To fill out Form 944 for 2023 Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return:
- You need IRS Form 944 for 2023.
- Your payroll record for 2023.
- IRS Instructions for 2023 Form 944.
To download Form 944 for 2023, you can go to www.irs.gov and type the form in their search bar. You download it as well as the IRS Instructions for Form 944.
You can access the link for Form 944 from our blog under “Federal Tax Forms and Instructions Links” in the side bar.
You also need to have a record of wages you paid to your employees and officers during the year.
Am I required to file a 944?
If IRS request you to file Form 944 for your business, you should file it.
To know what tax returns to file for your business, you look on your SSA-form or the letter you received in the mail from IRS when you filed for EIN (Employer Identification Number) for your business. The letter will specify the type of business tax returns to file and their due dates.
Who would determine when form 944 should be used?
IRS determines whether you must file form 944 Employer Federal Annual Tax Return. You can find which tax returns to file for your business on the reply you received from IRS after you applied for EIN (Employer Identification Number) for your business.
Who completes form 944?
Form 944 allows employers whose social security tax, Medicare tax, and federal income tax withheld, are $1,000 or less a year, to fill their federal employment tax return once a year using Form 944 and pay the amount due or deposit the amount due on a regular basis throughout the year.
As an employer, you are required to withhold social security, Medicare, and federal income taxes from your employees’ wages each time you pay wages. For each amount you withhold for social security and Medicare, you are required to complement it with the employer share.
Who needs to fill out Form 944?
IRS must notify you in writing and request you file form 944 before you start filling it for your business.
When you apply for EIN for your business, you should receive a letter (Form SSA) in the mail from IRS with the list of tax forms to file for your business and when they are due every year.
If you are required to file Form 944 and during the year, your tax liability went over the $1,000 threshold, continue filing form 944 every year until you receive IRS notification stating you are no longer qualified to file form 944 and should start file Form 941 every quarter.
What is the difference between a 941 and a 944?
Form 944 is Annual Federal Tax Return for employers whose employment tax liabilities (social security, Medicare, and federal income taxes withheld) are $1,000 or less a year.
Form 941 is Employers’ Quarterly Federal Tax Return filed every quarter to report social security, Medicare, and federal income tax for the quarter. It is usually required from employers whose employment tax liabilities are estimated to be over $1,000 a year.
If you are not sure what form you are required to file, you can call IRS number 800-829-4933.
How to request to file Form 944?
If you will pay less than $5,000 in wages during the year, chances are your employment taxes will be less than $1,000 for that year.
If you are required to file quarterly return Form 941 and you prefer to file Form 944 once a year, you could send a mail or call IRS number 800-829-4933 to request their approval to file Form 944. You should place your request during the first quarter of the year.
You must wait for a written approval from IRS in the mail before you change form and file Form 944. If you don’t receive it or until you receive it, you should continue to file Form 941 every quarter.
If you want to send a request by mail, you will find the IRS address on page 6 of Instructions for 2023 Form 944.
When Form 944 is due?
File Form 944 by January 31.
What to do if your business address changed?
Complete Form 8822-B to report the address change or the new responsible party to IRS. You can find the link to Form 8822-B on Nina’s Soap “IRS Tax Forms and Instructions” in the side bar.
Where do I file IRS Form 944?
On IRS Instructions for Form 944, page 6-7 you locate the state where your business is located. If you will add payment to the form 944, choose the address in the column “with payment” that corresponds to your state.
Write the address on the envelope as you read through the instructions.
If you made deposit during the year and will not add payment to form 944 or paid $0 wages, or don’t owe any employment tax, use the “without a payment” column’s address that corresponds to your state to mail your form 944.
How to report numbers on form 944?
Don’t add dollars sign or decimal point.
Don’t round your numbers. Show the cents amount even if it is 0.
If a line is $0 leave it blank except line 9 where you put 0 if it zero.
For negative numbers use minus sign when possible.
Reconcile Form 944, W-2s, and W-3
When you file form 944, IRS reconciles that with W2s and W-3 you filed with SSA (Social Security Administration).
Your federal income tax withheld on Form 944 should match the total of all the W-2s filed with SSA and W-3 for the year you file for.
Social security wages should match the total of W-2s filed with SSA and W-3.
Social security tips should match the total of W-2s filed with SSA and W-3.
Medicare wages and tips should match the total of W-2s filed with SSA and W-3.
If the is a few cents discrepancies due to rounding, it can be adjusted on form 944 on adjustment Line 6 Current Year’s Adjustments.
When possible, I would like to complete Form 944, then e-file W-2 and W-3 with Social Security and make sure the data filed with SSA reconciles with the data from Form 944. Then I submit W-2 and W3 with SSA and mail the form 944 to IRS.
Should you deposit or pay your employment taxes?
If your employment tax liability is estimated to be $2,500 or more a year, you are required to make deposit by EFT (Electronic Fund Transfer) using EFTPS system following a deposit schedule you should have chosen for your business at the start of every year.
To know how to choose the right deposit schedule for your business at the start of the year, you can read about it in the article category “How to Fill out Form 944”. https://ninasoap.com/categories/how-to-fill-out-form-944/
If your employment tax is less than $2,500 a year, you can pay it when you file form 944 and file it by its due date.
How to fill out Form 944 for 2023?
Form 944 Business Information
Add your business name you used to apply for EIN on the Line “Name”.
Look at your EIN application form if you made a copy of it. The name you put on your EIN application form on the line “business legal name” is your business name to enter on Form 944 Line “Name”.
If you are sole Proprietor, that will be your own name.
If you are an LLC taxed as an S Corporation and you put your business name as the business legal name on the EIN application form, that name will be the business name to enter on Form 944. You enter that name on page 2 and page 3 on top as well as the business EIN.
If your business has a trade name (Doing Business As), you enter that DBA name on the Line “trade name”.
For instance, on my business Form 944, the name is Liberman Consulting L.L.C., and the trade name is Nina’s Soap. Then Liberman Consulting L.L.C is on page 2 and page 3 on top.
Form 944 Part 1
Line 1
Enter on line 1 total wages tips and officer compensations paid to employees and officers during the tax year.
If you are not using a payroll software, you could use a spreadsheet to track your business payroll if you don’t have a lot of employees. We have at least 2 payroll spreadsheets in our Free Downloads on www.ninasoap.com you can download for free to use if you don’t have time to design your own. You could customize it to fit your business model as well. You can access the link to the Free Downloads at the end of the article or in the side bar of the website.
Pull your payroll spreadsheet and add your total wages paid during the calendar year, on line 1 of form 944.
Line 2 Federal income tax withheld
If you withheld income tax from your staff and officers’ wages, the total would go on line 2. If you didn’t withhold any income tax for the feds, the amount is 0. You leave line 2 blank.
Line 3 If you paid $0 wages.
If you didn’t pay wages or compensation during the year, you may not have social security or Medicare tax. Therefore, check the box on line 3. Leave line 4 alone and go to line 5.
If you paid wages or compensations, do not check line 3. Go to line 4.
Form 944 Line 4 Social security and Medicare tax
The social security tax is 6.2% for each employee and 6.2% for the employer for a total of 12.4%.
On each employee you withhold 6.2% from the wages until the employee salary or wages for the year reaches the social security wages threshold. The social security wages ceiling can vary each year. You can read more on it in the instructions to form 944 around page 9.
For 2023, the social security wages ceiling is $160,200.
You stop collecting social security tax from that employee’s wages when that employee’s wages reach that ceiling. And your business doesn’t pay 6.2% on the salary exceeding that threshold for that employee either. But you continue to withhold income tax and Medicare tax on the whole year wages even if social security stops at its threshold for that employee.
Line 4a Total wages subject to social security
Enter the portion of line 1 total wages and officers’ salary that is subject to social security tax. If the total amount on line 1 is subject to social security tax, add that amount on line 4a column 1.
Calculate the social security tax and enter the amount on line 4a column 2. It is the amount on line 4a column 1 x 0.124. That is both employee and employer social security tax. You could design your payroll spreadsheet to do the calculation for you.
If you have sick leave pay and family leave pay, you complete 4a (i) and 4a (ii) column 1 and put the tax in column 2. The social security tax on sick leave and family leave pay is withheld from the employee wages. The employer doesn’t match it. Therefore, the social security tax on sick leave and family leave pay is 6.2%. If you don’t have qualified sick leave and family leave pay, leave 4a (i) and 4a (ii) lines blank.
Line 4b tips
If you paid tips you need to withhold 6.2% from employees’ tips and the employer pays 6.2%. You enter tips subject to social security tax on line 4b column 1. You time the amount by 0.124 and enter the social security tax for both employee and employer on 4b column 2.
Note that the tips to enter on line 4b should have been included on line 1 total wages, tips, and compensations. If your employees didn’t earn tips, leave line 4b blank.
Line 4c Medicare tax
Enter the total wages, officers’ compensations, tips, sick leaves, family leave pay on line 4c column 1.
As a business owner, you withhold 1.45% from employees’ wages for Medicare tax and your business pays 1.45% for Medicare tax on all employees’ wages for a total of 2.9% Medicare tax (employee and employer shares combined).
Take 4c column 1 amount and multiply by 0.029 and enter the result on 4c column 2. Your payroll spreadsheet should calculate it for you but do double check your numbers for accuracy.
Line 4d Additional Medicare tax
If an employee or officer salary exceeds $200,000 at any point during the year, your business needs to start withholding an additional 0.9% of Medicaid tax in addition to 1.45% from that employee’s wages for the rest of the year. Your business will only contribute 1.45% on Medicare tax on all that employee’s wages. Your business is not required to paid additional Medicare tax. Only the employee pays that.
It is good to design your payroll spreadsheet to track the cumulative of wages paid to each employee in your business. One of our free payroll spreadsheets is a little elaborate and could help track your employees’ income but please make sure the formula in the spreadsheet is not broken and is calculating your numbers for you as you will expect. You can access the payroll spreadsheet in the Free Downloads section in the website side bar.
Our free payroll spreadsheet is not suited to record payroll for employees earning salaries above the social security wages threshold.
If no wages are subject to additional Medicare tax, leave line 4d blank. But if there are employees that earned more than $200,000 during the year the total for each employee over the $200,000 should go on line 4d column 1. The 0.9% tax calculated on 4d column 1 will go on 4d column 2.
Line 4e total social security and Medicaid Taxes
Total social security and Medicare taxes from column 2 and add the amount on Line 4e.
Line 5 Total employment tax before adjustment
Total federal income tax withheld on line 2 and total social security and Medicare taxes from line 4e. Put that total amount on line 5.
Line 6 tax adjustments
If the social security tax and Medicare tax withheld from employees’ income are a little different from what you are supposed to withhold based on Line 4a to line 4d on form 944 because of rounding, make that adjustments on line 6. The adjustment could be a positive number or negative number to match what you withheld and what to report on line 4a to line 4d. The adjustment is for the current year you are filling for. If you need to adjust prior year Form 944, you need to complete Form 944-X to make that adjustment.
If you don’t have any adjustment to make on line 6 leave it blank.
Line 7 total tax after adjustments
Total line 5 and line 6.
Line 8 nonrefundable credits
If you are eligible to claim a credit, you can read IRS Instructions for Form 944 page 14 to 16 to see how to complete line 8a to line 8g.
If you are not claiming a credit, leave line 8a to line 8g blank.
Line 9 Total tax after nonrefundable credits
Subtract line 8g total nonrefundable credits from line 7 total tax after adjustments.
If you don’t have any tax and line 7 and line 8g are blank, on line 9 you put 0 on the dollar section and 00 on the cents section. Do NOT leave line 9 blank. Put 0 there on dollar and cents spots.
Line 10a Deposits
If you made employment deposits during the year, or if you didn’t claim a refund from the prior year overpayment but prefer to apply it toward the next tax return, enter the total on line 10a. If you didn’t make any deposits, leave line 10a blank.
Line 10d to Line 10h Refundable credits
If you are eligible to claim a credit read Instructions for form 944 page 17 for more information. If you didn’t claim any credits and you didn’t make any deposits, leave lines 10 blank.
Line 10h is the total of all the lines 10.
Line 11 Balance
If you made deposits and entered the total on line 10a but didn’t claim any credit, your line 10h will be the same as line 10a. Subtract your tax liabilities on line 9 from your deposits and refundable credits line 10h.
If your tax on line 9 is more than your line 10h total deposits and refundable credits, you will owe tax. That difference will go on line 11 Balance due.
Line 12 Refund
If line 9 total tax is less than line 10h total deposits and refundable credits, you are owed a refund. You put that difference between line 9 and 10h on line 12 when line 10h is more than line 9. You then check the box whether you want to apply the refund toward the next return or receive a refund.
Form 944 Part 2
Line 13
If your Form 944 line 9 is less than $2,500, check the 1st box on line 13 and leave the rest of line 13 alone and go to Part 3.
If, however, your line 9 total tax is $2,500 or more, you must check the 2nd box on line 13 and then you complete Line 13a to 13l. Line 13m is the total of line 13a to line 13l. Your line 13m should equal to your line 9 total tax after adjustments and nonrefundable credits.
If you are semiweekly depositor, you are required to complete Form 945-A and attach it to your form 944 instead of completing line 13a to line 13l. You can find the link for Form 945-A and its instructions on our blog “IRS Tax Forms and Instructions” in the side bar.
Form 945-A allows you to report your daily employer tax liability.
Our free payroll spreadsheet is not suited for you if you are a semiweekly depositor.
It is suited for monthly schedule depositor as it can summarize your data into monthly and quarterly reports.
If your total employment tax (federal income tax, social security tax, and Medicare tax) is at least $2,500 a year, if you are not using a payroll software, you might want to design your payroll spreadsheet to pull your payroll total by month. Or you could record your payroll by month. You could look at our free payroll spreadsheets to see if one is better suited for your business and is designed well enough to track your payroll at the detail and summary levels you wish. Make change to the payroll spreadsheet to fit your need. You can access them in the side bar under Free Downloads.
If you need to complete line 13a to line 13l, you enter your monthly tax liability based on the wages you paid to your employees every month. When you paid wages is when you incurred the tax liability. Don’t add your tax deposited amount on line 13a to 13l. It is your tax liability based on how much you paid in wages every month.
How do you determine an employer’s payroll tax deposit schedule?
If you are required to make deposits, you must choose your deposit schedule at the start of the year. You can be a monthly depositor or semiweekly depositor.
More information can be found in IRS Publication 15 section 11 Depositing taxes. You can find the link to the publication in the side bar on the website.
For instance, if you will Form 944, for 2023 you look back at your 2021 Form 944-line 9 total tax. The look back is 2 years prior return. If the total tax on 2021 Form 944-line 9 total tax after adjustments and nonrefundable credits is $50,000 or less, you choose monthly deposit schedule for 2023.
If that 2-year look back return showed Form 944 line 9 an amount over $50,000, you choose a semiweekly deposit schedule at the start of 2023.
We have articles to explain it in the article category: How to Fill out Form 944.
How to choose a payroll tax deposit schedule for new employers?
If your business is new or you are a new employer, your employment tax for the past 2 years is $0. Therefore, you choose a monthly deposit schedule at the beginning of the year. IRS publication 15 section 11 Depositing tax.
Form 944 Part 3
Type your business name and the business EIN number on top of page 2 and 3.
Line 14
If you closed your business, you would complete line 14 with the information requested. Otherwise, leave it blank.
Line 15 to Line 24
If you offer health insurance and sick leave pay, then you could read IRS instructions Form 944 page 20 to page 21 and complete Line 15 to Line 24 if applicable to your business.
If Part 3 is not applicable to your company, leave it blank and go to part 4.
Form 944 Part 4
If you want an employee of your company or the tax preparer to answer IRS questions related to form 944 on your behalf, you can check the box “yes”. Then you complete that section with the person’s information. If you want to be the one to answer IRS questions regarding the form if they have questions, then check the box “No” and go to part 5.
Form 944 Part 5: Who can sign Form 944 for your business?
After you completed Form 944, type your name and your title in Part 5 or the name of the person that will sign the form if you are not the owner of the business.
After you printed the form out, sign it and date it or let the person that will sign it do so.
Who can sign Form 944 on behalf of your business?
If your business is a sole proprietor, you the owner is the person that should complete Part 5 with your information and sign it.
If your business is an LLC and you are the only owner, your business is single member LLC that IRS treats as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes. Therefore, you the owner or the single member LLC or a principal officer is the one to complete Part 5 and sign it.
If your business is a corporation, or an LLC (limited liability company) taxed as a corporation or S corporation, the president, the vice president, or other principal officer could complete Part 5 with his/her information and sign on behalf of the business.
If your business is a partnership or LLC treated as a partnership, a partner, or a member of the partnership that is involved in the business and knowledgeable of the business affairs could complete Part 5 with his/her information and sign it.
How to sign Form 944?
The person authorized to sign Form 944 on behalf of the business could use a rubber stamp, a mechanical device, or a computer software to sign it.
Otherwise, you print the form 944, and the authorized person just uses a pen and sign the traditional way.
If you complete Form 944 and sign it using a facsimile (rubber stamp, mechanical device, or a computer software), you need to keep a letter in your record attesting the facsimile signature on the form belongs to the person required to sign part 5 and it was affixed to the form by that person or at his/her direction.
More in this subject can be found on IRS Internal Revenue Bulletin: 2005-28 under Section 3 Scope and Application.
https://www.irs.gov/irb/2005-28_IRB#RP-2005-39
Paid preparer use only
If you paid a tax preparer to complete form 944 on your behalf, if the person is not an employee of the business and is paid to complete this form, the person will complete the Paid preparer use only section. If the form 944 will be mailed, after it is printed, the paid preparer will sign it and dated it. You will get 2 copies of the Form 944. One copy for you to keep for your business record and one copy to mail to IRS. If you complete form 944 for your business yourself or an employee of your business complete it, the paid preparer use only section should remain blank.
For instance, I am a tax preparer and an officer of my business. I do not get paid to complete Form 944 for my company. I get paid to work at my company. Therefore, I will not complete the paid preparer use only section.
If I have a second business that I need to complete form 944 for, and that 2nd business will pay a tax return fee to this 1st business, then I will complete the paid preparer use only on form 944 for the 2nd business since it is going to pay my tax business (business # 1) a fee for filling form 944. I hope it is not confusing.
If you are not going to make payment with your form 944, you are done completing Form 944. Do not complete form 944-V.
If you will enclose payment with your form 944, you need to fill out form 944-V. It is the last page of form 944.
When can you make payment with Form 944?
You can deposit your employment tax liability or make payment with form 944 if your tax liability on Line 9 total tax is less than $2,500 for the year. In that case you are required to file Form 944 by the end of January and mail in the payment.
How to complete Form 944-V?
If you have a tax liability on Form 944 Line 11 and your line 9 total tax is less than $2,500 and you plan on submitting your Form 944 by the end of January and want to add the payment to the Form 944, you complete Form 944-V. You can read more about the options you have in the instructions for Form 944-V found on form 944 right before 944-V form.
On Line 1 of Form 944-V, enter your business EIN number.
On Line 2 Form 944-V, enter the balance due on Form 944 Line 11 here. Put the dollar amount in the dollars section and the cents in the cents section.
On Line 3 Form 944-V enter your business name or your own name if you are a sole proprietor and your business address.
Print the form 944 and form 944-V out.
Sign and date Form 944 Part 5.
Make a second copy to keep as your business record.
Cut the voucher Form 944-V. Add the Form 944 in your envelope with the right address on the envelope. Add Form 944-V in the envelope. Add the check in the envelope.
How to complete check payment for Form 944?
When writing the check, write it for the amount on Form 944-V line 2 payable to United State Treasury.
Add your business EIN on the check.
Also add Form 944 for 2023 (the year you are filing for) on the check.
If the check doesn’t have your business legal name, you might want to write it on it.
How to complete the check or money order payment can be found at the end of Form 944 but before Form 944-V for more instructions.
You can use a money order instead of a check. However, a check allows you to know when IRS withdraws the payment from your bank account or when your bank allows the transaction to go through. It is one more proof that IRS received the form you mailed.
After you complete the check, add it to the envelope and seal the envelope.
I like to add the Form 944-V and the check in a small envelope and add that envelope in a bigger envelope where Form 944 is. I write on the small envelope Form 944-V and check payment.
You do not staple Form 944-V to the check or to the form 944. You only staple the 3 pages of Form 944 together. You will have 3 separate pieces in your envelope including Form 944, Form 944-V ,and the check or money order if using.
Make sure you make a copy of the check and the voucher Form 944-V for your business record.
Where do I file 944 without payment?
If you deposited all your tax liability and you are not making payment with your Form 944, you do not complete Form 944-V. You just print Form 944, sign it, date it, make a second copy for your business and mail the form to IRS using the right address in the “without Payment” column that corresponds to your state.
The list of addresses is in the IRS instructions for form 944 page 6-7.
Where to mail IRS Form 944 with Payment?
If you are making payment with your form 944, mail your envelope that contains your form 944, form 944-V, and the check payment to the right IRS address in the column “With Payment” that corresponds to the row where your state is mentioned.
The list of addresses is in the IRS instructions for form 944 page 6-7.
Mail your return via USPS certified mail with a tracking number.
Keep the mailing fee and the tracking number slip in your business record together with the Form 944.
Where do I file IRS Form 944?
To mail form 944, open IRS Instructions for Form 944, page 6-7
- You locate the state where your business is located.
- If you will add payment to the form 944, choose the address under “with payment” column that corresponds to your state. Write the address on the envelope.
- If you made deposits during the year and will not add payment to form 944 or paid $0 wages and don’t owe any employment tax, after you locate your state, use the “without a payment” column address that corresponds to your state. Write that address on your envelope.
Conclusion: How to Fill out IRS Form 944 for 2023 Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return
To fill out form 944 for 2023, download the form and its instructions, pull your payroll record for 2023 and complete form 944. Mail it to IRS by January 31st, 2024.
The video explains step by step with an example of how to fill out Form 944 for 2023.
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