how many former employees have claimed unemployment benefits against your account. Keep your state confirmation receipts alongside the federal ones.