February 2023: The Small Business Owner’s HR, Benefits, Payroll, and Tax Compliance Deadlines
You’re officially one month into 2023, so keep the momentum up! In the meantime, here are the important dates you need to know for taxes, payroll, and HR compliance in February.
Federal holidays
February 20, 2023
It’s President’s Day, which means banks and schools are closed. Some businesses might be taking the day off, too.
Tax and payroll compliance deadlines
Payroll tax deposits (for semi-weekly depositors)
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires employers who file Forms 940 and 941 to deposit payroll taxes at different frequencies throughout the year, depending on factors like the information returns they use and their past filing history.
Semi-weekly depositors—those who report more than $50,000 in payroll taxes during the lookback period of July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022—must 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 |
There’s one exception: if you accumulate $100,000 or more of tax liability in a single day, the IRS says you must deposit the amount by the following business day, regardless of whether you normally deposit on a semi-weekly or monthly basis (we’ll cover monthly deposits below).
To learn more about federal payroll tax deposits, read Publication 15.
Keep in mind that 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.
February 10, 2023
Forms 940, 941, 943, 944 and 945 filing deadline for timely depositors
You usually have to submit these forms to the IRS by January 31, but if you made timely deposits of your federal payroll taxes during the period reported, you have an additional 10 days to file these tax returns. Find out more by reading Publication 15.
Your employees are also required to report to you any tips of $20 or more they collected during the month of January.
February 15, 2023
Payroll tax deposits for monthly depositors
If your company follows the monthly payroll tax deposit schedule (meaning that you reported less than $50,000 in payroll taxes during the lookback period), then your tax deposit for January payrolls is due on February 15.
Forms 1099-B, 1099-S, and 1099-MISC filing deadlines
If you have to file Forms 1099-B, 1099-S, or 1099-MISC (with amounts reported in box 8 or 10), your filing due date for these forms is February 15.
Keep in mind that if your 1099-MISC forms have boxes eight and 10 left empty, your due date is February 28 instead (more on this later).
If your employee(s) claimed an exemption from income tax withholding in Tax Year 2022, they must provide you a new Form W-4 by February 15. If they don’t furnish you a new Form W-4 by this date re-confirming their exempt status for 2023, you must start to withhold as if they are single with no other adjustments starting February 16.
Form 990 filing deadline
Tax-exempt organizations like non-profits file Form 990 with the IRS to provide certain details about their organizations and remain compliant with IRS section 6033.
If your company’s fiscal year ended on September 30, 2022, your filing deadline for Form 990 is February 15. Visit the IRS Form 990 resource page to learn more.
Do I Need Payroll Software for My Small Business?
Finances and TaxesState 1099 and W-2 filing deadlines
Certain states have different schedules than the IRS. New Jersey and Iowa, for example, require you to file 1099 and W-2 forms by February 15 instead of January 31.
If you’re not sure about your state filing deadlines (or if you need to turn in any forms at all), check with your state tax agency for more details.
February 28, 2023
Form 1099-MISC filing deadline
Employers submit Form 1099-MISC with the IRS by the end of February to report certain kinds of reportable payments—such as rent, royalties, awards, and prizes—that were paid last year. If you plan on filing paper returns, you’ll also need to include Form 1096 along with them.
For more information, read Publication 1220.
Form 8027 filing deadline
If you run a large food or beverage establishment, you have to file Form 8027 with the IRS by February 28 to report receipts from food and beverages, as well as the total amount of tips your employees reported to you if you.
Food or beverage operations are defined by the IRS as businesses:
- that do business in the United States
- where employees usually receive tips
- with more than 10 employees on a typical business day during the last calendar year
To get more information about this tax document, review the form’s instructions on the IRS website.
State 1099 and W-2 filing deadlines
Certain states have different schedules than the IRS. California, for example, requires you to file 1099 and W-2 forms by February 28 instead of January 31.
If you’re not sure of your state filing deadlines (or if you need to turn in any forms at all), check with your state tax agency for more details.
Form 2290 filing deadline
If you’ve registered a heavy highway motor vehicle (with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more) that was first used in January 2023, you have to file Form 2290 by February 28.
Per the IRS, you must file the form by the last day of the month following the month in which you first used the vehicle on a public highway.
To learn more about Form 2290, review the IRS’ instructions and information.
Form 730 filing deadline
You have to file Form 730, the monthly tax return for wagers, if you meet the following criteria and accepted wagers during January 2023:
- are in the business of accepting wagers
- conduct a wagering pool or lottery
- are required to be registered and received wagers for or on behalf of another person, but did not report that person’s name and address
Learn more about Form 730 here.
Form 8809 filing deadline
If you need to request more time to file your information returns, you have to file Form 8809 by February 28. Filing this form automatically extends the time to file by 30 days. Form 8809 lets you request an extension to file any of the following forms:
- W-2, W-2G
- 1042-S
- 1094-C, 1095
- 1097, 1098, 1099
- 3921, 3922
- 5498
- 8027
Keep in mind that if you don’t file the above forms on time and don’t have a valid extension, you may have to pay a penalty to the IRS.
Learn more about the application for extension of time here.
HR compliance deadlines
February 1, 2023
OSHA Form 300A summary posting
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires most companies with 10 or more full-time employees to keep an annual record of all reportable workplace injuries and illnesses, the time and place they occurred, and other relevant details using Form 300.
Every year, OSHA mandates that employers post the summary section (Form 300A) of last year’s incident log by February 1. This form must be kept posted until April 30.
February 28, 2023
Forms 1094-C and 1095-C paper filing deadline
According to the Affordable Care Act, employers must provide their employees with certain health care reporting forms every year.
Employers with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees (also known as applicable large employers) must send Form 1095-C to the IRS and to all of their employees who are eligible for health insurance coverage. The due date for furnishing Form 1095-C to employees is March 2, 2022 (except for California employees which are due January 31, 2022).
You’ll also need to turn in a cover sheet to the IRS along with your returns, in the form of Form 1094-C (for 1095-C forms). If you have fewer than 250 forms to file and you plan to send paper documents, submit them to the IRS by February 28.
If you have to file 250 or more 1095-Cs, you must do so electronically by March 31.
For more details, please read the 2022 Instructions for Forms 1094-C and 1095-C.
Creditable coverage disclosure deadline
The Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) requires businesses that have Medicare-eligible employees and offer health care with prescription drug coverage to disclose the creditable coverage status of their prescription drug plans.
The Disclosure to CMS Form, which you can find online, must be submitted to the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) by the 60th day of the new plan year. Most plan years start on January 1, so you still have two additional days to complete this task, but it doesn’t hurt to get ahead of the deadline.
For additional information on the creditable coverage requirement, visit the CMS website.
