Now, more than ever before, businesses can enjoy the benefits of filing and paying their federal taxes electronically. Whether you rely on a tax professional or handle your own taxes, the IRS offers you convenient programs to make filing and payment easier.

Spend less time and worry on taxes and more time running your business. Use e-file and the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) to your benefit.

You can use your American Express® Card, Discover® Card, MasterCard® card, Visa® card, or debit card to pay the balance due shown on Form 940, Form 941, Form 943, Form 944, and Form 945. To pay by credit or debit card, call toll-free or visit the website of any service provider listed below and follow the instructions. A convenience fee will be charged by the service provider. Fees vary between the providers. You will be told what the fee is during the transaction and you will have the option to either continue or cancel the transaction. You can also find out what the fee will be by calling the provider's toll-free automated customer service number or by visiting the provider's website shown below. You may not use a credit or debit card to pay taxes that are required to be deposited.

You can provide Formulario W-4(SP), Certificado de Exención de Retenciones del Empleado, in place of Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate, to your Spanish-speaking employees. For more information, see Publicación 17(SP), El Impuesto Federal sobre los Ingresos (Para Personas Físicas). You can also provide Formulario W-5(SP), Certificado del Pago por Adelantado del Crédito por Ingreso del Trabajo, in place of Form W-5, Earned Income Credit Advance Payment Certificate. For nonemployees, Formulario W-9(SP), Solicitud y Certificación del Número de Identificación del Contribuyente, may be used in place of Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification.

You may be required to file information returns to report certain types of payments made during the year. For example, you must file Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income, to report payments of $600 or more to persons not treated as employees (for example, independent contractors) for services performed for your trade or business. For details about filing Forms 1099 and for information about required electronic filing, see the 2010 General Instructions for Certain Information Returns (Forms 1098, 1099, 3921, 3922, 5498, and W-2G) for general information and the separate, specific instructions for each information return you file (for example, 2010 Instructions for Form 1099-MISC). Do not use Forms 1099 to report wages and other compensation you paid to employees; report these on Form W-2. See the Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 for details about filing Form W-2 and for information about required electronic filing. If you file 250 or more Forms 1099, you must file them electronically. If you file 250 or more Forms W-2, you must file them electronically. SSA will not accept Forms W-2 and W-3 filed on magnetic media.

Nonpayroll federal income tax withholding must be reported on Form 945, Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax. Form 945 is an annual tax return and the return for 2009 is due February 1, 2010. Separate deposits are required for payroll (Form 941 or Form 944) and nonpayroll (Form 945) withholding. Nonpayroll items include:

For details on depositing and reporting nonpayroll income tax withholding, see the Instructions for Form 945.

All income tax withholding reported on Forms 1099 or Form W-2G must also be reported on Form 945. All income tax withholding reported on Form W-2 must be reported on Form 941, Form 943, Form 944, or Schedule H (Form 1040).

Keep all records of employment taxes for at least 4 years. These should be available for IRS review. Your records should include:

To notify the IRS of a new business mailing address or business location, file Form 8822, Change of Address. Do not mail Form 8822 with your employment tax return. For information on how to change your address for deposit coupons, see Making deposits with FTD coupons in section 11.

You can use certain private delivery services designated by the IRS to mail tax returns and payments. The list includes only the following:

Your private delivery service can tell you how to get written proof of the mailing date.

Private delivery services cannot deliver items to P.O. boxes. You must use the U.S. Postal Service to mail any item to an IRS P.O. box address.

You can order employer tax products and information returns online at www.irs.gov/businesses. To order 2009 and 2010 forms, select “Online Ordering for Information Returns and Employer Returns.” You may also order employer tax products and information returns by calling 1-800-829-3676.

Instead of ordering paper Forms W-2 and W-3, consider filing them electronically using the Social Security Administration's (SSA) free e-file service. Visit SSA's Employer W-2 Filing Instructions & Information website at
www.socialsecurity.gov/employer, select “Electronically File Your W-2s,” and provide registration information. You will be able to create and file “fill-in” versions of Forms W-2 with SSA and can print out completed copies of Forms W-2 for filing with state and local governments, for distribution to your employees, and for your records. Form W-3 will be created for you based on your Forms W-2.

The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) is an independent organization within the IRS whose employees assist taxpayers who are experiencing economic harm, who are seeking help in resolving tax problems that have not been resolved through normal channels, or who believe an IRS system or procedure is not working as it should.

You can contact TAS by calling the TAS toll-free case intake line at 1-877-777-4778 or TTY/TDD 1-800-829-4059 to see if you are eligible for assistance. You can also call or write to your local taxpayer advocate, whose phone number and address are listed in your local telephone directory and in Publication 1546, Taxpayer Advocate Service – Your Voice at the IRS. You can file Form 911, Request for Taxpayer Advocate Service Assistance (And Application for Taxpayer Assistance Order), or ask an IRS employee to complete it on your behalf. For more information, go to www.irs.gov/advocate.

Generally, your filing address for Forms 940, 941, 943, 944, 945, and CT-1 depends on the location of your residence or principal place of business and whether or not you included a payment with your return. There are separate filing addresses for these returns if you are a tax-exempt organization or government entity. If you are located in the United States and do not include a payment with your return, you should file at either the Cincinnati or Ogden Service Centers. See the separate instructions for Forms 940, 941, 943, 944, 945, or CT-1 for the filing addresses or “Where To File” on the IRS website at
www.irs.gov/business.

The Internal Revenue Service is a proud partner with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Photographs of missing children selected by the Center may appear in this publication on pages that would otherwise be blank. You can help bring these children home by looking at the photographs and calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) if you recognize a child.

Employer's liability.   Employers are responsible for ensuring tax returns are filed and deposits and payments are made, even if the employer retains a third-party to perform those functions. The employer remains liable if the third party fails to perform a required action. Employers who enroll in EFTPS will be able to view EFTPS deposits and payments made on their behalf.

Federal Government employers.   The information in this guide applies to federal agencies except for the rules requiring deposit of federal taxes only at Federal Reserve banks or through the FedTax option of the Government On-Line Accounting Link Systems (GOALS). See the Treasury Financial Manual (I TFM 3-4000) for more information.

State and local government employers.   Payments to employees for services in the employ of state and local government employers are generally subject to federal income tax withholding but not federal unemployment (FUTA) tax. Most elected and appointed public officials of state or local governments are employees under common law rules. See chapter 3 of Publication 963, Federal-State Reference Guide. In addition, wages, with certain exceptions, are subject to social security and Medicare taxes. See section 15 of this guide for more information on the exceptions.

  If an election worker is employed in another capacity with the same government entity, see Revenue Ruling 2000-6 on page 512 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 2000-6 at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb00-06.pdf.

  You can get information on reporting and social security coverage from your local IRS office. If you have any questions about coverage under a section 218 (Social Security Act) agreement, contact the appropriate state official. To find your State Social Security Administrator, visit the National Conference of State Social Security Administrators website at www.ncsssa.org.

Disregarded entities and qualified subchapter S subsidiaries.   The IRS has published final regulations section 301.7701-2(c)(2)(iv) under which QSubs and eligible single-owner disregarded entities are treated as separate entities for employment tax purposes. Under these regulations eligible single-member entities that have not elected to be taxed as corporations must report and pay employment taxes on wages paid to their employees after December 31, 2008, using the entities' own names and EINs. The disregarded entity will be responsible for its own employment tax obligations on wages paid after December 31, 2008. For wages paid before January 1, 2009, see Publication 15 (Circular E), For Use in 2008.

COBRA premium assistance credit.   The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) provides certain former employees, retirees, spouses, former spouses, and dependent children the right to temporary continuation of health coverage at group rates. COBRA generally covers multiemployer health plans and health plans maintained by private-sector employers (other than churches) with 20 or more full and part-time employees. Parallel requirements apply to these plans under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Under the Public Health Service Act, COBRA requirements apply also to health plans covering state or local government employees. Similar requirements apply under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and under some state laws. For the premium assistance (or subsidy) discussed below, these requirements are all referred to as COBRA requirements.

  The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) allows a credit against “payroll taxes” (referred to in this publication as “employment taxes”) for providing COBRA premium assistance to assistance eligible individuals. For periods of COBRA continuation coverage beginning after February 16, 2009, a group health plan must treat an assistance eligible individual as having paid the required COBRA continuation coverage premium if the individual elects COBRA coverage and pays 35% of the amount of the premium.

  An assistance eligible individual is a qualified beneficiary of an employer's group health plan who is eligible for COBRA continuation coverage during the period beginning September 1, 2008, and ending December 31, 2009, due to the involuntarily termination from employment of a covered employee during the period and elects continuation COBRA coverage. The assistance for the coverage can last up to 9 months. The Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2010 (DDAA) extended the end of the eligibility period from December 31, 2009, to February 28, 2010. DDAA also extended the period of assistance from 9 months to 15 months.

  Administrators of the group health plans (or other entities) that provide or administer COBRA continuation coverage must provide notice to assistance eligible individuals of the COBRA premium assistance. Any individual who became a COBRA premium assistance eligible individual on or after October 31, 2009, must be sent a notice about the extended provisions of DDAA.

  The 65% of the premium not paid by the assistance eligible individuals is reimbursed to the employer maintaining the group health plan. The reimbursement is made through a credit against the employer's employment tax liabilities. The employer takes the credit on line 12a of Form 941 or line 11a of Form 944 once the 35% of the premium is paid by or on behalf of the assistance eligible individual. The credit is treated as a deposit made on the first day of the return period (quarter or year). In the case of a multiemployer plan, the credit is claimed by the plan, rather than the employer. In the case of an insured plan subject to state law continuation coverage requirements, the credit is claimed by the insurance company, rather than the employer.

  Anyone claiming the credit for COBRA premium assistance payments must maintain the following information to support their claim, including the following.

  For more information, visit the IRS website at
www.irs.gov and enter keywords COBRA Health Insurance Continuation Premium Subsidy.

Comments and suggestions.   We welcome your comments about this publication and your suggestions for future editions. You can email us at *taxforms@irs.gov. (The asterisk must be included in the address.) Please put “Publications Comment” on the subject line.

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  We respond to many letters by telephone. Therefore, it would be helpful if you would include your daytime phone number, including the area code, in your correspondence.

Employee status under common law.   Generally, a worker who performs services for you is your employee if you have the right to control what will be done and how it will be done. This is so even when you give the employee freedom of action. What matters is that you have the right to control the details of how the services are performed. See Publication 15-A for more information on how to determine whether an individual providing services is an independent contractor or an employee.

  Generally, people in business for themselves are not employees. For example, doctors, lawyers, veterinarians, construction contractors, and others in an independent trade in which they offer their services to the public are usually not employees. However, if the business is incorporated, corporate officers who work in the business are employees.

  If an employer-employee relationship exists, it does not matter what it is called. The employee may be called an agent or independent contractor. It also does not matter how payments are measured or paid, what they are called, or if the employee works full or part time.

Statutory employees.   If someone who works for you is not an employee under the common law rules discussed above, do not withhold federal income tax from his or her pay, unless backup withholding applies. Although the following persons may not be common law employees, they may be considered employees by statute for social security, Medicare, and FUTA tax purposes under certain conditions.

  

Statutory nonemployees.   Direct sellers, qualified real estate agents, and certain companion sitters are, by law, considered nonemployees. They are generally treated as self-employed for all federal tax purposes, including income and employment taxes.

Treating employees as nonemployees.   You will generally be liable for social security and Medicare taxes and withheld income tax if you do not deduct and withhold these taxes because you treated an employee as a nonemployee. You may be able to calculate your liability using special section 3509 rates for the employee share of social security and Medicare taxes and the federal income tax withholding. The applicable rates depend on whether you filed required Forms 1099. You cannot recover the employee share of social security, or Medicare tax, or income tax withholding from the employee if the tax is paid under section 3509. You are liable for the income tax withholding regardless of whether the employee paid income tax on the wages. You continue to owe the full employer share of social security and Medicare taxes. The employee remains liable for the employee share of social security and Medicare taxes. See Internal Revenue Code section 3509 for details. Also see the Instructions for Form 941-X.

  Section 3509 rates are not available if you intentionally disregard the requirement to withhold taxes from the employee or if you withheld income taxes but not social security or Medicare taxes. Section 3509 is not available for reclassifying statutory employees. See Statutory employees on page 9.

  If the employer issued required information returns, the section 3509 rates are:

  If the employer did not issue required information returns, the section 3509 rates are:

Relief provisions.   If you have a reasonable basis for not treating a worker as an employee, you may be relieved from having to pay employment taxes for that worker. To get this relief, you must file all required federal tax returns, including information returns, on a basis consistent with your treatment of the worker. You (or your predecessor) must not have treated any worker holding a substantially similar position as an employee for any periods beginning after 1977. See Publication 1976, Do You Qualify for Relief Under Section 530?

IRS help.   If you want the IRS to determine whether a worker is an employee, file Form SS-8, Determination of Worker Status for Purposes of Federal Employment Taxes and Income Tax Withholding.

Child employed by parents.   Payments for the services of a child under age 18 who works for his or her parent in a trade or business are not subject to social security and Medicare taxes if the trade or business is a sole proprietorship or a partnership in which each partner is a parent of the child. If these payments are for work other than in a trade or business, such as domestic work in the parent's private home, they are not subject to social security and Medicare taxes until the child reaches age 21. However, see Covered services of a child or spouse below. Payments for the services of a child under age 21 who works for his or her parent, whether or not in a trade or business, are not subject to federal unemployment (FUTA) tax. Although not subject to FUTA tax, the wages of a child may be subject to income tax withholding.

One spouse employed by another.   The wages for the services of an individual who works for his or her spouse in a trade or business are subject to income tax withholding and social security and Medicare taxes, but not to FUTA tax. However, the payments for services of one spouse employed by another in other than a trade or business, such as domestic service in a private home, are not subject to social security, Medicare, and FUTA taxes.

Covered services of a child or spouse.   The wages for the services of a child or spouse are subject to income tax withholding as well as social security, Medicare, and FUTA taxes if he or she works for:

Parent employed by child.   The payments for the services of a parent employed by his or her child in a trade or business are subject to income tax withholding and social security and Medicare taxes. Social security and Medicare taxes do not apply to payments made to a parent for services not in a trade or business, but they apply to domestic services if:

  Payments made to a parent employed by his or her child are not subject to FUTA tax, regardless of the type of services provided.

Applying for a social security card.   Any employee who is legally eligible to work in the United States and does not have a social security card can get one by completing Form SS-5, Application for a Social Security Card, and submitting the necessary documentation. You can get this form at SSA offices, by calling 1-800-772-1213, or from the SSA website at www.socialsecurity.gov/online/ss-5.html. The employee must complete and sign Form SS-5; it cannot be filed by the employer.

Applying for a social security number.   If you file Form W-2 on paper and your employee applied for an SSN but does not have one when you must file Form W-2, enter “Applied For” on the form. If you are filing electronically, enter all zeros (000-00-000) in the social security number field. When the employee receives the SSN, file Copy A of Form W-2c, Corrected Wage and Tax Statement, with the SSA to show the employee's SSN. Furnish copies B, C, and 2 of Form W-2c to the employee. Up to five Forms W-2c for each Form W-3c may now be filed per session over the Internet, with no limit on the number of sessions. For more information, visit the SSA's Employer W-2 Filing Instructions & Information webpage at
www.socialsecurity.gov/employer. Advise your employee to correct the SSN on his or her original Form W-2.

Correctly record the employee's name and SSN.   Record the name and number of each employee as they are shown on the employee's social security card. If the employee's name is not correct as shown on the card (for example, because of marriage or divorce), the employee should request a corrected card from the SSA. Continue to report the employee's wages under the old name until the employee shows you an updated social security card with the new name.

IRS individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITINs) for aliens.   Do not accept an ITIN in place of an SSN for employee identification or for work. An ITIN is only available to resident and nonresident aliens who are not eligible for U.S. employment and need identification for other tax purposes. You can identify an ITIN because it is a 9-digit number, beginning with the number “9” with either a “7” or “8” as the fourth digit and is formatted like an SSN (for example, 9NN-7N-NNNN).

  

An individual with an ITIN who later becomes eligible to work in the United States must obtain an SSN.

Verification of social security numbers.   The SSA offers employers and authorized reporting agents three methods for verifying employee SSNs. Some verification methods require registration. For more information, call 1-800-772-6270.

Registering for SSNVS and TNEV.   You must register online and receive authorization from your employer to use SSNVS or TNEV. To register, visit SSA's website at
www.ssa.gov/employer and click on the Business Services Online link. Follow the registration instructions to obtain a user Identification (ID) and password. You will need to provide the following information about yourself and your company:

  When you have completed the online registration process, SSA will mail a one-time activation code to your employer. You must enter the activation code online to use SSNVS or TNEV.

More information.   See section 6 for a discussion of tips and section 7 for a discussion of supplemental wages. Also, see section 15 for exceptions to the general rules for wages. Publication 15-A provides additional information on wages, including nonqualified deferred compensation, and other compensation. Publication 15-B provides information on other forms of compensation, including:

Employee business expense reimbursements.   A reimbursement or allowance arrangement is a system by which you pay the advances, reimbursements, and charges for your employees' business expenses. How you report a reimbursement or allowance amount depends on whether you have an accountable or a nonaccountable plan. If a single payment includes both wages and an expense reimbursement, you must specify the amount of the reimbursement.

  These rules apply to all ordinary and necessary employee business expenses that would otherwise qualify for a deduction by the employee.

Accountable plan.   To be an accountable plan, your reimbursement or allowance arrangement must require your employees to meet all three of the following rules.

  Amounts paid under an accountable plan are not wages and are not subject to the withholding and payment of income, social security, Medicare, and federal unemployment (FUTA) taxes.

  If the expenses covered by this arrangement are not substantiated (or amounts in excess of substantiated expenses are not returned within a reasonable period of time), the amount paid under the arrangement in excess of the substantiated expenses is treated as paid under a nonaccountable plan. This amount is subject to the withholding and payment of income, social security, Medicare, and FUTA taxes for the first payroll period following the end of the reasonable period of time.

  A reasonable period of time depends on the facts and circumstances. Generally, it is considered reasonable if your employees receive their advance within 30 days of the time they incur the expenses, adequately account for the expenses within 60 days after the expenses were paid or incurred, and return any amounts in excess of expenses within 120 days after the expenses were paid or incurred. Also, it is considered reasonable if you give your employees a periodic statement (at least quarterly) that asks them to either return or adequately account for outstanding amounts and they do so within 120 days.

Nonaccountable plan.   Payments to your employee for travel and other necessary expenses of your business under a nonaccountable plan are wages and are treated as supplemental wages and subject to the withholding and payment of income, social security, Medicare, and FUTA taxes. Your payments are treated as paid under a nonaccountable plan if:

  See section 7 for more information on supplemental wages.

Per diem or other fixed allowance.   You may reimburse your employees by travel days, miles, or some other fixed allowance under the applicable revenue procedure. In these cases, your employee is considered to have accounted to you if your reimbursement does not exceed rates established by the Federal Government. The 2009 standard mileage rate for auto expenses was 55 cents per mile. The rate for 2010 is 50 cents per mile. The government per diem rates for meals and lodging in the continental United States are listed in Publication 1542, Per Diem Rates. Other than the amount of these expenses, your employees' business expenses must be substantiated (for example, the business purpose of the travel or the number of business miles driven).

  If the per diem or allowance paid exceeds the amounts specified, you must report the excess amount as wages. This excess amount is subject to income tax withholding and payment of social security, Medicare, and FUTA taxes. Show the amount equal to the specified amount (for example, the nontaxable portion) in box 12 of Form W-2 using code L.

Wages not paid in money.   If in the course of your trade or business you pay your employees in a medium that is neither cash nor a readily negotiable instrument, such as a check, you are said to pay them “in kind.” Payments in kind may be in the form of goods, lodging, food, clothing, or services. Generally, the fair market value of such payments at the time they are provided is subject to federal income tax withholding and social security, Medicare, and FUTA taxes.

  However, noncash payments for household work, agricultural labor, and service not in the employer's trade or business are exempt from social security, Medicare, and FUTA taxes. Withhold income tax on these payments only if you and the employee agree to do so. Nonetheless, noncash payments for agricultural labor, such as commodity wages, are treated as cash payments subject to employment taxes if the substance of the transaction is a cash payment.

Moving expenses.   Reimbursed and employer-paid qualified moving expenses (those that would otherwise be deductible by the employee) paid under an accountable plan are not includible in an employee's income unless you have knowledge the employee deducted the expenses in a prior year. Reimbursed and employer-paid nonqualified moving expenses are includible in income and are subject to employment taxes and income tax withholding. For more information on moving expenses, see Publication 521, Moving Expenses.

Meals and lodging.   The value of meals is not taxable income and is not subject to income tax withholding and social security, Medicare, and FUTA taxes if the meals are furnished for the employer's convenience and on the employer's premises. The value of lodging is not subject to income tax withholding and social security, Medicare, and FUTA taxes if the lodging is furnished for the employer's convenience, on the employer's premises, and as a condition of employment.

   “For the convenience of the employer” means you have a substantial business reason for providing the meals and lodging other than to provide additional compensation to the employee. For example, meals you provide at the place of work so that an employee is available for emergencies during his or her lunch period are generally considered to be for your convenience.

  However, whether meals or lodging are provided for the convenience of the employer depends on all of the facts and circumstances. A written statement that the meals or lodging are for your convenience is not sufficient.

50% test.   If over 50% of the employees who are provided meals on an employer's business premises receive these meals for the convenience of the employer, all meals provided on the premises are treated as furnished for the convenience of the employer. If this 50% test is met, the value of the meals is excludable from income for all employees and is not subject to federal income tax withholding or employment taxes. For more information, see Publication 15-B.

Health insurance plans.   If you pay the cost of an accident or health insurance plan for your employees, including an employee's spouse and dependents, your payments are not wages and are not subject to social security, Medicare, and FUTA taxes, or federal income tax withholding. Generally, this exclusion also applies to qualified long-term care insurance contracts. However, for income tax withholding, the value of health insurance benefits must be included in the wages of S corporation employees who own more than 2% of the S corporation (2% shareholders). For social security, Medicare, and FUTA taxes, the health insurance benefits are excluded from the wages only for employees and their dependents or for a class or classes of employees and their dependents. See Announcement 92-16 for more information. You can find Announcement 92-16 on page 53 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 1992-5.

Health Savings Accounts and medical savings accounts.   Your contributions to an employee's Health Savings Account (HSA) or Archer medical savings account (MSA) are not subject to social security, Medicare, or FUTA taxes, or federal income tax withholding if it is reasonable to believe at the time of payment of the contributions they will be excludable from the income of the employee. To the extent it is not reasonable to believe they will be excludable, your contributions are subject to these taxes. Employee contributions to their HSAs or MSAs through a payroll deduction plan must be included in wages and are subject to social security, Medicare, and FUTA taxes and income tax withholding. However, HSA contributions made under a salary reduction arrangement in a section 125 cafeteria plan are not wages and are not subject to employment taxes or withholding. For more information, see the Instructions for Form 8889, Health Savings Accounts.

Medical care reimbursements.   Generally, medical care reimbursements paid for an employee under an employer's self-insured medical reimbursement plan are not wages and are not subject to social security, Medicare, and FUTA taxes, or income tax withholding. See Publication 15-B for an exception for highly compensated employees.

Differential wage payments.   Differential wage payments are any payments made by an employer to an individual for a period during which the individual is performing service in the uniformed services while on active duty for a period of more than 30 days and represent all or a portion of the wages the individual would have received from the employer if the individual were performing services for the employer.

  Differential wage payments are wages for income tax withholding, but are not subject to social security, Medicare, or FUTA taxes. Employers should report differential wage payments on Form W-2 in box 1. For more information about the tax treatment of differential wage payments, visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov and enter keywords Employers with Employees in a Combat Zone.

Fringe benefits.   You generally must include fringe benefits in an employee's gross income (but see Nontaxable fringe benefits next). The benefits are subject to income tax withholding and employment taxes. Fringe benefits include cars you provide, flights on aircraft you provide, free or discounted commercial flights, vacations, discounts on property or services, memberships in country clubs or other social clubs, and tickets to entertainment or sporting events. In general, the amount you must include is the amount by which the fair market value of the benefits is more than the sum of what the employee paid for it plus any amount the law excludes. There are other special rules you and your employees may use to value certain fringe benefits. See Publication 15-B for more information.

Nontaxable fringe benefits.   Some fringe benefits are not taxable (or are minimally taxable) if certain conditions are met. See Publication 15-B for details. Examples include:

  However, do not exclude the following fringe benefits from the income of highly compensated employees unless the benefit is available to other employees on a nondiscriminatory basis.
For more information, including the definition of a highly compensated employee, see Publication 15-B.

When fringe benefits are treated as paid.   You may choose to treat certain noncash fringe benefits as paid by the pay period, by the quarter, or on any other basis you choose as long as you treat the benefits as paid at least once a year. You do not have to make a formal choice of payment dates or notify the IRS of the dates you choose. You do not have to make this choice for all employees. You may change methods as often as you like, as long as you treat all benefits provided in a calendar year as paid by December 31 of the calendar year. See Publication 15-B for more information, including a discussion of the special accounting rule for fringe benefits provided during November and December.

Valuation of fringe benefits.   Generally, you must determine the value of fringe benefits no later than January 31 of the next year. Before January 31, you may reasonably estimate the value of the fringe benefits for purposes of withholding and depositing on time.

Withholding on fringe benefits.   You may add the value of fringe benefits to regular wages for a payroll period and figure withholding taxes on the total, or you may withhold federal income tax on the value of the fringe benefits at the flat 25% supplemental wage rate. However, see Withholding on supplemental wages when an employee receives more than $1,000,000 of supplemental wages during the calendar year in section 7.

  You may choose not to withhold income tax on the value of an employee's personal use of a vehicle you provide. You must, however, withhold social security and Medicare taxes on the use of the vehicle. See Publication 15-B for more information on this election.

Depositing taxes on fringe benefits.   Once you choose payment dates for fringe benefits (discussed above), you must deposit taxes in the same deposit period you treat the fringe benefits as paid. To avoid a penalty, deposit the taxes following the general deposit rules for that deposit period.

  If you determine by January 31 you overestimated the value of a fringe benefit at the time you withheld and deposited for it, you may claim a refund for the overpayment or have it applied to your next employment tax return. See Valuation of fringe benefits , above. If you underestimated the value and deposited too little, you may be subject to a failure-to-deposit penalty. See section 11 for information on deposit penalties.

  If you deposited the required amount of taxes but withheld a lesser amount from the employee, you can recover from the employee the social security, Medicare, or income taxes you deposited on his or her behalf, and included in the employee's Form W-2. However, you must recover the income taxes before April 1 of the following year.

Sick pay.   In general, sick pay is any amount you pay under a plan to an employee who is unable to work because of sickness or injury. These amounts are sometimes paid by a third party, such as an insurance company or an employees' trust. In either case, these payments are subject to social security, Medicare, and FUTA taxes. Sick pay becomes exempt from these taxes after the end of 6 calendar months after the calendar month the employee last worked for the employer. The payments are always subject to federal income tax. See Publication 15-A for more information.

Collecting taxes on tips.   You must collect income tax, employee social security tax, and employee Medicare tax on the employee's tips. If an employee reports to you in writing $20 or more of tips in a month, the tips are also subject to FUTA tax.

  You can collect these taxes from the employee's wages or from other funds he or she makes available. See Tips treated as supplemental wages in section 7 for more information. Stop collecting the employee social security tax when his or her wages and tips for tax year 2010 reach $106,800; collect the income and employee Medicare taxes for the whole year on all wages and tips. You are responsible for the employer social security tax on wages and tips until the wages (including tips) reach the limit. You are responsible for the employer Medicare tax for the whole year on all wages and tips. File Form 941 or Form 944 to report withholding and employment taxes on tips.

Ordering rule.   If, by the 10th of the month after the month for which you received an employee's report on tips, you do not have enough employee funds available to deduct the employee tax, you no longer have to collect it. If there are not enough funds available, withhold taxes in the following order.

Reporting tips.   Report tips and any uncollected social security and Medicare taxes on Form W-2 and on lines 5b and 5c of Form 941 (lines 4b and 4c of Form 944). Report an adjustment on line 7c of Form 941 (line 6a of the 2008 Form 944, line 6 of the 2009 Form 944) for the uncollected social security and Medicare taxes. Enter the amount of uncollected social security and Medicare taxes in box 12 of Form W-2 with codes A and B. See section 13 and the Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3.

Allocated tips.   If you operate a large food or beverage establishment, you must report allocated tips under certain circumstances. However, do not withhold income, social security, or Medicare taxes on allocated tips.

  A large food or beverage establishment is one that provides food or beverages for consumption on the premises, where tipping is customary, and where there were normally more than 10 employees on a typical business day during the preceding year.

  The tips may be allocated by one of three methods—hours worked, gross receipts, or good faith agreement. For information about these allocation methods, including the requirement to file Forms 8027 electronically if 250 or more forms are filed, see the Instructions for Form 8027.

Tip Rate Determination and Education Program.   Employers may participate in the Tip Rate Determination and Education Program. The program primarily consists of two voluntary agreements developed to improve tip income reporting by helping taxpayers to understand and meet their tip reporting responsibilities. The two agreements are the Tip Rate Determination Agreement (TRDA) and the Tip Reporting Alternative Commitment (TRAC). A tip agreement, the Gaming Industry Tip Compliance Agreement (GITCA), is available for the gaming (casino) industry. Additionally, the IRS is offering an expanded tip reporting and education program for food and beverage industry employers called the Attributed Tip Income Program (ATIP). ATIP has simple enrollment requirements and procedures. To find out more about the program, or to identify the IRS Tip Coordinator for your state, call the IRS at 1-800-829-4933. To get more information about TRDA and TRAC agreements See Pub 3144, Tips on Tips. For more information on ATIP agreements see Pub 1461, ATIP Attributed Income Brochure. Additionally you can access the IRS website at www.irs.gov and enter keywords MSU tips to get more information about ATIP, GITCA, TRDA, or TRAC agreements.

Withholding on supplemental wages when an employee receives more than $1,000,000 of supplemental wages from you during the calendar year.   Special rules apply to the extent supplemental wages paid to any one employee during the calendar year exceed $1,000,000. If a supplemental wage payment, together with other supplemental wage payments made to the employee during the calendar year, exceeds $1,000,000, the excess is subject to withholding at 35 percent (or the highest rate of income tax for the year). Withhold using the 35% rate without regard to the employee's Form W-4. In determining supplemental wages paid to the employee during the year, include payments from all businesses under common control. For more information, see Treasury Decision 9276, 2006-37 I.R.B. 423, available at
www.irs.gov/irb/2006-37_IRB/ar09.html.

Withholding on supplemental wage payments to an employee who does not receive $1,000,000 of supplemental wages during the calendar year.   If the supplemental wages paid to the employee during the calendar year are less than or equal to $1,000,000, the following rules apply in determining the amount of income tax to be withheld.

Supplemental wages combined with regular wages.   If you pay supplemental wages with regular wages but do not specify the amount of each, withhold federal income tax as if the total were a single payment for a regular payroll period.

Supplemental wages identified separately from regular wages.   If you pay supplemental wages separately (or combine them in a single payment and specify the amount of each), the federal income tax withholding method depends partly on whether you withhold income tax from your employee's regular wages.

Tips treated as supplemental wages.   Withhold income tax on tips from wages or from other funds the employee makes available. If an employee receives regular wages and reports tips, figure income tax withholding as if the tips were supplemental wages. If you have not withheld income tax from the regular wages, add the tips to the regular wages. Then withhold income tax on the total. If you withheld income tax from the regular wages, you can withhold on the tips by method 1-a or 1-b on page 14.

Vacation pay.   Vacation pay is subject to withholding as if it were a regular wage payment. When vacation pay is in addition to regular wages for the vacation period, treat it as a supplemental wage payment. If the vacation pay is for a time longer than your usual payroll period, spread it over the pay periods for which you pay it.

No regular payroll period.   When you do not have a regular payroll period, withhold the tax as if you paid wages for a daily or miscellaneous payroll period. Figure the number of days (including Sundays and holidays) in the period covered by the wage payment. If the wages are unrelated to a specific length of time (for example, commissions paid on completion of a sale), count back the number of days from the payment period to the latest of:

Employee paid for period less than 1 week.   When you pay an employee for a period of less than one week, and the employee signs a statement under penalties of perjury indicating he or she is not working for any other employer during the same week for wages subject to withholding, figure withholding based on a weekly payroll period. If the employee later begins to work for another employer for wages subject to withholding, the employee must notify you within 10 days. You then figure withholding based on the daily or miscellaneous period.

A Form W-4 that makes a change for the next calendar year will not take effect in the current calendar year.

Employees may claim fewer withholding allowances than they are entitled to claim. They may wish to claim fewer allowances to ensure they have enough withholding or to offset the tax on other sources of taxable income not subject to adequate withholding.

See Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax, for more information about completing Form W-4. Along with Form W-4, you may wish to order Publication 505 and Publication 919, How Do I Adjust My Tax Withholding, for use by your employees.

Do not accept any withholding or estimated tax payments from your employees in addition to withholding based on their Form W-4. If they require additional withholding, they should submit a new Form W-4 and, if necessary, pay estimated tax by filing Form 1040-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals.

Nonresident alien students from India and business apprentices from India are not subject to this procedure.

The amounts added under the chart on the previous page are added to wages solely for calculating income tax withholding on the wages of the nonresident alien employee. The amounts from the chart on the previous page should not be included in any box on the employee's Form W-2 and do not increase the income tax liability of the employee. Also, these chart amounts do not increase the social security, Medicare, or FUTA tax liability of the employer or the employee.

This procedure only applies to nonresident alien employees who have wages subject to income tax withholding.

A nonresident alien employee may request additional withholding at his or her option for other purposes, although such additions should not be necessary for withholding to cover federal income tax liability related to employment.

After submitting a copy of a requested Form W-4 to the IRS, continue to withhold federal income tax based on that Form W-4 if it is valid (see Invalid Forms W-4 on page 18). However, if the IRS later notifies you in writing the employee is not entitled to claim exemption from withholding or a claimed number of withholding allowances, withhold federal income tax based on the effective date, marital status, and maximum number of withholding allowances specified in the notice (commonly referred to as a "lock-in letter").

The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) provides for a federal system of old-age, survivors, disability, and hospital insurance. The old-age, survivors, and disability insurance part is financed by the social security tax. The hospital insurance part is financed by the Medicare tax. Each of these taxes is reported separately.

Generally, you are required to withhold social security and Medicare taxes from your employees' wages and you must also pay a matching amount of these taxes. Certain types of wages and compensation are not subject to social security and Medicare taxes. See sections 5 and 15 for details. Generally, employee wages are subject to social security and Medicare taxes regardless of the employee's age or whether he or she is receiving social security benefits. If the employee reported tips, see section 6.

For federal income tax withholding and social security, Medicare, and federal unemployment (FUTA) tax purposes, there are no differences among full-time employees, part-time employees, and employees hired for short periods. It does not matter whether the worker has another job or has the maximum amount of social security tax withheld by another employer. Income tax withholding may be figured the same way as for full-time workers. Or it may be figured by the part-year employment method explained in section 9 of Publication 15-A.

Form W-5.   Form W-5 explains the eligibility requirements for receiving advance EIC payments. On Form W-5, an employee states he or she expects to be eligible to claim the EIC and shows whether he or she has another Form W-5 in effect with any other current employer. The employee also shows the following:

  An employee may have only one certificate in effect with a current employer at one time. If an employee is married and his or her spouse also works, each spouse should file a separate Form W-5.

Length of effective period.   Form W-5 is effective for the first payroll period ending on or after the date the employee gives you the form (or the first wage payment made without regard to a payroll period). It remains in effect until the end of the calendar year unless the employee revokes it or files another one. Eligible employees must file a new Form W-5 each year.

Change of status.   If an employee gives you a signed Form W-5 and later becomes ineligible for advance EIC payments, he or she must revoke Form W-5 within 10 days after learning about the change of circumstances. The employee must give you a new Form W-5 stating he or she is no longer eligible for or no longer wants advance EIC payments.

  If an employee's situation changes because his or her spouse files a Form W-5, the employee must file a new Form W-5 showing his or her spouse has a Form W-5 in effect with an employer. This will reduce the maximum amount of advance payments you can make to that employee.

  If an employee's spouse has filed a Form W-5 that is no longer in effect, the employee may file a new Form W-5 with you, but is not required to do so. A new form will certify the spouse does not have a Form W-5 in effect and will increase the maximum amount of advance payments you can make to that employee.

Invalid Form W-5.   The Form W-5 is invalid if it is incomplete, unsigned, or has an alteration or unauthorized addition. The form has been altered if any of the language has been deleted. Any writing added to the form other than the requested entries is an unauthorized addition.

  You should consider a Form W-5 invalid if an employee has made an oral or written statement that clearly shows the Form W-5 to be false. If you receive an invalid form, tell the employee it is invalid as of the date he or she made the oral or written statement. For advance EIC payment purposes, the invalid Form W-5 is considered void.

  You are not required to determine if a completed and signed Form W-5 is correct. However, you should contact the IRS if you have reason to believe it contains an incorrect statement.

How to figure the advance EIC payment.   To figure the amount of the advance EIC payment to include with the employee's pay, you must consider: Do not consider combat zone pay received by the employee and excluded from income as earned income when figuring the advance EIC payment.

  Figure the amount of advance EIC to include in the employee's pay by using the tables that begin on page 62. There are separate tables for employees whose spouses have a Form W-5 in effect. See page 38 for instructions using the advance EIC payment tables.

  

The amount of advance EIC paid to an employee during 2010 cannot exceed $1,830. For example if during the year you have paid an employee with one child total wages of at least $35,535 ($40,545 if married filing jointly), you must also stop making advance EIC payments to that employee for the rest of the year.

Paying the advance EIC to employees.   An advance EIC payment is not subject to withholding of income, social security, or Medicare taxes. An advance EIC payment does not change the amount of income, social security, or Medicare taxes you withhold from the employee's wages. You add the EIC payment to the employee's net pay for the pay period. At the end of the year, you show the total advance EIC payments in box 9 on Form W-2. Do not include this amount as wages in box 1.

Employer's returns.   Show the total payments you made to employees on the advance EIC payments line (line 9) of your Form 941 (line 8 of Form 944). Subtract this amount from your total taxes on line 8 (line 7 of Form 944). See the separate Instructions for Form 941 (or the separate Instructions for Form 944). Reduce the amounts reported on line 17 of 2009 Form 941 (line 15 of Form 944) or on appropriate lines of Schedule B (Form 941), Report of Tax Liability for Semiweekly Schedule Depositors, by any advance EIC paid to your employees.

  Generally, employers will make the advance EIC payment from withheld income tax and employee and employer social security and Medicare taxes. These taxes are normally required to be paid over to the IRS either through federal tax deposits or with employment tax returns. For purposes of deposit due dates, advance EIC payments are treated as deposits of these taxes on the day you pay wages (including the advance EIC payment) to your employees. The payments are treated as deposits of these taxes in the following order: (1) income tax withholding, (2) withheld employee social security and Medicare taxes, and (3) the employer's share of social security and Medicare taxes.

  You are considered to have made a deposit of $100 advance EIC payment on the day you paid wages. The $100 is treated as if you deposited the $90 total income tax withholding and $10 of the employee social security and Medicare taxes. You remain liable for depositing the remaining $112.60 of the social security and Medicare taxes ($51.30 + $61.30 = $112.60).

Advance EIC payments more than taxes due.   For any payroll period, if the total advance EIC payments are more than the total employment taxes (withheld income tax and both employee and employer shares of social security and Medicare taxes), you may choose either to:

U.S. possessions.   If you are in American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, or the U.S. Virgin Islands, consult your local tax office for information on the EIC. You cannot take advance EIC payments into account on Form 941-SS or Form 944-SS.

You must notify employees who have no federal income tax withheld they may be able to claim a tax refund because of the EIC. Although you do not have to notify employees who claim exemption from withholding on Form W-4 about the EIC, you are encouraged to notify any employees whose wages for 2009 were less than $43,352 ($48,362 if married filing jointly) they may be eligible to claim the credit for 2010. This is because eligible employees may get a refund of the amount of EIC that is more than the tax they owe.

You will meet this notification requirement if you issue the employee Form W-2 with the EIC notice on the back of Copy B, or a substitute Form W-2 with the same statement. You will also meet the requirement by providing Notice 797, Possible Federal Tax Refund Due to the Earned Income Credit (EIC), or your own statement that contains the same wording.

If a substitute for Form W-2 is given to the employee on time but does not have the required statement, you must notify the employee within 1 week of the date the substitute for Form W-2 is given. If Form W-2 is required but is not given on time, you must give the employee Notice 797 or your written statement by the date Form W-2 is required to be given. If Form W-2 is not required, you must notify the employee by February 8, 2010.

Payment with return.   You may make a payment with Form 941 or Form 944 instead of depositing, without incurring a penalty, if one of the following applies. Employers who have been notified to file Form 944 can pay their fourth quarter tax liability with Form 944 if the fourth quarter tax liability is less than $2,500. Employers must have deposited any tax liability due for the first, second, and third quarters according to the deposit rules to avoid failure-to-deposit penalties for deposits during those quarters.

Separate deposit requirements for nonpayroll (Form 945) tax liabilities.   Separate deposits are required for nonpayroll and payroll income tax withholding. Do not combine deposits for Forms 941 (or Form 944) and 945 tax liabilities. Generally, the deposit rules for nonpayroll liabilities are the same as discussed below, except the rules apply to an annual rather than a quarterly return period. Thus, the $2,500 threshold for the deposit requirement discussed above applies to Form 945 on an annual basis. See the separate Instructions for Form 945 for more information.

There are two deposit schedules—monthly and semiweekly—for determining when you deposit social security, Medicare, and withheld income taxes. These schedules tell you when a deposit is due after a tax liability arises (for example, when you have a payday). Before the beginning of each calendar year, you must determine which of the two deposit schedules you are required to use. The deposit schedule you must use is based on the total tax liability you reported on Form 941 during a lookback period discussed below. Your deposit schedule is not determined by how often you pay your employees or make deposits. See special rules for Forms 944 and 945 below. See Application of Monthly and Semiweekly Schedules on page 22.

These rules do not apply to federal unemployment (FUTA) tax. See section 14 for information on depositing FUTA tax.

The two methods of depositing employment taxes, including Form 945 taxes, are discussed below. See Payment with return on page 20 for exceptions explaining when taxes may be paid with the tax return instead of being deposited.

Although the deposit penalties information provided below refers specifically to Form 941, these rules also apply to Form 945 and Form 944 (if the employer required to file Form 944 does not qualify for the exception to the deposit requirements discussed on page 20 under Payment with return).

Penalties may apply if you do not make required deposits on time, if you make deposits for less than the required amount, or if you do not use EFTPS when required. The penalties do not apply if any failure to make a proper and timely deposit was due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect. The IRS may also waive penalties if you inadvertently fail to deposit in the first quarter you were required to deposit any employment tax, or in the first quarter during which your frequency of deposits changed, if you timely filed your employment tax return.

For amounts not properly or timely deposited, the penalty rates are as follows.

Late deposit penalty amounts are determined using calendar days, starting from the due date of the liability.

Form 941.   Each quarter, all employers who pay wages subject to income tax withholding (including withholding on sick pay and supplemental unemployment benefits) or social security and Medicare taxes must file Form 941, Employer's QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return, unless the employer is required to file Form 944 or the following exceptions apply. Form 941 must be filed by the last day of the month that follows the end of the quarter. See the Calendar on page 2.

Form 944.   If you receive written notification you qualify for the Form 944 program, you must file Form 944, Employer's ANNUAL Federal Tax Return, instead of Form 941. If you received this notification, but prefer to file Form 941, you can request to have your filing requirement changed to Form 941 if you satisfy certain requirements. See the Instructions for Form 944 for details. Employers who must file Form 944 have until the last day of the month that follows the end of the year to file Form 944.

Exceptions.   The following exceptions apply to the filing requirements for Forms 941 and 944.

Form 941 e-file.   The Form 941 e-file program allows a taxpayer to electronically file Form 941 or Form 944 using a personal computer, modem, and commercial tax preparation software. For more information, visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov and click on the IRS e-file link, or call 1-866-255-0654.

Electronic filing by reporting agents.   Reporting agents filing Forms 941 or Form 944 for groups of taxpayers can file them electronically. See Reporting Agents in section 7 of Publication 15-A.

Penalties.   For each whole or part month a return is not filed when required (disregarding any extensions of the filing deadline), there is a failure-to-file penalty of 5% of the unpaid tax due with that return. The maximum penalty is generally 25% of the tax due. Also, for each whole or part month the tax is paid late (disregarding any extensions of the payment deadline), there is a failure-to-pay penalty of 0.5% per month of the amount of tax. For individual filers only, the failure-to-pay penalty is reduced from 0.5% per month to 0.25% per month if an installment agreement is in effect. You must have filed your return on or before the due date of the return to qualify for the reduced penalty. The maximum amount of the failure-to-pay penalty is also 25% of the tax due. If both penalties apply in any month, the failure-to-file penalty is reduced by the amount of the failure-to-pay penalty. The penalties will not be charged if you have a reasonable cause for failing to file or pay. If you receive a penalty notice, you can provide an explanation of why you believe reasonable cause exists.

  If income, social security, or Medicare taxes that must be withheld are not withheld or are not paid, you may be personally liable for the trust fund recovery penalty. See Trust fund recovery penalty in section 11.

  Use of a reporting agent or other third-party payroll service provider does not relieve an employer of the responsibility to ensure tax returns are filed and all taxes are paid or deposited correctly and on time.

Do not file more than one Form 941 per quarter or more than one Form 944 per year.   Employers with multiple locations or divisions must file only one Form 941 per quarter or one Form 944 per year. Filing more than one return may result in processing delays and may require correspondence between you and the IRS. For information on making adjustments to previously filed returns, see section 13.

Reminders about filing.   

Final return.   If you go out of business, you must file a final return for the last quarter (last year for Form 944) in which wages are paid. If you continue to pay wages or other compensation for periods following termination of your business, you must file returns for those periods. See the Instructions for Form 941 or the Instructions for Form 944 for details on how to file a final return.

  If you are required to file a final return, you are also required to furnish Forms W-2 to your employees by the due date of your final return. File Forms W-2 and W-3 with the SSA by the last day of the month that follows the due date of your final return. Do not send an original or copy of your Form 941 or Form 944 to the SSA. See the Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 for more information.

Filing late returns for previous years.   If possible, get a copy of Form 941 or Form 944 (and separate instructions) with a revision date showing the year for which your delinquent return is being filed. See Quick and Easy Access to IRS Tax Help and Tax Products on page 73 for various ways to secure any necessary forms and instructions. Contact the IRS at 1-800-829-4933 if you have any questions.

  

Reconciling Forms W-2, W-3, and 941 or 944.   When there are discrepancies between Forms 941 or Form 944 filed with the IRS and Forms W-2 and W-3 filed with the SSA, the IRS must contact you to resolve the discrepancies.

  To help reduce discrepancies:

  Do not report on Form 941 or Form 944 backup withholding or income tax withholding on nonpayroll payments such as pensions, annuities, and gambling winnings. Nonpayroll withholding must be reported on Form 945, Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax. See the Instructions for Form 945 for details. Income tax withholding required to be reported on Forms 1099 or W-2G must be reported on Form 945. Only taxes and withholding properly reported on Form W-2 should be reported on Form 941 or Form 944.

  Amounts reported on Forms W-2, W-3, and Forms 941 or Form 944 may not match for valid reasons. If they do not match, you should determine the reasons they are valid. Keep your reconciliation so you will have a record of why amounts did not match in case there are inquiries from the IRS or the SSA. See the Instructions for Schedule D (Form 941) if you need to explain any discrepancies that were caused by an acquisition, statutory merger, or consolidation.

In certain cases, amounts reported as social security and Medicare taxes in column 2 of lines 5a, 5b, and 5c of Form 941 (column 2 of lines 4a, 4b, and 4c for Form 944) must be adjusted to arrive at your correct tax liability (for example, excluding amounts withheld by a third-party payor or amounts you were not required to withhold). Current period adjustments are reported on lines 7a, 7b, and 7c of Form 941 and line 6 of Form 944 and include the following:

If an employee repays you for wages received in error, do not offset the repayments against current-year wages unless the repayments are for amounts received in error in the current year.

Who must pay?   Use the following three tests to determine whether you must pay FUTA tax. Each test applies to a different category of employee, and each is independent of the others. If a test describes your situation, you are subject to FUTA tax on the wages you pay to employees in that category during the current calendar year.

  

Computing FUTA tax.   For 2009 and 2010 the FUTA tax rate is 6.2%. The tax applies to the first $7,000 you pay to each employee as wages during the year. The $7,000 is the federal wage base. Your state wage base may be different. Generally, you can take a credit against your FUTA tax for amounts you paid into state unemployment funds. This credit cannot be more than 5.4% of taxable wages. If you are entitled to the maximum 5.4% credit, the FUTA tax rate after the credit is 0.8%.

Successor employer.   If you acquired a business from an employer who was liable for FUTA tax, you may be able to count the wages that employer paid to the employees who continue to work for you when you figure the $7,000 FUTA wage base. See the Instructions for Form 940.

Depositing FUTA tax.   For deposit purposes, figure FUTA tax quarterly. Determine your FUTA tax liability by multiplying the amount of taxable wages paid during the quarter by .008 (0.8%). Stop depositing FUTA tax on an employee's wages when he or she reaches $7,000 in taxable wages for the calendar year. If any part of the wages subject to FUTA is exempt from state unemployment tax, you may have to deposit more than the tax using the 0.8% rate. For example, in certain states, wages paid to corporate officers, certain payments of sick pay by unions, and certain fringe benefits are exempt from state unemployment tax.

  If your FUTA tax liability for a quarter is $500 or less, you do not have to deposit the tax. Instead, you may carry it forward and add it to the liability figured in the next quarter to see if you must make a deposit. If your FUTA tax liability for any calendar quarter in 2010 is over $500 (including any FUTA tax carried forward from an earlier quarter), you must deposit the tax using EFTPS or at an authorized financial institution using Form 8109. See section 11 for information on these two deposit methods.

Household employees.   You are not required to deposit FUTA taxes for household employees unless you report their wages on Form 941, Form 944, or Form 943. See Publication 926, Household Employer's Tax Guide, for more information.

When to deposit.   Deposit the FUTA tax by the last day of the first month that follows the end of the quarter. If the due date (below) for making your deposit falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, you may make your deposit on the next business day.

  If your liability for the fourth quarter (plus any undeposited amount from any earlier quarter) is over $500, deposit the entire amount by the due date of Form 940 (January 31). If it is $500 or less, you can make a deposit, pay the tax with a credit or debit card, or pay the tax with your 2009 Form 940 by January 31.See Credit and Debit Card Payments on page 3.

  

Reporting FUTA tax.   Use Form 940, Employer's Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return, to report FUTA tax. File 2009 Form 940 by February 1, 2010. However, if you deposited all FUTA tax when due, you may file on or before February 10, 2010. If you do not receive Form 940, you can get a form by calling 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676).

Household employees.   If you did not report employment taxes for household employees on Form 941, Form 944, or Form 943, report FUTA tax for these employees on Schedule H (Form 1040), Household Employment Taxes. See Publication 926 for more information. You must have an EIN to file Schedule H (Form 1040).

Electronic filing by reporting agents.   Reporting agents filing Forms 940 for groups of taxpayers can file them electronically. See the Reporting Agent discussion in section 7 of Publication 15-A.

There are several ways to figure income tax withholding. The following methods of withholding are based on the information you get from your employees on Form W-4. See section 9 for more information on Form W-4.

Adjustments are not required when there will be more than the usual number of pay periods, for example, 27 biweekly pay dates instead of 26.

To figure the advance EIC payment, you may use either the Wage Bracket Method or the Percentage Method as explained below. You may use other methods for figuring advance EIC payments if the amount of the payment is about the same as it would be using tables in this booklet. See the tolerances allowed in the chart in section 9 of Publication 15-A. See also section 10 in this booklet for an explanation of the advance payment of the EIC.

The number of withholding allowances an employee claims on Form W-4 is not used in figuring the advance EIC payment. Nor does it matter the employee has claimed exemption from income tax withholding on Form W-4.

The tables on page 71 explain how to calculate additional withholding amounts for pension payments. The withholding amounts may be added to the amount of withholding determined from the percentage method, the wage bracket method, or any other allowable method. The percentage method, the wage bracket method, or other allowable method when combined with this procedure constitutes an allowable alternative withholding method for pensions and annuities.

This procedure is optional for those making pension payments subject to withholding under section 3405 of the Internal Revenue Code. The procedure is an approximate offset for the withholding reduction from the withholding tables on pages 41-60, which reflect the Making Work Pay credit. Eligibility for the credit requires earned income, which does not include pension payments.

Pension payors are not required to use this procedure but may instead continue to use only the withholding tables to determine the amount of withholding.

The procedure is shown on page 71 for Monthly, Semimonthly, Biweekly, and Weekly pension payments.

If pension payors decide to use this optional procedure, they should begin using it as of January 1, 2010.

The income tax withholding amounts in the Wage Bracket Tables (pages 41-60) have been rounded to whole-dollar amounts.

When employers use the Percentage Method (pages 39-40) or an alternative method of income tax withholding, the tax for the pay period may be rounded to the nearest dollar.

The Wage Bracket Tables for advance EIC payments (pages 63-69) have also been rounded to whole-dollar amounts. If you use the Tables for Percentage Method of Advance EIC Payments (pages 61-62), the payments may be rounded to the nearest dollar.