Instructions For Form 944-X (Rev. February 2015) (Page 12 of 13) in pdf

On each Form 944 for which you are entitled to use section

Corporation (including a limited liability company (LLC)

3509 rates, complete the following steps.

treated as a corporation)—The president, vice president, or

Write “Misclassified Employees” in bold letters across the

other principal officer duly authorized to sign.

top margin of page 1.

Partnership (including an LLC treated as a partnership)

Enter a zero on line 7 (“Total taxes after adjustments”).

or unincorporated organization—A responsible and duly

authorized member, partner, or officer having knowledge of its

Complete the signature area.

affairs.

Attach a completed Form 944-X (see instructions next).

Single member LLC treated as a disregarded entity for

On each Form 944X, complete the following steps.

federal income tax purposes—The owner of the LLC or a

Complete the top of Form 944-X, including the date you

principal officer duly authorized to sign.

discovered the error.

Trust or estate—The fiduciary.

Enter the wage amounts on lines 13–16, column 1.

Form 944-X may also be signed by a duly authorized agent of

Enter zeros on lines 13–16, column 2.

the taxpayer if a valid power of attorney has been filed.

Complete columns 3 and 4 as instructed in Part 3.

Provide a detailed statement on line 22.

Alternative signature method. Corporate officers or duly

Complete the signature area.

authorized agents may sign Form 944-X by rubber stamp,

mechanical device, or computer software program. For details

If you cannot use section 3509 rates (for example,

and required documentation, see Rev. Proc. 2005-39, 2005-28

because the workers you treated as nonemployees

I.R.B. 82, available at

were certain statutory employees), file a Form 944 for

CAUTION

each delinquent year. Write “Misclassified Employees” in

Paid Preparer Use Only

bold letters across the top margin of page 1 of each Form 944.

A paid preparer must sign Form 944-X and provide the

Complete Form 944 using the Instructions for Form 944. Attach

information in the Paid Preparer Use Only section of Part 5 if the

a Form 944-X to each Form 944. Complete the top of Form

preparer was paid to prepare Form 944-X and is not an

944-X, including the date you discovered the error, and provide

employee of the filing entity. Paid preparers must sign paper

a detailed explanation on line 22.

returns with a manual signature. The preparer must give you a

copy of the return in addition to the copy to be filed with the IRS.

22. Explain Your Corrections

If you are a paid preparer, enter your Preparer Tax

Treasury regulations require you to explain in detail the grounds

Identification Number (PTIN) in the space provided. Include your

and facts relied upon to support each correction. On line 22,

describe in detail each correction you entered in column 4 on

complete address. If you work for a firm, enter the firm's name

lines 7–16 and 18a. Also use line 22 to describe in detail

and the EIN of the firm. You can apply for a PTIN online or by

corrections made on line 18b. If you need more space, attach

filing Form W-12, IRS Paid Preparer Tax Identification Number

(PTIN) Application and Renewal. For more information about

additional sheets, but be sure to write your name, EIN, “Form

applying for a PTIN online, visit the IRS website at

944-X,” and the calendar year you are correcting on the top of

each sheet.

ptin. You cannot use your PTIN in place of the EIN of the tax

preparation firm.

You must describe the events that caused the underreported

or overreported amounts. Explanations such as “social security

Generally, you are not required to complete this section if you

and Medicare wages were overstated” or “administrative/payroll

are filing the return as a reporting agent and have a valid Form

errors were discovered” are insufficient and may delay

8655, Reporting Agent Authorization, on file with the IRS.

processing your Form 944-X because the IRS may need to ask

However, a reporting agent must complete this section if the

for a more complete explanation.

reporting agent offered legal advice, for example, advising the

client on determining whether its workers are employees or

Provide the following information in your explanation of each

independent contractors, for federal tax purposes.

correction.

Form 944-X line number(s) affected.

How Can You Order Forms,

Date you discovered the error.

Amount of the error.

Instructions, and Publications from

Cause of the error.

the IRS?

You may report the information in paragraph form. The

following paragraph is an example.

Visit the IRS website at formspubs.

“The $100 difference shown in column 3 of lines 6, 8, and 10

was discovered on May 15, 2015, during an internal payroll

audit. We discovered that we included $100 of wages for one of

Call the IRS at 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676).

our employees twice. This correction removes the reported

wages that were never paid.”

For corrections shown on lines 13–16, explain why the

Additional Information

correction was necessary and attach any notice you received

from the IRS.

You may find the following forms, instructions, and publications

Part 5: Sign Here

helpful when using Form 944-X.

Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement

You must complete all three pages of Form 944-X and sign it on

Form W-3, Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements

page 3. If you do not sign, processing of Form 944-X will be

General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3

delayed.

Form W-2AS, American Samoa Wage and Tax Statement

Who must sign the Form 944-X? The following persons are

Form W-2CM, Wage and Tax Statement (Northern Mariana

authorized to sign the return for each type of business entity.

Islands)

Sole proprietorship—The individual who owns the business.

Form W-2GU, Guam Wage and Tax Statement

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Instructions for Form 944-X (Rev. 2-2015)

Instructions For Form 944-X (Rev. February 2015) Page 12

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