August may be one of your business’s busier months of the year, but it’s a fairly slow time for compliance deadlines. There are just a handful of important dates to be aware of—we’ve got them all listed out below.
Federal holidays
There are no federal holidays this month.
Tax and payroll compliance deadlines
Payroll tax deposits (for semi-weekly depositors)
Employers have to file Forms 940 and 941 to deposit payroll taxes at different frequencies throughout the year.
If you report more than $50,000 in payroll taxes during the lookback period of July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023, you’re considered a semi-weekly depositor, which means you have to follow the schedule below:
| If payday for your employees is on… | Deposit employment taxes by… |
| Wednesday | The following Wednesday |
| Thursday | The following Wednesday |
| Friday | The following Wednesday |
| Saturday | The following Friday |
| Sunday | The following Friday |
| Monday | The following Friday |
| Tuesday | The following Friday |
Keep in mind, though: if you accumulate $100,000 or more of tax liability in a single day, the IRS requires you to deposit the amount by the following business day, regardless of whether you normally deposit on a semi-weekly or monthly basis (more on monthly deposits below).
To learn more about federal payroll tax deposits, read Publication 15.
Some state and local governments that collect payroll taxes will also expect their own deposits—and those deadlines may be different from the federal ones. For more information, contact your state and local tax agencies directly.
August 12, 2024
Employee tip reporting deadline for July
If your employees collected tips of $20 or more during the month of July, they need to report those tips to you by August 12. You can learn more about tip withholding and reporting requirements here.
Form 941 extended filing deadline for people who made timely deposits
The second Form 941 for 2024 and the accompanying payroll tax payment were due on July 31. However, if you made the full deposit for the quarter on time, you automatically get additional time (10 days) to file the form. That means Form 941 is due August 12 if you made the full quarterly deposit on time. You can e-file through the EFTPS.
August 15, 2024
Payroll tax deposits for monthly depositors
If you’re on the monthly payroll tax deposit schedule (meaning that you reported less than $50,000 in payroll taxes during the lookback period), your tax deposit for July Social Security, Medicare, and withheld income tax is due on August 15.
Form 8038 filing deadline for tax-exempt private activity bonds
If your business issues tax-exempt private activity bonds, you have to file Form 8038 for bonds issued in the second quarter of 2024 by August 15. Per the IRS, you have to file Form 8038 by the 15th day of the second calendar month after the close of the calendar quarter in which the bond was issued. Forms 8038-B, 8038-G, and 8038-TC are also due at this time.
Make sure you file a separate form for each issue of the following tax-exempt private activity bonds issued after 1986:
- Exempt facility bonds
- Qualified mortgage bonds
- Qualified veterans’ mortgage bonds
- Qualified small issue bonds
- Qualified student loan bonds
- Qualified redevelopment bonds
- Qualified hospital bonds
- Qualified 501(c)(3) bonds
- Nongovernmental output property bonds
- All other tax-exempt private activity bonds
Send your forms to the following address:
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service Center
Ogden, UT 84201
HR compliance deadlines
August 1, 2024
Remind employees about dependent benefits
August typically marks the start of the school year for families with children. If your employees have kids, remind them to take advantage of any dependent benefits they have, like back-to-school physicals.
August 14, 2024
Deadline to furnish second quarterly benefits statement to participants
If your business offers participant-directed retirement plans to your employees, you have to deliver benefit statements to plan participants on a quarterly basis (at minimum). These documents are due within 45 days of the end of the previous quarter.
That means the second quarterly benefits statement, as well as a statement of plan fees and expenses charged to the participant’s plan account during the quarter, is due to participants by August 14.
