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lwade
October 30, 2021
Question

Form 941 shows incorrect number of employees

  • October 30, 2021
  • 4 replies
  • 0 views

I am the lone employee of my LLC. My company processes payroll weekly, and although there are weeks when I do not pay myself, I rarely have a quarter where I do not pay myself.

 

When I generate my quarterly 941, Quickbooks fills in Line 1 "number of employees" with 0. At the same time, it recognizes all payroll transactions and correctly fills in payroll obligations and payments.

 

Should I override the 0 to 1 before I submit the form? Why is Quickbooks not showing 1 employee?

 

 

4 replies

RenjolynC
RenjolynC
October 30, 2021

I hope you're doing well, lwade.

 

I'm happy to share some details about the 941 form and why this happens.

 

The Line 1 field of the 941 Form will show the number of employees paid with a pay period that includes the following dates:

 

  • March 12 (for Q1)
  • June 12 (for Q2)
  • September 12 (for Q3)
  • December 12 (for Q4)

You can run a Payroll Transaction Detail report to check the pay periods of your paychecks.

 

Here's how:

 

  1. Go to Reports > Employees & Payroll > Payroll Transaction Detail.
  2. Set the Dates.
  3. Click the Customize Report button.
  4. In the Columns section, type Pay period in the search field.
  5. Select the Pay Period Begin Date and Pay Period End Date to include the columns.
  6. Hit OK. 

Review the pay period on each paycheck. If no paychecks are created that includes the dates above, your line 1 box will display 0.

 

To learn more about the other boxes of the 941 form, please check out this article: How QuickBooks populates the 941.

 

In case you need help with other task in QuickBooks Desktop, feel free to visit our general help topics page. This will route you to the related help articles, Community discussions, video tutorials and more.

 

I'll be around if there's anything else you need. Just leave a reply below, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Take care and stay safe.

    A
    axman53
    January 6, 2022

    This is exactly what I am seeing, zero employees. And now I know why, so that's helpful. But, if I file the 941 as is (showing zero EEs when actually it should be 1) is that going to cause a problem with the IRS or whoever actually receives this form? I am using QB Desktop 2019 and have a subscription through my bank to QB online payroll. Some apparantly have an option to override this form field, however I don't appear to have that option. I called the help desk twice and neither CSR knew anything about this. Total waste of time calling them (actually, they have to call you, but you get the point). Thank you.

    1
    123145997890064
    September 6, 2023

    I encountered the same issue and contacted QB support. They informed me that this error is a known issue, and the current workaround is to file the 941 form 15 days after the quarter ends. By doing so, the 941 form will automatically correct itself with the accurate employee amount. If you file the 941 form monthly, which is due on the 15th of each month, you'll need to wait until the 13th or 14th to submit the form. If you submit it earlier, it will show 0 employees, but if you file 2 days before the due date, it will display the correct employee amount.

      J
      jjenson
      August 14, 2024

      Did not work for me, I'm filing a Form 941 for second quarter that includes April and the form shows 0 employees. It's always been 1.

      O
      Owner33
      August 24, 2024

      I continue to have the same issues with my Quickbooks. I have 2 employees that are paid during the quarter wages and tips reported however, my QuickBooks keeps generating 0 employees.

      I continue to go back-and-forth with Quickbooks regarding this issue. They told me that’s correct because the employees weren’t paid on the 12th. I’ve spoken to my accountant and he assures me that 0 is incorrect. My accountant states it doesn’t matter what day the employees were paid on if any employees were paid during that quarter then they should be reported with 2 not zero. I keep receiving the same ridiculous answer from QuickBooks stating the employees weren’t paid on the 12th meanwhile, I have another QuickBooks account with another business and I pay the employees on the same day as I pay the other business and it reports the number of employees correctly, and those employees are not reported on the 12th. I’m close to canceling my QuickBooks subscription if they can’t fix this ongoing issue. 

      1
      123145997890064
      August 24, 2024

      I had the same issue, here is hack to resolve. Submit your 941 2 days before the due date (13th) and it will show 2 employees as long as you have paid out 2 employees prior to the 12th. 

       

      I have monthly payroll for 2 employees and notice since I have consistently paid out of the same day every month (1st or 3rd) I no longer have to do the hack. The reason why I had to do it in the past was because I would change up payroll dates and employees every month.

       

      Hope this helps.

      MariaSoledadG
      MariaSoledadG
      August 24, 2024

      I see how you want to fix this zero (0) employee issue. I'll direct you to the right support so they can help you with this issue, Owner33.

       

      Form 941 is due by the last day of the month that follows the end of the quarter. If by chance any due date for filing shown above falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, you may file your return on the next business day.

       

      If you had any employees paid with a pay period that includes the date of March 12 (for Q1), June 12 (for Q2), September 12 (for Q3), or December 12 (for Q4), they are counted here.

       

      QuickBooks calculates the total wages, tips, bonuses, and overtime pay, that are subject to federal income tax and paid to the employee during the reporting year. Those wages earned in the reporting year, but paid in the following year, are not included. Also, certain deductions that are not taxable to federal income tax such as 401(k), pre-tax medical, and fringe benefits, can affect this box.

       

      Since you're still experiencing the same issue with your employees. I suggest contacting our support team so they can double-check and track what is happening and investigate further. They have the tools to pull up your account in a secure environment. To do so, follow the steps outlined below:

       

      1. Open QuickBooks.
      2. Go to Help, then select QuickBooks Desktop Help or Contact Us.
      3. Click Contact Us.
      4. Give a brief description of your issue, then select Continue.
      5. Sign in to your Intuit account, select Continue, and then Continue with my account.
      6. Select to chat with us or Have us call you.

       

      Furthermore, take a closer look at your business and employees' finances by accessing a variety of reports in QuickBooks Desktop. To know more about what available reports you can use to get the right information for your company, I've added this article for reference: Run Payroll Reports.

       

      You can always touch base with us here in the Community if you have any other concerns about your 941 form or your employees. We'll always be right here to assist. 

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