Employment Tax Recordkeeping

Keep all records of employment taxes for at least four years after filing the 4th quarter for the year. These should be available for IRS review. Records should include:

  • Your employer identification number.
  • Amounts and dates of all wage, annuity, and pension payments.
  • Amounts of tips reported to you by your employees.
  • Record of all allocated tips.
  • The fair market value of in-kind wages paid.
  • Names, addresses, social security numbers, and occupations of employees and recipients.
  • Any employee copies of Form W-2 and W-2c returned to you as undeliverable.
  • Dates of employment for each employee.
  • Periods for which employees and recipients were paid while absent due to sickness or injury and the amount and weekly rate of payments you or third-party payers made to them.
  • Copies of employees' and recipients' income tax withholding certificates (Forms W-4, W-4P, W-4S, and W-4V).
  • Dates and amounts of tax deposits you made and acknowledgment numbers for deposits made by EFTPS.
  • Copies of returns filed and confirmation numbers.
  • Records of fringe benefits and expenses reimbursements provided to your employees, including substantiation.
  • Documentation to substantiate any credits claimed. Records related to qualified sick leave wages and qualified family leave wages for leave taken after March 31, 2021, and records related to qualified wages for the employee retention credit paid after June 30, 2021, should be kept for at least 6 years. For more information on substantiation requirements, go to the Tax Credits for Paid Leave Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act for Leave Prior to April 1, 2021 and FAQs: Employee Retention Credit under the CARES Act pages.
  • Documentation to substantiate the amount of any employer or employee share of social security tax that you deferred and paid for 2020.