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Prepare forms 940, 941, 943, 944, and 945

Employee count examples for 94x and state unemployment (SUTA) forms

For payroll compliance (annually licensed)
The application handles the employee count for 941 forms and state unemployment (SUTA) forms differently depending on whether or not the
Calculate month 1-3 employee count on payroll tax forms based on active employee status
 checkbox is marked in the
Payroll Information
 tab of the
Clients
 screen. There are 2 methods you can use to determine the count.

Use the payroll period and check date to determine the count

By default, the checkbox isn't marked and the application uses the following criteria to determine if an employee is counted for the quarter being processed:
State unemployment forms
  • The employee received a check that's dated within the quarter being processed.
  • The payroll period for that check encompasses the 12th day of the month.
941 forms
  • The employee received a check that's dated within the quarter being processed. (For 943 forms, the check needs to be within the period being processed.)
  • The payroll period for that check encompasses the 12th day of the 3rd month of that quarter (March, June, September, or December only). For 943 forms, the payroll check needs to be in March of the processing year.
Examples:
Period begin
Period end
Check date
Included?
Reason
01/11
01/24
02/01
SUTA - Yes
Included for the 1st quarter (January employee count), because the payroll period encompasses 01/12 and the check date is within the quarter.
94x - No
Not
 included for the 1st quarter, because the payroll period doesn't encompass 3/12.
03/11
03/24
03/31
SUTA - Yes
Included for 1st quarter (March employee count), because the check date is in March and the payroll period encompasses 03/12.
94x - Yes
Included for the 1st quarter, because the payroll period encompasses 3/12 and the check date is within the quarter.
03/01
03/15
02/28
SUTA - Yes
Included for 1st quarter (March employee count), because the payroll period encompasses 03/12 and the check date is within the quarter.
94x - Yes
Included in the 1st quarter, because the payroll period encompasses 3/12 and the check date is within the quarter.
03/11
03/24
04/01
SUTA - No
Not
 included in the 1st quarter (March employee count), because the check date is not in the same quarter. 
Not
 included in 2nd quarter (April employee count), because the payroll period encompasses the 12th of a different quarter.
94x - No
Not
 included in the 1st quarter (March employee count), because the check date is in the 2nd quarter.
Not
 included in the 2nd quarter (April employee count), because even though the check date is in the 2nd quarter, the payroll period doesn't encompass 6/12.
01/25
02/07
02/20
SUTA - No
Not
 included in 1st quarter (January employee count), because the payroll period doesn’t encompass 01/12.
Not
 included in 1st quarter (February employee count), because the payroll period doesn’t encompass 02/12.
94x - No
Not
 included in the 1st quarter (February employee count), because the payroll period doesn’t encompass 3/12.

Use the employee status to determine the count

When the
Calculate month 1-3 employee count on payroll tax forms based on active employee status
 checkbox is marked in the
Payroll Information
 tab of the
Clients
 screen, the application uses the following criteria to determine if an employee is counted for the quarter being processed:
State unemployment forms
  • The employee received a check that's dated within the quarter being processed.
  • The employee had an active status on the 12th day of the month.
941 forms
  • The employee received a check that's dated within the quarter being processed. (For 943 forms, the check needs to be within the period being processed.)
  • The employee's status was active on the 12th day of the 3rd month of that quarter (March, June, September, or December only). For 943 forms, the employee's status needs to have been active on the 12th day of March.
note
The application uses the employees' hire dates and inactive dates to determine their active or inactive status when determining the count.

This article applies to:

  • Product: Accounting CS
  • Subject: Payroll tax forms

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