Arizona Tax Return Form – Fill Out and Use This PDF

Arizona Form

A1-QRT

Arizona Quarterly Withholding Tax Return

Part 1

Taxpayer Information

Part 2

Tax Liability Schedule Include all withholding amounts from all sources (i.e. wages & salary, pensions & annuities, gambling winnings, etc.). See instructions.

Part 3

Tax Computation (See instructions.)

Declaration

Please

Sign

Here

Paid

Preparer’s

Use

Only

Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this return and to the best of my knowledge and belief, it is a true, complete and correct return.

TAXPAYER'S SIGNATURE	DATE			BUSINESS TELEPHONE NUMBER
PAID PREPARER’S SIGNATURE			DATE			PAID PREPARER’S PTIN
FIRM’S NAME (OR PAID PREPARER’S NAME, IF SELF-EMPLOYED)						FIRM’S EIN
FIRM’S STREET ADDRESS						FIRM’S TELEPHONE NUMBER
CITY			STATE			ZIP CODE

Make check payable to:

Mail return and payment to:

Arizona Department of Revenue. Include EIN on payment.

Arizona Department of Revenue, PO Box 29009, Phoenix, AZ 85038-9009

Name (as shown on page 1)

EIN

Part 4

Semi-Weekly/Next Day Deposit Schedule

Part 6

Final Form A1-QRT

For information or help, call one of these numbers:

Phoenix	(602) 255-3381
From area codes 520 and 928, toll-free	(800) 352-4090

Tax forms, instructions, and other tax information

If you need tax forms, instructions, and other tax information, go to the department’s website at www.azdor.gov.

Withholding Tax Procedures and Rulings

These instructions may refer to the department’s withholding tax procedures and rulings for more information. To view or print these, go to our website and click on Reports & Legal Research then click on Legal Research and select a Document Type and Category from the drop down menus.

Publications

To view or print the department’s publications, go to our website and click on Reports & Legal Research. Then click on Publications.

General Information

Arizona law requires employers to withhold Arizona income tax from:

•The payment of wages, salary, or bonus to any employee whose compensation is for services performed within Arizona, unless those wages are exempt from Arizona income tax withholding;

•The premature withdrawal of state and local retirement contributions; and,

•Payments of prize winnings subject to federal withholding under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) §§ 1441 or 3402(q) from:

O The Arizona state lottery commission, or, O Arizona sanctioned horse or dog racing.

At the request of the individual receiving the payment, Arizona income tax may be withheld from the following:

•Retired or retainer pay for service in the military or naval forces of the United States;

•Payments under the United States civil service retirement system from the United States government service retirement and disability fund;

•Pensions;

•Traditional Individual Retirement Accounts;

•Any other annuity;

•Unemployment compensation; and,

•Out-of-state wages earned by an Arizona resident, if the employer and the employee agree to withhold Arizona income tax.

Each employer remits the tax withheld to the department using the deposit schedule that applies to that employer.

NOTE: For additional information on withholding

requirements, refer to the Employer’s Instructions for the

Employee’s Arizona Withholding Election (Form A-4 Instructions).

Why is Form A1-QRT required?

An employer must withhold Arizona income tax from wages paid for services performed in Arizona. Tax must be withheld, unless those wages are exempt from Arizona withholding tax.

In addition, Arizona income tax bay be withheld from pensions and gambling winnings.

The employer must remit the tax withheld to the department, based on the deposit schedule that applies to that employer.

Employers must reconcile the amounts withheld during the quarter to the amounts paid during the quarter. Form A1-QRT is filed for this purpose.

Form A1-QRT is also used as:

•The payment transmittal form for payments made on a quarterly basis when those payments are made by check or money order; and,

•The written notification to the department that the business is cancelling its withholding registration.

NOTE: For details about other returns and forms that may be

required, see Withholding Tax Procedure (WTP) 16-2, What

Withholding Tax Forms and Returns to File and When to File Them.

Who Must File Form A1-QRT

All employers, except employers who remit on an annual basis, must file Form A1-QRT. Employers that remit on any of the following schedules must file Form A1-QRT to reconcile their withholding deposits for the calendar quarter:

•Quarterly

•Monthly

•Semi-weekly

•Next day

Form A1-QRT is also used as:

•The payment transmittal form for payments made on a quarterly basis when those payments are made by check or money order, and as,

•The written notification to the department that the business is cancelling its withholding registration.

NOTE: An employer must file Form A1-QRT for every

quarter. This includes quarters in which the employer has not

withheld any Arizona tax. For those quarters, the employer

must file a Form A1-QRT that shows zero withholding

liability. These returns must be filed until the employer

cancels its withholding registration by filing a final Form A1-

QRT. The only exception is for employers that qualify to file and pay on an annual basis (Form A1-APR).

Exception for annual payment return (Form A1-APR)

Certain employers may make their withholding payments on an annual basis and file an annual withholding tax return on Form A1-APR. These employers will not file Form A1-QRT or Form A1-R.

An employer may make its Arizona withholding payments on an annual basis if all of the following conditions are met:

•The employer has established a history of withholding activity by filing the quarterly tax return (Form A1-QRT) for at least the four preceding calendar quarters.

•The employer's withholding liability was an amount greater than zero for at least one of the four preceding calendar quarters.

•The average amount of Arizona income taxes withheld by the employer in the four preceding calendar quarters does not exceed $200. The employer will meet this average withholding requirement if the total amount withheld in the four preceding calendar quarters is $800 or less.

•The employer has timely filed Form A1-QRT and has timely made its Arizona withholding payments for at least three of the four preceding calendar quarters.

•The employer has filed Form A1-QRT for all preceding calendar quarters and does not have a balance due (tax, penalty, or interest) for any preceding calendar quarter.

•The employer has filed the annual reconciliation tax return (Form A1-R) for all preceding calendar years and has timely filed Form A1-R for the preceding calendar year.

An employer may continue to make its Arizona withholding payments on an annual basis for the succeeding calendar year if all of the following conditions are met:

•The average amount of Arizona income taxes withheld by the employer in the four preceding calendar quarters does not exceed $200; and,

•The employer has timely filed the annual tax return and has timely made its annual Arizona withholding payment for the preceding calendar year.

If an employer does not meet all of the qualifying conditions to continue making its Arizona withholding payments on an annual basis for the succeeding calendar year, or, if that employer has an average withholding of greater than $200 for the four preceding calendar quarters:

•The employer must determine its Arizona withholding payment schedule for succeeding calendar quarters according to the instructions in the Arizona Withholding Liability/Payment Schedule section; and,

•The employer shall file the quarterly tax return (Form A1-QRT) for succeeding calendar quarters.

What withholding payments are reconciled using this form?

All Arizona withholding amounts averaging more than $200 per quarter are reconciled using this form. Arizona law requires all amounts withheld to be treated as if the withholding was from wages paid to an employee.

NOTE: Arizona law states that all amounts withheld are to be

treated as if the withholding was from wages paid to an

employee. If you file federal Form 941 to report federal

withholding on Arizona wages and federal Form 945 to report

federal withholding on Arizona non-wage payments for the same

Employer Identification Number (EIN), file one A1-QRT to

reconcile the total Arizona withholding for the quarter. Do not

file more than one original A1-QRT for the same EIN for the same quarter.

File Form A1-QRT for every quarter. This includes quarters in which the employer has not withheld any Arizona income tax. For those quarters, file Form A1-QRT reporting zero (0) withholding liability.

Form A1-QRT must be filed until the employer cancels its withholding registration by filing a final Form A1-QRT. (See page 4 for instructions on filing a final Form A1-QRT.)

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Arizona Form A1-QRT

NOTE: Employers that qualify to file and pay on an annual basis (Form A1-APR) are not required to file Form A1-QRT.

Payroll Service Companies

You may use a Payroll Service Company (PSC) to file your Form A1-QRT. If you use a PSC, that company must file your A1-QRT electronically.

Arizona Withholding Deposit Schedules

For Arizona withholding tax purposes, several deposit schedules may apply. The schedule that an employer must use depends on the amount of Arizona tax withheld. These schedules are based on the average amount withheld during the prior 4 quarter period. The employer must compute this average at the start of each new quarter. The deposit schedule that may apply for one quarter may not be the same schedule that applies to the next quarter. Refer to A.A.C. R15-2B- 101(A) OR, to the department’s procedure, WTP 16-1, Procedure for Determining When an Employer Must Remit Arizona Withholding Tax, for information on determining your deposit schedule.

NOTE: Employers whose Arizona withholding tax liability for

the 2020 calendar year is $5,000 or more must make Arizona

withholding tax payments using EFT. See the section “Payment

by Electronic Funds Transfer” on page 5 for additional information.

Explanation of Deposit Schedules

The Arizona deposit schedules are as follows:

Previous 4 Quarter	Arizona Deposit Schedule
Arizona Withholding
Average
$1,500 or less	Quarterly
	(May deposit on an annual basis
	if 4 quarter average is $200 or
	less and other criteria met)
More than $1,500	Same time as Federal
	(Monthly, Semi-weekly, Next
	Business Day)

NOTE: For help in figuring out your quarterly averages and which deposit schedule to use, see WTP 16-2, What

Withholding Tax Forms and Returns to File and When to File Them.

Annual Deposit Schedule

NOTE: An employer that uses the annual deposit schedule

does not file Form A1-QRT. This employer files Form A1-APR instead.

Some employers may qualify to make one annual Arizona withholding payment. The employer must have been in business for at least a year and must have established a specified filing and payment history. The employer must also have an average quarterly Arizona tax withholding of $200 or less for the 4 preceding calendar quarters. For complete details, see the instructions for the Annual Payment Withholding Tax Return, Arizona Form A1-APR.

The payment due date for the annual deposit schedule is:

Period in Which Wages	Arizona Payment Due By
Paid
January – December	January 31 of the following
	year

If the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday, the payment will be timely if made on the next banking day.

Quarterly Deposit Schedule

An employer that does not qualify to make one annual Arizona withholding payment and its income tax withheld during the prior 4 quarters was not greater than $1,500, must use the quarterly deposit schedule.

The payment due dates for the quarterly deposit schedule are:

Quarter in Which	Arizona Payment Due By
Wages Paid
1st	April 30
2nd	July 31
3rd	October 31
4th	January 31

If the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday, the payment will be considered timely if made on the next banking day.

Monthly or Semi-Weekly Deposit Schedule (Same Time as Federal Deposit Schedule)

When an employer’s prior 4 quarter average of Arizona income tax withheld is more than $1,500, the employer must pay its Arizona income tax withheld at the same time it pays its federal tax.

For federal purposes, there are two deposit schedules, monthly and semi-weekly. Before the start of each calendar year, the employer must decide which of the two deposit schedules it must use. The terms “monthly deposit schedule” and “semi- weekly deposit schedule” do not refer to how often a business pays wages. These terms refer to which set of deposit rules the employer must use. The deposit rules are based on the dates when wages are paid (cash basis); not on when tax liabilities are accrued for accounting purposes.

Federal Monthly Deposit Schedule

For federal purposes, this schedule applies when the total federal tax reported for the federal lookback period was $50,000 or less. Following the monthly deposit schedule, an employer must deposit its taxes for wages paid during the month by the 15th day of the following month. An Arizona employer whose prior 4 quarter average is more than $1,500, who uses this schedule for federal purposes must also deposit the Arizona tax withheld by the 15th day of the following month.

NOTE: If the due date falls on Saturday, Sunday, or a legal

holiday, the payment is considered timely if made on the next banking day.

Federal Semi-Weekly Deposit Schedule

This schedule applies when the employer’s total federal tax reported for the federal lookback period was more than $50,000. An Arizona employer whose prior 4 quarter average is more than $1,500, who uses semi-weekly deposit schedule

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Arizona Form A1-QRT for federal purposes must use this same schedule to pay its Arizona tax. Use the table below to determine when you must make your deposit(s).

Semi-Weekly Deposit Schedule

Day of the Week Wages	Payment Due By
Paid
Wednesday, Thursday or	The following Wednesday
Friday
Saturday, Sunday, Monday	The following Friday
or Tuesday

If the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday, the withholding payment is timely if made on the next banking day.

Federal Next Business Day Deposit

When the employer accumulates a federal tax liability of $100,000 or more on any day during a federal deposit period, the employer must deposit its tax by the close of the next business day. This applies whether the employer is a monthly or semi-weekly schedule depositor.

An Arizona employer whose prior 4 quarter average is more than $1,500, that must deposit its federal tax by the close of the next business day, must also deposit its Arizona tax by the close of the next business day. If an employer is a monthly depositor, that employer will become a semi-weekly depositor when it incurs a next day deposit obligation. The employer will remain a semi-weekly depositor for the remainder of the calendar year and for the following calendar year.

General Instructions

What are the due dates for filing Form A1-QRT?

Form A1-QRT is due as follows:

	Quarter	Form	*Form A1-
		A1-QRT	QRT Extended
		Due Date	Due Date
1	(January - March)	April 30	May 10
2	(April - June)	July 31	August 10
3	(July - September)	October 31	November 10
4 (October - December)		January 31	February 10

If any due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the return will be considered timely if it is filed by the next business day. (See General Tax Ruling [GTR] 16-1, Timely Filing of Income or Withholding Tax Returns Through the United States Mail or GTR 16-2, Timely Filing of Income or Withholding Tax Return – Holidays and Weekends.)

*Extended due dates for Form A1-QRT are available to employers who have made every payment on time during the prior quarter. These employers may have 10 additional days in which to file their A1-QRT.

Electronic Filing of Withholding Tax Returns

Withholding returns shall be filed electronically for taxable years beginning from and after December 31, 2019, or when the department establishes an electronic filing program.

For 2020, the department currently has three methods to file Form A1-QRT electronically. These methods are: