The CARES Act allows employers to defer the deposit and payment of the employer's share of Social Security taxes and self-employed individuals to defer payment of certain self-employment taxes.

The deferral applies to deposits and payments of the employer's share of Social Security tax that would otherwise be required to be made during the period beginning on March 27, 2020, and ending December 31, 2020. The Form 941, Employer's QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return, will be revised for the second calendar quarter of 2020 (April - June, 2020) to provide instruction for any deferrals.

Employers who have received a PPP loan may defer deposit and payment of the employer's share of Social Security tax that otherwise would be required to be made beginning on March 27, 2020, through the date the lender issues a decision to forgive the loan, without incurring failure to deposit and failure to pay penalties. Once an employer receives a decision from its lender that its PPP loan is forgiven, the employer is no longer eligible to defer deposit and payment of the employer's share of Social Security tax due after that date. However, the amount of the deposit and payment of the employer's share of Social Security tax that was deferred through the date that the PPP loan is forgiven continues to be deferred. The deferred tax must be deposited by the following dates (referred to as the "applicable dates") to be treated as timely (and avoid a failure to deposit penalty):

On December 31, 2021, 50 percent of the deferred amount; and
On December 31, 2022, the remaining amount.

For more information, here is a link to the IRS frequently asked questions about the deferral of tax deposits.