941 Quarterly Tax Form

[silvertown]

I am trying to fill out the 2nd quarter 941 Tax form and my number for the amount of taxes I paid in from the PowerChurch 941 Tax Deposit does not match the number it says I should have paid for the quarter. I went back and checked my numbers over and over but I can't figure out why they don't match.
Holly Graham
Office Manager, Silvertown Baptist Church

[NeilZ]

I am trying to fill out the 2nd quarter 941 Tax form and my number for the amount of taxes I paid in from the PowerChurch 941 Tax Deposit does not match the number it says I should have paid for the quarter. I went back and checked my numbers over and over but I can't figure out why they don't match.
Holly Graham
Office Manager, Silvertown Baptist Church

When you paid taxes .. did you use the 941 Tax Deposit report to pay the tax? If you did not use those numbers, the 941 Quarterly report will not reflect what you actually paid.

When you say that 'it says I should have paid for the quarter', what is it[/i] ?? Do you mean the 941 Quarterly Report dialog screens, or something else?

[Janica]

I'm having the same issue. I will end up owing the IRS almost $100.00. This same thing happened to me for the first quarter as well. I ended up having to send them an additional check payment for the amount. I've never had this issue before. Has something changed in the way the software is calculating the medicare and social security amounts?

[NeilZ]

I'm having the same issue. I will end up owing the IRS almost $100.00. This same thing happened to me for the first quarter as well. I ended up having to send them an additional check payment for the amount. I've never had this issue before. Has something changed in the way the software is calculating the medicare and social security amounts?

Nothing has changed in the calcuations. Who or What is telling you that you need to pay more? Is the IRS sending you a notice that you're not withholding enough??

The 941 quarterly report as generated by the software reflects the amounts you have listed as income, as well as the amounts it calculated for withholding taxes for FITW, SS and Medicare.

If based on the income the IRS is saying that you're not withholding enough there could be a few reasons:

1. You didn't update the Federal Income Tax Withholding Tables for 2017 ..
https://www.powerchurch.com/support/140 ... tax-tables

2. You have an amount listed as income, but for some reason it is not setup as subject to federal taxes.

Frankly, if there was a software issue, I suspect we'd see a lot more topics listed about it. As it is, this is the only topic created, and I'm still waiting on a few answers from the person who started the topic.

[Janica]

Thank you so much for your reply, your questions were really helpful!

On my 941 form, the Total tax liability amount in box 12 is higher than the total deposits in box 13 which leaves me owing them.

In the software concerning the Federal withholding tables, when I clicked the link for assistance, I didn't notice that the tables were for 2016 and I entered the wrong totals for the annual rate table. I did find the correct ones in the Circular E and updated them.

Also when I went to the Maintain Item Descriptions tab under the payroll module, I realized that some of the medicare and social security tabs for the employer liability were checked as non taxable for some reason. I made that change as well.

We have two Pastors that receive a housing allowance and that should remain as "Housing allowance" instead of "Taxable" correct?

Also, when I updated the tables, it affected the income of two of the employees by one dollar each. It hardly seems like enough to explain an almost hundred dollar difference at the end of the quarter. Is there possibly something else I may be overlooking?

Thanks again for your help!

[NeilZ]

Thank you so much for your reply, your questions were really helpful!

On my 941 form, the Total tax liability amount in box 12 is higher than the total deposits in box 13 which leaves me owing them.

If you are using the 941 Tax Deposit Report to create your deposits (I'm assuming you're going to EFTPS to pay) then 12 should equal 13. However, based on what you have listed below there are other issues.

In the software concerning the Federal withholding tables, when I clicked the link for assistance, I didn't notice that the tables were for 2016 and I entered the wrong totals for the annual rate table. I did find the correct ones in the Circular E and updated them.

The link just brings you to the page that leads you through the update, the first paragraph on that page is the one you probably skipped Where do I find the tax tables? It will ALWAYS be Pub 15 from the IRS, unless they decide to change that number.

Also when I went to the Maintain Item Descriptions tab under the payroll module, I realized that some of the medicare and social security tabs for the employer liability were checked as non taxable for some reason. I made that change as well.

Actually, they SHOULD be unchecked for the pastors, as they should be filing SECA tax, and the congregation should be giving a Social Security offset to cover the employer costs. This Social Security offset is considered income and is usually taxed by Fed, state and local income taxes.

We have two Pastors that receive a housing allowance and that should remain as "Housing allowance" instead of "Taxable" correct?

Normally yes, but in some states, such as Pennsylvania when I'm based, the Housing Allowance is taxed as income. Its also considered income for SECA taxes which is why this amount is printed in the W-2 box 14. If your state DOES see the Housing Allowance as taxable, you need to select More Options from the Tax Options pull down. You will then see a few things appear. A list of Federal, state & Local taxes you have setup, as well as two new checkboxes for Housing Allowance and Advanced EIC.

First, check the box for Housing Allowance. This will have the allowance printed in Box 14 of the W-2. Then in the list of taxes, check the boxes next to the tax that affects the Housing Allowance. In my case, I select PA Income tax, as well as the local Earned Income Taxes. FITW, SS & Medicare are NOT selected.

Also, when I updated the tables, it affected the income of two of the employees by one dollar each. It hardly seems like enough to explain an almost hundred dollar difference at the end of the quarter. Is there possibly something else I may be overlooking?

Thanks again for your help!

Again, not knowing where you got the amounts you paid in as Tax Deposits, I can't speculate why its so off. Please let me know where you pulled the numbers. If you're not using the 941 Tax Deposit Report, that may be the issue as those numbers are the ones that the system uses to fill in the 941.