Glossary term
Lookback period
IRS-defined window for determining tax-deposit schedule.
Definition
The lookback period is an IRS-defined twelve-month window (July 1 through June 30 of the prior year) used to determine an employer's required federal employment tax deposit schedule. Employers with $50,000 or less of total employment taxes during the lookback period are monthly schedule depositors; those above $50,000 are semiweekly depositors. New employers default to monthly. The deposit schedule is independent of the payroll frequency the employer uses to pay employees.
Example
An employer with $30,000 in total payroll taxes during July 2023–June 2024 is a monthly depositor for calendar year 2025.
Related terms
- Pay period — The recurring window of time covered by a single paycheck.
- Pay frequency — How often paychecks are issued.
- Payday — The calendar day wages are deposited.
- In arrears — Wages paid after the pay period ends.
- Biweekly — Every other week — 26 paychecks per year.
- Semimonthly — Twice per month on fixed dates — 24 paychecks per year.
See also
- Pay schedule calculator — convert salary to per-paycheck amount
- Pay frequencies primer — weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, monthly
- Frequently asked questions