Instructions For Form 944-X (Rev. February 2015) (Page 2 of 13) in pdf

Where Can You Get Help?

Taxable wages and tips subject to Additional Medicare Tax

withholding; and

Credits for COBRA premium assistance payments.

For help filing Form 944-X or for questions about federal

employment taxes and tax corrections, you can:

Use Form 843, Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement,

Visit the IRS website at

and click on

to request a refund or abatement of assessed interest or

the Employment Taxes link under Businesses Topics;

penalties. Do not request a refund or abatement of assessed

See Pub. 15 (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide, for correcting

interest or penalties on Form 944 or Form 944-X.

Form 944, or Pub. 80 (Circular SS), Federal Tax Guide for

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

Employers in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa,

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

and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, for

TIP

adjustments under sections 6205 and 6413 and claims

correcting Form 944-SS; or

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

Call the IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line toll free at

See Rev. Rul. 2009-39 for examples of how the interest-free

1-800-829-4933 or 1-800-829-4059 (TDD/TTY for persons who

adjustment and claim for refund rules apply in 10 different

are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability) Monday–

situations. You can find Rev. Rul. 2009-39, 2009-52 I.R.B. 951,

Friday from 7:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m. local time (Alaska and Hawaii

follow Pacific time).

See also How Can You Order Forms, Instructions, and

When you discover an error on a previously filed Form 944,

Publications from the IRS, later.

you must:

When Should You File Form 944-X?

Correct that error using Form 944-X,

File a separate Form 944-X for each Form 944 that you are

correcting, and

File Form 944-X when you discover an error on a previously filed

File Form 944-X separately. Do not file Form 944-X with

Form 944.

However, if your only errors on Form 944 relate to federal tax

liabilities reported in Part 2 of Form 944 or on Form 945-A,

If you did not file a Form 944 for one or more years for which

Annual Record of Federal Tax Liability, do not file Form 944-X.

you should have filed Form 944, do not use Form 944-X.

To correct federal tax liabilities reported in Part 2 of Form 944,

Instead, file Form 944 for each of those years. See also When

file Form 945-A, but only enter the monthly totals. The daily

Should You File Form 944-X below. However, if you did not file

entries are not required. For more information about correcting

Forms 944 because you improperly treated workers as

federal tax liabilities reported on Form 945-A, see the Form

independent contractors or nonemployees and are now

945-A instructions.

reclassifying them as employees, see the instructions for line 21,

later.

Due dates. The due date for filing Form 944-X depends on

when you discover an error and if you underreported or

Report the correction of underreported and overreported

overreported tax. If you underreported tax, see Underreported

amounts for the same year on a single Form 944-X, unless you

tax next. For overreported amounts, you may choose to either

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

make an interest-free adjustment or file a claim for refund or

refund or abatement and you are correcting both underreported

abatement. If you are correcting overreported amounts, see

and overreported amounts, file one Form 944-X correcting the

Overreported tax—adjustment process and Overreported

underreported amounts only and a second Form 944-X

tax—claim process, later.

correcting the overreported amounts.

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

You will use the adjustment process if you underreported

you may file Form 944-X on the next business day. If we receive

employment taxes and are making a payment, or if you

Form 944-X after the due date, we will treat Form 944-X as filed

overreported employment taxes and will be applying the credit to

on time if the envelope containing Form 944-X is properly

Form 944 for the period during which you file Form 944-X.

addressed, contains sufficient postage, and is postmarked by

However, see the Caution under Is There a Deadline for Filing

the U.S. Postal Service on or before the due date, or sent by an

Form 944-X, later, if you are correcting overreported amounts

IRS-designated private delivery service on or before the due

during the last 90 days of a period of limitations. You will use the

date. If you do not follow these guidelines, we will consider Form

claim process if you overreported employment taxes and are

944-X filed when it is actually received. See Pub. 15 (Circular E)

requesting a refund or abatement of the overreported amount.

or Pub. 80 (Circular SS) for more information on legal holidays

Follow the chart on the back of Form 944-X for help in choosing

and IRS-designated private delivery services.

whether to use the adjustment process or the claim process. Be

sure to give us a detailed explanation on line 22 for each

Underreported tax. If you are correcting underreported tax,

correction that you show on Form 944-X.

you must file Form 944-X by the due date of the return for the

return period in which you discovered the error (January 31 of

Continue to report current year adjustments for fractions of

the following year) and pay the amount you owe by the time you

cents, third-party sick pay, tips, and group-term life insurance on

file. Doing so will generally ensure that your correction is interest

Form 944, line 6.

free and not subject to failure-to-pay or failure-to-deposit (FTD)

penalties. See What About Penalties and Interest, later. For

You have additional requirements to complete when filing

details on how to make a payment, see the instructions for

Form 944-X, such as certifying that you filed (or will file) all

line 19, later.

applicable Forms W-2, Wage and Tax Statements, and Forms

W-2c, Corrected Wage and Tax Statements. For corrections of

If Form 944-X is filed late (after the due date of the return for

overreported federal income tax, social security or Medicare tax,

the return period in which you discovered the error), you must

you must make any certifications that apply to your situation.

attach an amended Form 945-A to Form 944-X. Otherwise, the

IRS may assess an “averaged” FTD penalty. The tax reported on

Do not use Form 944-X to correct Form CT-1, 941,

Form 945-A, line M, must match the corrected total tax (Form

941-SS, 943, or 945. Instead, use the “X” form that

944, line 7, combined with any correction reported on Form

corresponds to those forms (Form CT-1 X, 941-X,

944-X, line 17) for the year, less any previous abatements and

CAUTION

943-X, or 945-X).

interest-free tax assessments.

-2-

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

Instructions For Form 944-X (Rev. February 2015) Page 2

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