Don’t let holiday planning and promotions get in the way of meeting your business’s compliance deadlines. Crack out your calendar now and mark these key dates for HR, benefits, payroll, and tax compliance in November.
Federal holidays
November 5, 2024
November 5 is Election Day. It’s not considered a federal holiday, but many state offices close on Election Day, including Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Virginia, and West Virginia.
As an employer, it’s crucial to abide by your state laws around time off for voting. Nearly half of all states give employees paid time off to vote, while other states allow workers to take unpaid time off to vote.
Here’s a complete breakdown of every state and their voting time off laws. Make sure you have a plan in place for accommodating employee voting on Election Day.
November 11, 2024
Veterans Day
November 11 is Veterans Day, a time to honor military veterans in the United States. Though government offices and many schools will be closed on this Monday, many businesses choose to remain open—and give a discount or special perk to vets who stop in.
November 28, 2024
Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving falls on the last Thursday of November. Most businesses close up for the holiday (and some take Friday off as well), so make sure to plan ahead.
Tax and payroll compliance deadlines
Payroll tax deposits (for semi-weekly depositors)
All 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 fall into the category of semi-weekly depositor, which means you need to adhere to the payment 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 an exception, 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).
Read Publication 15 to learn more about federal payroll tax deposits.
Some state and local governments that collect payroll taxes also expect their own deposits. For more information about those deadlines, contact your state and local tax agencies directly.
November 12, 2024
Employee tip reporting deadline for October
Employees who earn tips need to report them to you every month. If they received any tips of $20 or more during October, their reporting deadline is November 12.
Learn more about tip withholding and reporting requirements here.
Form 941 extended filing deadline for people who made timely deposits
If you have at least one employee, you have to file Form 941 to report any income taxes, Social Security taxes, or Medicare taxes withheld from your staff’s paychecks—and pay their share of payroll taxes every quarter.
The third Form 941 for 2024 and the accompanying payroll tax payment were due on October 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 November 12 if you made the full quarterly deposit on time.
You can e-file through the EFTPS.
November 15, 2024
Payroll tax deposits for monthly depositors
If your business follows 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 October payrolls is due on November 15.
Extended filing deadline for nonprofit tax returns
If you operate a nonprofit, you’re required to submit an annual tax return detailing your organization’s activities and finances for the year. If you requested an automatic six-month extension for Form 990, your forms are due November 15.
For more information on how to fill out Form 990, along with 990-EZ, 990-PF, 990-N, 990-BL, 990-T 4720, and 8868, review the official instructions on the IRS website.
Form 8038 filing deadline for tax-exempt private activity bonds
If your business issued tax-exempt private activity bonds in Q3, you have to file Form 8038 by November 15.
The IRS requires you 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
November 1, 2024
Remind employees to fill out a new Form W-4 for 2025
At the beginning of November, remind your employees to fill out a new Form W-4 for 2025 if they’ve recently experienced any major personal or financial changes. Think: changing their filing status on a tax return or changing the number of jobs they’ve worked during the year.
You can also guide your employees to the IRS tax withholding estimator to estimate how much federal income tax you’ll withhold from their paychecks.
Marketplace health insurance enrollment begins for the 2025 plan year
Open enrollment for 2025 Marketplace health insurance plans begins on November 1 and runs until January 15, 2025, in most states. During this time, individuals can log onto Healthcare.gov and apply for a new health plan.
Remind employees to submit FSA receipts before the end of the calendar year
If you offer flexible spending accounts (FSAs) to your employees, now is a good time to remind your employees to submit their FSA receipts before the end of the year if they want to be reimbursed.
November 14, 2024
Deadline to furnish Q3 benefit statements to plan 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 third 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 November 14.
November 15, 2024
Summary annual reports due to plan participants from companies with tax filing extension
If you have a defined benefit plan, you’re required to submit summary annual reports (SARs) to plan participants each year so your employees understand their retirement plan options.
You need to distribute these documents within nine months of the end of the plan year. However, if you received an extension on your Form 5500, you have until November 15 to furnish SARs to plan participants.
