October 31 falls on a Saturday this year, so three quarterly filings move to Monday, November 2. Useful to know, and not a reason to wait.
Three filings, one date
The third quarter closed on September 30. Three separate filings follow it, and for calendar year 2026 they share a date:
- Federal Form 941, the quarterly employer return
- California DE 9 and DE 9C, the quarterly wage and withholding reports filed with EDD
- The CDTFA sales and use tax return, if you file quarterly
Why November 2
These are normally due on the last day of the month following the quarter, which would be October 31. October 31, 2026 is a Saturday. When a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, it moves to the next business day, which is Monday, November 2.
That is two extra days, and we would not plan around them. The filings depend on payroll data that is already final on September 30, so there is no reason for this to be a last-weekend exercise.
The one that quietly goes wrong
Deposits are a separate obligation from the return, and the return being on time does not fix a deposit that was late. Your deposit schedule — monthly or semiweekly — is set by your lookback period, not by preference, and it can change between years without anything announcing it.
If your payroll grew this year, this is worth checking before the quarter closes rather than after. A business that moved from monthly to semiweekly and did not notice will have been late on every deposit since January.
Sales tax, specifically
The CDTFA return is due whether or not you made a sale. A quarter with no activity still needs a return filed, and "we had nothing to report" is not a filing.
If your volume changed materially this year, your filing frequency may have changed with it. CDTFA reassigns filers between monthly, quarterly and annual schedules, and the notice is easy to miss.
Sources
Every date and requirement above comes from the agency that sets it. Rules change — check the source, or call us.
General information, not tax advice for your situation. Call us at (818) 698-8236 to talk about your own facts.