Instructions For Form 944 - Employer'S Annual Federal Tax Return - 2017 Page 3

ADVERTISEMENT

267-941-1000 (toll call); Monday–Friday from 6:00 a.m.
Current year's adjustments to social security and
to 11:00 p.m. Eastern time.
Medicare taxes for fractions of cents, sick pay, tips, and
group-term life insurance.
Photographs of missing children. The IRS is a proud
Qualified small business payroll tax credit for increasing
partner with the
National Center for Missing & Exploited
research activities.
Children®
(NCMEC). Photographs of missing children
selected by the Center may appear in instructions on
If you received notification to file Form 944, you must
pages that would otherwise be blank. You can help bring
file Form 944 to report your social security, Medicare, and
these children home by looking at the photographs and
withheld federal income taxes for the 2017 calendar year
calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) if you
unless you contacted the IRS between January 1, 2017,
recognize a child.
and April 3, 2017, to request to file Forms 941, 941-SS, or
941-PR quarterly instead and received written
General Instructions
confirmation that your filing requirement was changed.
You must file Form 944 even if you have no taxes to report
Purpose of Form 944
(or you have taxes in excess of $1,000 to report) unless
you filed a final return. See If your business has closed...,
Form 944 is designed so the smallest employers (those
later. Also see What if you want to file Forms 941, 941-SS,
whose annual liability for social security, Medicare, and
or 941-PR instead of Form 944, later.
withheld federal income taxes is $1,000 or less) will file
and pay these taxes only once a year instead of every
If you haven't received notification to file Form 944
quarter. These instructions give you some background
for 2018 but estimate your employment tax liability
TIP
information about Form 944. They tell you who must file
for calendar year 2018 will be $1,000 or less and
Form 944, how to complete it line by line, and when and
would like to file Form 944 instead of Forms 941, 941-SS,
where to file it.
or 941-PR, you can contact the IRS to request to file Form
944. To file Form 944 for calendar year 2018, you must
If you want more in-depth information about payroll tax
call the IRS at 1-800-829-4933 or 267-941-1000 (toll call)
topics relating to Form 944, see Pub. 15, Pub. 80, Pub.
by April 2, 2018, or send a written request postmarked by
179, or go to IRS.gov/EmploymentTaxes.
March 15, 2018. The mailing addresses for written
Federal law requires you, as an employer, to withhold
requests are provided under What if you want to file
certain taxes from your employees' pay. Each time you
Forms 941, 941-SS, or 941-PR instead of Form 944. The
pay wages, you must withhold—or take out of your
IRS will send you a written notice that your filing
employees' pay—certain amounts for federal income tax,
requirement has been changed to Form 944. If you don't
social security tax, and Medicare tax. You must also
receive this notice, you must file Forms 941, 941-SS, or
withhold Additional Medicare Tax from wages you pay to
941-PR for calendar year 2018.
an employee in excess of $200,000 in a calendar year.
Under the withholding system, taxes withheld from your
New employers are also eligible to file Form 944 if
employees are credited to your employees in payment of
they will meet the eligibility requirements. New employers
their tax liabilities.
filing Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification
References to federal income tax withholding
Number, or Form SS-4PR, Solicitud de Número de
don't apply to employers in American Samoa,
Identificación Patronal (EIN), must complete line 13 of
!
Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern
Form SS-4 or SS-4PR, indicating the highest number of
CAUTION
Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico,
employees expected in the next 12 months and must
check the box on line 14 of Form SS-4 or SS-4PR to
unless you have employees who are subject to U.S.
indicate whether they expect to have $1,000 or less in
income tax withholding.
employment tax liability for the calendar year and would
Federal law also requires you to pay any liability for the
like to file Form 944. Generally, if you pay $4,000 or less
employer's portion of social security tax and Medicare tax.
in wages subject to social security and Medicare taxes
This portion of social security tax and Medicare tax isn't
and federal income tax withholding during the calendar
withheld from employees.
year, you are likely to pay $1,000 or less in employment
taxes. Generally, if you are an employer in Puerto Rico,
For more information about annual employment tax
American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the
filing and tax deposit rules, see Treasury Decision 9566,
Northern Mariana Islands, or the U.S. Virgin Islands and
2012-8 I.R.B. 389, at IRS.gov/irb/2012-08_IRB/ar09.html.
you pay $6,536 or less in wages subject to social security
Who Must File Form 944?
and Medicare taxes during the calendar year, you are
likely to pay $1,000 or less in employment taxes. New
In general, if the IRS has notified you to file Form 944, you
employers are advised of their employment tax filing
must file Form 944 instead of Forms 941, 941-SS, or
requirement when they are issued their EIN.
941-PR to report the following amounts.
If the IRS notified you in writing to file Form 944,
Wages you have paid.
you must file Form 944 (and not Forms 941,
!
Tips your employees reported to you.
941-SS, or 941-PR) even if your tax liability for
CAUTION
Federal income tax you withheld.
2017 exceeds $1,000. If you are unsure of your current
Both the employer's and the employee's share of social
filing requirement, call 1-800-829-4933 or 267-941-1000
security and Medicare taxes.
(toll call).
Additional Medicare Tax withheld from employees.
-3-
Instructions for Form 944 (2017)

ADVERTISEMENT

00 votes

Related Articles

Related forms

Related Categories

Parent category: Financial