This guide covers: how the federal deposit schedule is determined, and how to change it when needed.
How it's determined
What it does: The federal deposit schedule — monthly, semi-weekly, or next-day — sets how often 941 taxes are deposited and drives the deposit due dates.
Payrollix classifies it automatically from the IRS lookback rule: if total employment tax in the 4-quarter lookback period exceeded $50,000, the company is a semi-weekly depositor; otherwise monthly. Payrollix also applies the $100,000 one-day rule automatically — if a single day's liability reaches $100,000, that deposit is due the next business day and the company becomes semi-weekly going forward.
You can see the current classification on the Tax Payments screen ("monthly depositor" / "semiweekly depositor").
Change it manually
When to use: Override only when you know the IRS classification differs from what Payrollix computed. The most common case is a mid-year takeover — the company's prior-year liability isn't in Payrollix yet, so it defaults to monthly when the IRS actually has it as semi-weekly.
Where: Client → Settings → Taxes tab → Federal deposit schedule.
Steps:
- Open the client and go to Settings → Taxes.
- Under Federal deposit schedule, choose Monthly, Semi-weekly, or Next-day. (The Auto option shows the current computed value and follows the yearly IRS lookback.)
- Click Save changes. The new schedule applies to the Tax Payments screen, deposit due dates, and Form 941.
Leave it on Auto unless an IRS notice tells you otherwise — the automatic classification is correct for the large majority of companies.
For the rules behind monthly vs. semi-weekly and the $2,500 / $100,000 thresholds, see our blog post How Federal Payroll Tax Deposit Schedules Work.