- What it means
- The deposit schedule on your Form 941 does not match the tax liability reported, and the IRS proposes a failure-to-deposit penalty unless you supply the correct schedule.
- Respond within
- 30 days from the date on the notice
- What to send
- A corrected Schedule B (or the monthly summary) showing when the liability was actually incurred.
- Write it
- Document cover letter
- When to get help
- If the deposits were genuinely late, the penalty is real; ask for first-time abatement if the prior three years were clean.
What the letter says
Form 941 reports both what you owed and, on Schedule B for semiweekly depositors, when you owed it. If the schedule is missing, incomplete, or does not add up to the total, the IRS assumes the worst timing and proposes a penalty.
What to do
Send a corrected Schedule B showing the liability by day (or the monthly amounts for monthly depositors). If the deposits were on time relative to the corrected schedule, the penalty goes away. Respond by the date on the notice or it is assessed.
What to gather
- The notice
- Form 941 for the quarter
- Payroll register with liability dates
- Deposit records with dates
Write back
The Document cover letter tool builds the response in the order the IRS reads it. Fill it in, review it, print it, and send it with copies of the documents above and the notice stub on top.
Before you send anything
This is general information, not tax advice. Situations differ. Check with your tax advisor before you send anything. Nothing on this page creates a client relationship.