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Instructions for Form 945-X

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

(February 2011)

Adjusted Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax or Claim for Refund

Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless

Where Can You Get Help?

otherwise noted.

For help filing Form 945-X or for questions about withheld

General Instructions:

federal income tax and tax corrections, you can:

•

Call the IRS toll-free at 1-800-829-4933 (TTY/TDD for the

Understanding Form 945-X

hearing impaired at 1-800-829-4059),

•

Visit IRS.gov and enter the keywords Correcting Employment

What Is the Purpose of Form 945-X?

Taxes, or

•

Get Pub. 15 (Circular E), Employer’s Tax Guide.

Use Form 945-X to correct administrative errors only on a

See also How Can You Order Forms and Publications from

previously filed Form 945. An administrative error occurs if the

the IRS? on page 5.

federal income tax (including backup withholding) you reported

When Should You File Form 945-X?

on Form 945 is not the amount you actually withheld from

payees. For example, if the total federal income tax you actually

withheld was incorrectly reported on Form 945 due to a

File Form 945-X when you discover an administrative error on a

mathematical or transposition error, this would be an

previously filed Form 945.

administrative error. Use Form 843, Claim for Refund and

However, if your only errors on Form 945 relate to federal

Request for Abatement, to request a refund or abatement of

tax liabilities reported on your Monthly Summary of Federal Tax

assessed interest or penalties.

Liability on Form 945 or on Form 945-A, Annual Record of

Federal Tax Liability, do not file Form 945-X. For more

information about correcting federal tax liabilities reported on

We use the terms “correct” and “corrections” on Form

your Monthly Summary of Federal Tax Liability on Form 945 or

945-X and in these instructions to include interest-free

TIP

adjustments under sections 6205 and 6413 and claims

on Form 945-A, see the Form 945-A instructions.

for refund and abatement under sections 6402, 6414, and 6404.

Due dates. The due date for filing Form 945-X to qualify for

See Revenue Ruling 2009-39, 2009-52 I.R.B. 951, for

interest-free adjustments for underpayments and overpayments

examples of how the interest-free adjustment and claim for

depends on when you discover an error and if you

refund rules apply in 10 different situations. You can find Rev.

underreported or overreported tax. If you underreported tax,

Rul. 2009-39, at

see Underreported tax below. For overreported amounts, you

may choose to either make an interest-free adjustment or file a

claim for refund or abatement. If you are correcting

When you discover an error on a previously filed Form 945,

overreported amounts, see Overreported tax — credit below

you must:

and Overreported tax — claim on page 2.

•

Correct that error using Form 945-X,

If any due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday,

•

File a separate Form 945-X for each Form 945 that you are

you may file Form 945-X on the next business day. If we

correcting, and

receive Form 945-X after the due date, we will treat Form 945-X

•

File Form 945-X separately. Do not file Form 945-X with

as filed on time if the envelope containing Form 945-X is

Form 945.

properly addressed, contains sufficient postage, and is

postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service on or before the due

date, or sent by an IRS-designated private delivery service on

Report the correction of underreported and overreported

or before the due date. If you do not follow these guidelines, we

amounts for the same year on a single Form 945-X, unless you

will consider Form 945-X filed when it is actually received. See

are requesting a refund or abatement. If you are requesting a

Pub. 15 (Circular E) for more information on IRS-designated

refund or abatement, file one Form 945-X correcting the

private delivery services.

underreported amounts and a second Form 945-X correcting

the overreported amounts.

Underreported tax. If you are correcting underreported tax,

you must file Form 945-X by the due date of the return for the

return period in which you discovered the error. When you

You will use the adjustment process if you underreported tax

discover that you underreported tax on a previously filed Form

and are making a payment, or if you overreported tax and will

945, file Form 945-X no later than January 31 of the following

be applying the credit to Form 945 for the period during which

year. Pay the amount you owe when you file. Filing and paying

you file Form 945-X. However, see the Caution on page 2 if you

on time will generally ensure your correction is interest free and

are correcting overreported amounts during the last 90 days of

not subject to failure-to-pay or failure-to-deposit penalties. See

a period of limitations. You will use the claim process if you

What About Penalties and Interest? on page 2.

overreported tax and are requesting a refund or abatement of

the overreported amount. Follow the chart on page 6 for help in

Example — You owe tax: On February 11, 2010, you

choosing whether to use the adjustment process or the claim

discover that you underreported $10,000 of federal income tax

process.

actually withheld on your 2009 Form 945 due to a mathematical

error. File Form 945-X and pay the amount you owe by January

31, 2011, because you discovered the error in 2010 and

Be sure to give us a detailed explanation on line 7 for each

January 31, 2011, is the due date for that year. If you file Form

correction that you show on Form 945-X.

945-X before January 31, 2011, pay the amount you owe when

you file.

Do not use Form 945-X to correct Forms CT-1, 941,

943, or 944. Instead, use the “X” form that corresponds

Overreported tax — credit. If you overreported tax and

to those forms (Form CT-1 X, 941-X, 943-X, or 944-X). If

choose to apply the credit to Form 945, file Form 945-X soon

CAUTION

you did not file a Form 945 for one or more years, do not use

after you discovered the error but more than 90 days before the

Form 945-X. Instead, file Form 945 for each of those years.

period of limitations on the credit or refund for correcting the

Cat. No. 20337I

Form 945-X - Instructions For Adjusted Annual Return Of Withheld Federal Income Tax Or Claim For Refund - Department Of The Treasury - 2011

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