Employer's Annual Federal Tax Return (American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands)

2011

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Instructions for
Form 944-SS

Employer’s ANNUAL Federal Tax Return—American Samoa, Guam, the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands
Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless
otherwise noted.

What’s New
Form 944-SS webpage. The IRS has created a page on
IRS.gov for information about Form 944-SS and its
instructions, at www.irs.gov/form944ss. Information about
any recent developments affecting Form 944-SS will be
posted on that page.
Form 944-SS discontinued. Form 944-SS will no longer
be issued by the IRS after 2011. Beginning with tax year
2012, taxpayers who previously filed Form 944-SS will
continue to file annually on Form 944, Employer’s ANNUAL
Federal Tax Return (or Form 944(SP), the Spanish
language equivalent to Form 944). Alternatively, taxpayers
may request to begin quarterly filing Forms 941-SS,
Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return — American
Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For more information,
see the 2012 Instructions for Form 944.
To request to file quarterly Forms 941-SS to report your
social security and Medicare taxes for the 2012 calendar
year, you must either call the IRS at 1-800-829-4933 (U.S.
Virgin Islands only), or 267-941-1000 (toll call) by April 2,
2012, or send a written request postmarked on or before
March 15, 2012. After you contact the IRS, the IRS will send
you a written notice that your filing requirement has been
changed. If you do not receive this notice, you must file
Form 944 for calendar year 2012. For more information, see
What if you want to file Forms 941-SS instead of Form 944,
later.
Social security and Medicare taxes for 2011. The
employee tax rate for social security is 4.2%. The employer
tax rate for social security remains unchanged at 6.2%. The
Medicare tax rate is 1.45% each for employers and
employees.
Do not withhold or pay social security tax after an
employee reaches $106,800 in social security wages for the
year. There is no limit on the amount of wages subject to
Medicare tax.
Federal tax deposits must be made by electronic funds
transfer. Beginning January 1, 2011, you must use
electronic funds transfer to make all federal tax deposits
(such as deposits of employment tax, excise tax, and
corporate income tax). Forms 8109 and 8109-B, Federal
Tax Deposit Coupon, cannot be used after December 31,
2010. Generally, electronic funds transfers are made using
the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS). If you
do not want to use EFTPS, you can arrange for your tax
professional, financial institution, payroll service, or other
trusted third party to make deposits on your behalf. Also,
you may arrange for your financial institution to initiate a
same-day wire payment on your behalf. EFTPS is a free
service provided by the Department of Treasury. Services
provided by your tax professional, financial institution,
payroll service, or other third party may have a fee.
Oct 19, 2011

For more information on making federal tax deposits, see
section 8 of Pub. 80 (Circular SS), Federal Tax Guide for
Employers in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American
Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands (for use in 2011).
For more information about EFTPS or to enroll in EFTPS,
visit the EFTPS website at www.eftps.gov, or call
1-800-555-4477 (U.S. Virgin Islands only), 303-967-5916
(toll call), or 1-800-733-4829 (TDD). Additional information
about EFTPS is also available in Pub. 966, The Secure Way
to Pay Your Federal Taxes.
Change of address. Beginning in 2012, employers must
use new Form 8822-B, Change of Address — Business, for
any address change.

Reminders
COBRA premium assistance credit. The credit for
COBRA premium assistance payments applies to premiums
paid for employees involuntarily terminated between
September 1, 2008 and May 31, 2010, and to premiums
paid for up to 15 months. See the instructions for line 9a.
Correcting a previously filed Form 944-SS. If you
discover an error on a previously filed Form 944-SS, make
the correction using Form 944-X, Adjusted Employer’s
ANNUAL Federal Tax Return or Claim for Refund. Form
944-X is filed separately from Form 944-SS. For more
information, see section 9 of Pub. 80 (Circular SS), or visit
IRS.gov and enter the keywords Correcting Employment
Taxes.
Paid preparers must sign Form 944-SS. Paid preparers
must complete and sign the paid preparer’s section of
Form 944-SS.
Electronic payment. Now, more than ever before,
businesses can enjoy the benefits of paying their federal
taxes electronically. Whether you rely on a tax professional
or handle your own taxes, the IRS offers you convenient
programs to make paying easier. Spend less time and worry
on taxes and more time running your business. Use
Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) to make
deposits or pay in full whether you rely on a tax professional
or prepare your own taxes. Visit www.eftps.gov or call
EFTPS Customer Service at 1-800-555-4477 (U.S. Virgin
Islands only), 303-967-5916 (toll call), or 1-800-733-4829
(TDD).
If you were a semiweekly schedule depositor at any
time during 2011, you must file a paper Form 944-SS
CAUTION and Form 945-A, Annual Record of Federal Tax
Liability.
EFTPS deposits. For an EFTPS deposit to be on time, you
must initiate the deposit by 8 p.m. Eastern time the day
before the date the deposit is due.
Same-day payment option. If you fail to initiate a
deposit transaction on EFTPS by 8 p.m. Eastern time the
day before the date a deposit is due, you can still make your
deposit on time by using the Federal Tax Application (FTA).
If you ever need the same-day payment method, you will

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Cat. No. 47936N

need to make arrangements with your financial institution
ahead of time. Please check with your financial institution
regarding availability, deadlines, and costs. Your financial
institution may charge you a fee for payments made this
way. To learn more about the information you will need to
provide to your financial institution to make a same-day wire
payment, visit www.eftps.gov to download the Same-Day
Payment Worksheet.
Credit or debit card payments. Employers can pay the
balance due shown on Form 944-SS by credit or debit card.
Do not use a credit or debit card to make federal tax
deposits. For more information on paying your taxes with a
credit or debit card, visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov/
e-pay. A convenience fee will be charged for this service.
Employer’s liability. Employers are responsible to ensure
that tax returns are filed and deposits and payments are
made, even if the employer contracts with a third party. The
employer remains liable if the third party fails to perform a
required action.
Where can you get telephone help? You can call the IRS
Business & Specialty Tax Line toll free at 1-800-829-4933
(U.S. Virgin Islands only) or 267-941-1000 (toll call) Monday
through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. local time for
answers to your questions about completing Form 944-SS,
tax deposit rules, or obtaining an employer identification
number (EIN).
Photographs of missing children. The Internal Revenue
Service is a proud partner with the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children. Photographs of missing
children selected by the Center may appear in this
publication on pages that would otherwise be blank. You
can help bring these children home by looking at the
photographs and calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678)
if you recognize a child.

www.irs.gov/businesses and click on the Employment Taxes
link.

Who Must File Form 944-SS?
In general, if the IRS has notified you to file Form 944-SS,
then you must file Form 944-SS to report all the following
amounts.
• Wages you have paid.
• Tips your employees have received.
• Both the employer’s and the employee’s share of social
security and Medicare taxes.
• Current year’s adjustments to social security and
Medicare taxes for fractions of cents, sick pay, tips, and
group-term life insurance.
• Credit for COBRA premium assistance payments.
If you received notification to file Form 944-SS, you must
file Form 944-SS to report your social security and Medicare
taxes for the 2011 calendar year, unless you contacted the
IRS by April 1, 2011, to request to file Forms 941-SS
quarterly instead and received written confirmation that your
filing requirement was changed. You must file Form 944-SS
even if you have no taxes to report (or you have taxes in
excess of $1,000 to report) unless you filed a final return.
Also see What if you want to file Forms 941-SS instead of
Form 944? below.
If you have not received notification to file Form 944
TIP or Form 944-SS but estimate your employment tax
liability for calendar year 2012 will be $1,000 or less
and you would like to file Form 944 instead of Forms
941-SS, you can contact the IRS to request to file Form 944.
To file Form 944 for calendar year 2012, you must call the
IRS at 1-800-829-4933 (U.S. Virgin Islands only), or
267-941-1000 (toll call) by April 2, 2012, or send a written
request postmarked on or before March 15, 2012. Written
requests should be sent to the “Form 944-SS without
payment” address under Where Should You File, later. The
IRS will send you a written notice that your filing requirement
has been changed to Form 944. If you do not receive this
notice, you must file Forms 941-SS for calendar year 2012.
New employers are also eligible to file Form 944 if they
will meet the eligibility requirements. New employers filing
Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number,
must complete line 13 of Form SS-4 indicating the highest
number of employees expected in the next 12 months and
must check the box on line 14 to indicate they expect to
have $1,000 or less in employment tax liability for the
calendar year and would like to file Form 944. Generally, if
you pay $6,536 or less in wages subject to social security
and Medicare taxes, you are likely to pay $1,000 or less in
employment taxes. New employers are advised of their
employment tax filing requirement when they are issued
their EIN. For 2012 and later, new employers who would
have been eligible to file Form 944-SS will file Form 944.
If the IRS notified you to file Form 944-SS for 2011,
TIP file Form 944-SS (and not Forms 941-SS) even if
your tax liability for 2011 exceeds $1,000.

General Instructions
Federal law requires you, as an employer, to withhold taxes
from your employees’ paychecks. Each time you pay wages,
you must withhold — or take out of your employees’
paychecks — certain amounts for social security tax and
Medicare tax. Under the withholding system, taxes withheld
from your employees are credited to your employees in
payment of their tax liabilities.
Federal law also requires employers to pay any liability
for the employer’s portion of social security and Medicare
taxes. This portion of social security and Medicare taxes is
not withheld from employees.

What Is the Purpose of Form 944-SS?
Form 944-SS is designed so the smallest employers (those
whose annual liability for social security and Medicare taxes
is $1,000 or less) will file and pay these taxes only once a
year instead of every quarter. These instructions give you
some background information about Form 944-SS, tell you
who must file the form, how to complete it line by line, and
when and where to file it.
For more information about annual employment tax filing
and tax deposit rules, see Treasury Decision 9440. You can
find T.D. 9440 on page 409 of Internal Revenue Bulletin
2009-5 at www.irs.gov/irb/2009-05_IRB/ar10.html.

What if you want to file Forms 941-SS
instead of Form 944?
You must file Form 944-SS for the 2011 calendar year if you
have been notified to do so. You will be required to file Form
944 for the 2012 calendar year unless you contact the IRS
to request to quarterly file Forms 941-SS instead, or the IRS
notifies you that you are no longer eligible for the Form 944
Program and must file Forms 941-SS. To request to file
quarterly Forms 941-SS to report your social security and
Medicare taxes for the 2012 calendar year, you must either
call the IRS at 1-800-829-4933 (U.S. Virgin Islands only), or
267-941-1000 (toll call) by April 2, 2012, or send a written
request postmarked on or before March 15, 2012, unless

Form 944-SS will no longer be issued by the IRS
after 2011. Beginning in 2012, employers who
CAUTION previously filed Form 944-SS will annually file Form
944. For more information, see Form 944-SS discontinued
under What’s New.
If you want more in-depth information about payroll tax
topics, see Pub. 80 (Circular SS). Or visit the IRS website at

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you are a new employer. See New employers, earlier.
Written requests should be sent to the IRS “Form 944-SS
without payment” address under Where Should You File,
later. After you contact the IRS, the IRS will send you a
written notice that your filing requirement has been changed.
If you do not receive this notice, you must file Form 944 for
calendar year 2012. See Rev. Proc. 2009-51, 2009-45 I.R.B.
625, available at www.irs.gov/irb/2009-45_IRB/ar12.html.

Employer identification number (EIN). To make sure that
businesses comply with federal tax laws, the IRS monitors
tax filings and payments by using a numerical system to
identify taxpayers. A unique 9-digit employer identification
number (EIN) is assigned to all corporations, partnerships,
and some sole proprietors. Businesses needing an EIN
must apply for a number and use it throughout the life of the
business on all tax returns, payments, and reports.

Who cannot file Form 944-SS?

Your business should have only one EIN. If you have
more than one and are not sure which one to use, write to
the IRS office where you file your returns (using the “Form
944-SS without payment” address under Where Should You
File?) or call the IRS at 1-800-829-4933 (U.S. Virgin Islands
only) or 267-941-1000 (toll call). TTY/TDD users in the U.S.
Virgin Islands can call 1-800-829-4059.

The following employers cannot file Form 944-SS.
• Employers who are not notified. If the IRS did not notify
you to file Form 944-SS, do not file Form 944-SS.
• Household employers. If you employ only household
employees, do not file Form 944-SS. For more information,
see Pub. 926, Household Employer’s Tax Guide, and
Schedule H (Form 1040), Household Employment Taxes.
• Agricultural employers. If you employ only agricultural
employees, do not file Form 944-SS. For more information,
see Pub. 51 (Circular A), Agricultural Employer’s Tax Guide,
and Form 943, Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return for
Agricultural Employees.

If you do not have an EIN, you may apply for one online.
Visit IRS.gov and click on the Apply for an Employer
Identification Number (EIN) Online link. You may also apply
for an EIN by calling 1-800-829-4933 (U.S. Virgin Islands) or
267-941-1000 (toll call), or you can fax or mail Form SS-4,
Application for Employer Identification Number, to the IRS. If
you do not have an EIN by the time a return is due, write
“Applied For” and the date you applied in the space shown
for the number.

What if you close your business?
If your business has closed...
If you go out of business or stop paying wages to your
employees, you must file a final return. To tell the IRS that
Form 944-SS for a particular year is your final return, check
the box in Part 3 on page 2 of Form 944-SS and enter the
final date you paid wages. Also attach a statement to your
return showing the name of the person keeping the payroll
records and the address where those records will be kept.

Always be sure the EIN on the form you file exactly
TIP matches the EIN that IRS assigned to your business.
Do not use your social security number on forms that
ask for an EIN. Filing a Form 944-SS with an incorrect EIN
or using another business’s EIN may result in penalties and
delays in processing your return.
If you change your name or address... Notify the IRS
immediately if you change your business name or address.

When Must You File?

• Name change. Write to the IRS office using the “Form

File Form 944-SS by January 31 after the end of the
calendar year. File your initial Form 944-SS for the year in
which you paid wages that are subject to social security and
Medicare taxes if the IRS has notified you that you are to file
Form 944-SS for that year. If you made timely deposits in
full payment of your taxes for the year by January 31, you
have 10 more calendar days after that date to file your
Form 944-SS.
If we receive your Form 944-SS after the due date, we
will treat Form 944-SS as filed on time if the envelope
containing Form 944-SS is 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 or before the due
date. If you do not follow these guidelines, we will consider
Form 944-SS filed when it is actually received. See Pub. 80
(Circular SS) for more information on IRS-designated private
delivery services.
If any due date for filing falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or
legal holiday, you may file your return on the next
business day.

944-SS without payment” address under Where Should You
File? to notify the IRS of any name change. Get Pub. 1635,
Understanding Your EIN, Employer Identification Number, to
see if you need to also apply for a new EIN.
• Address change. Complete and mail Form 8822,
Change of Address, for any address change. Beginning in
2012, employers must use new Form 8822-B, Change of
Address — Business, for any address change.

Completing and Filing Form 944-SS
Make entries on Form 944-SS as follows to enable accurate
processing.
• Use 12-point Courier font (if possible) for all entries if you
are using a typewriter or computer to complete
Form 944-SS.
• Do not enter dollar signs and decimal points. Commas are
optional. Report dollars to the left of the preprinted decimal
point and cents to the right of it.
• Leave blank any data field with a value of zero (except
line 7).
• Enter negative amounts using a minus sign (if possible).
Otherwise, use parentheses.
• Enter your name and EIN on all pages and attachments.
Filers using the IRS-preaddressed Form 944-SS are not
required to enter their name and EIN on page 2.

How Should You Complete Form
944-SS?
Enter your EIN, name, and address in the spaces provided.
Also, enter your name and EIN at the top of page 2. Do not
use your social security number (SSN) or individual taxpayer
identification number (ITIN). Generally, enter the business
(legal) name that you used when you applied for your EIN.
For example, if you are a sole proprietor, enter “Tyler Smith”
on the “Name” line and “Tyler’s Cycles” on the “Trade name”
line. Leave the “Trade name” line blank if it is the same as
your “Name.”
If you pay a tax preparer to complete Form 944-SS, make
sure the preparer uses your correct business name and EIN.

Reconciling Forms 944-SS and Form W-3SS
The IRS matches amounts reported on your Form 944-SS
with Form W-2AS, W-2GU, W-2CM, or W-2VI amounts
totaled on your Form W-3SS, Transmittal of Wage and Tax
Statements. If the amounts do not agree, the IRS or Social
Security Administration (SSA) may contact you. The
reconciled amounts are for all the following items.

• Social security wages.
• Social security tips.
• Medicare wages and tips.
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Must You Deposit Your Taxes?

What About Penalties and Interest?

If your liability for social security and Medicare taxes is less
than $2,500 for the year, you can pay the taxes with your
return. To avoid a penalty, you should pay in full and file on
time. You do not have to deposit the taxes. However, you
may choose to make deposits of these taxes even if your
liability is less than $2,500. If your liability for these taxes is
$2,500 or more, you are generally required to deposit the
taxes instead of paying them when you file Form 944-SS.
See the Federal Tax Deposit Requirements for Form
944-SS Filers chart below. If you do not deposit the taxes
when required, you may be subject to penalties and interest.
The $2,500 threshold at which federal tax deposits must
be made is different from the amount of annual tax liability
($1,000 or less) that makes an employer eligible to file Form
944-SS. Designated Form 944-SS filers whose businesses
grow during the year may be required to make federal tax
deposits (see chart below), but they will still file Form
944-SS for the year.

Avoiding penalties and interest
You can avoid paying penalties and interest if you do all of
the following.
• Deposit or pay your taxes when they are due.
• File your fully completed Form 944-SS on time.
• Report your tax liability accurately in Part 2 of Form
944-SS.
• Submit valid checks for tax payments.
• Give accurate Forms W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or W-2VI
to employees.
• File Form W-3SS and Copies A of Form W-2AS, W-2CM,
W-2GU, or W-2VI with the SSA on time and accurately.
Penalties and interest are charged on taxes paid late and
returns filed late at a rate set by law. See section 8 of Pub.
80 (Circular SS) for details. If you receive a notice about
penalties and interest after you file this return, send us an
explanation and we will determine if you meet
reasonable-cause criteria. Do not attach an explanation
when you file your return.
Use Form 843, Claim for Refund and Request for
Abatement, to request abatement of assessed penalties or
interest. Do not request abatement of assessed penalties or
interest on Form 944-SS, 944-X, or Form 941-X.

Federal Tax Deposit Requirements for Form 944-SS Filers
If Your Tax Liability is:
Less than $2,500 for the year

Your Deposit Requirement
is:
No deposit required. You may
pay the tax with your return.
If you are unsure that your
tax liability for the year will
be less than $2,500, deposit
under the rules below.

$2,500 or more for the year,
but less than $2,500 for the
quarter

You can deposit by the last
day of the month after the end
of a quarter. However, if
your fourth quarter tax liability
is less than $2,500, you may
pay the fourth quarter’s tax
liability with Form 944-SS.

$2,500 or more for the quarter

You must deposit monthly,
or semiweekly, depending
on your deposit schedule. But,
if you accumulate $100,000 or
more of taxes on any day, you
must deposit the tax by the
next business day. See section
8 of Pub. 80 (Circular SS).

A trust fund recovery penalty may apply if social
security and Medicare taxes that must be withheld
CAUTION are not withheld or paid. The penalty is the full
amount of the unpaid trust fund tax. This penalty may apply
when these unpaid taxes cannot be collected from the
employer. The trust fund recovery penalty may be imposed
on all people the IRS determines to be responsible for
collecting, accounting for, and paying these taxes, and who
acted willfully in not doing so. For details, see section 8 of
Pub. 80 (Circular SS).

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Where Should You File?

Note. When you make deposits depends on your deposit
schedule, which is either monthly or semiweekly, depending
on the amount of your tax liability during the lookback
period. The lookback period for Form 944-SS filers is
different than the lookback period for Form 941-SS filers, so
your deposit schedule may have changed. For more
information, see section 8 of Pub. 80 (Circular SS).
Beginning January 1, 2011, the IRS will use business
days to determine the timeliness of deposits. Business days
are any day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday
in the District of Columbia. Legal holidays in the District of
Columbia are provided in Pub. 509, Tax Calendars, and
Pub. 80 (Circular SS). To provide transitional relief for 2011,
the IRS will not assert penalties for federal tax deposits that
are untimely solely because the depositor treated a
statewide legal holiday as if it were a legal holiday in the
District of Columbia. See Notice 2010-87, 2010-52 I.R.B.
908, available at www.irs.gov/irb/2010-52_IRB/ar12.html.

Form 944-SS with payment

Form 944-SS without payment

Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 105273
Atlanta, GA 30348-5273

Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 409101
Ogden, UT 84409

Your filing or payment address may have changed
from that used to file your employment tax return in
CAUTION prior years. Do not send Form 944-SS or any
payments to the Social Security Administration (SSA).
Private delivery services cannot deliver to P.O. boxes.

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Specific Instructions
Part 1: Answer These Questions for
This Year
3. If No Wages, Tips, and Other
Compensation are Subject to Social
Security or Medicare Tax
If no wages, tips, and compensation are subject to social
security or Medicare taxes, check the box on line 3 and go
to line 6. If this question does not apply to you, leave the box
blank. For more information about exempt wages, see
section 12 of Pub. 80 (Circular SS) and section 4 of Pub.
15-A, Employer’s Supplemental Tax Guide.

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adjustment that decreases the total taxes shown on line 4d.
Otherwise, use parentheses.

4. Taxable Social Security and Medicare
Wages and Tips

In certain cases, you must adjust the amounts you
reported as social security and Medicare taxes in column 2
of lines 4a, 4b, and 4c to figure your correct tax liability for
this year’s Form 944-SS. See section 9 of Pub. 80 (Circular
SS).

4a. Taxable social security wages. Report the total
wages, sick pay, and fringe benefits subject to social
security taxes that you paid to your employees during the
year.
Enter the amount before deductions. Do not include tips
on this line. For information on types of wages subject to
social security taxes, see section 4 of Pub. 80 (Circular SS).
For 2011, the rate of social security tax on taxable wages
is 6.2% (.062) for the employer and 4.2% (.042) for the
employee, or 10.4% (.104) for both. Stop paying social
security tax on and reporting an employee’s wages on line
4a when the employee’s taxable wages (including tips)
reach $106,800 for the year. However, continue to withhold
Medicare taxes for the whole year on wages and tips even
when the social security wage base of $106,800 has been
reached.
x

If you need to adjust any amount reported on line 6 from
a previously filed Form 944-SS, complete and file Form
944-X. Form 944-X is filed separately from Form 944-SS.
See section 9 of Pub. 80 (Circular SS).
Fractions of cents. Enter adjustments for fractions of
cents (due to rounding) relating to the employee share of
social security and Medicare taxes withheld. The employee
share of amounts shown in column 2 of lines 4a through 4c
may differ slightly from amounts actually withheld from
employees’ paychecks due to rounding social security and
Medicare taxes based on statutory rates.
Sick pay. Enter the adjustment for the employee share
of social security and Medicare taxes that were withheld and
deposited by your third-party sick pay payer with regard to
sick pay paid by the third-party. These wages should be
included on lines 4a and 4c. If you are the third-party sick
pay payer, enter the adjustment for any employer share of
these taxes required to be paid by the employer.
Adjustments for tips and group-term life insurance.
Enter adjustments for both the following items.

line 4a (column 1)
.104
line 4a (column 2)

4b. Taxable social security tips. Enter all tips your
employees reported to you during the year until the total of
the tips and wages for an employee reach $106,800 for the
year. Include all tips your employees reported to you even if
you were unable to withhold the 4.2% employee’s share of
social security tax.
Your employee must report cash tips to you by the 10th
day of the month after the month the tips are received. The
report should include tips you paid over to the employee for
charge customers, tips the employee received directly from
customers, and tips received from other employees under
any tip-sharing arrangement. Both directly and indirectly
tipped employees must report tips to you. No report is
required for months when tips are less than $20. Employees
may use Form 4070, Employee’s Report of Tips to
Employer, available only in Pub. 1244, Employee’s Daily
Record of Tips and Report to Employer, or submit a written
statement or electronic tip record.
x

• Any uncollected employee share of social security and

Medicare taxes on tips.
• The uncollected employee share of social security and
Medicare taxes on group-term life insurance premiums paid
for former employees.

7. Total Taxes After Adjustments
Combine the amounts shown on lines 4d and 6 and enter
the result on line 7.
• If line 7 is less than $2,500, you may pay the amount
with Form 944-SS because you were not required to
deposit. See section 8 of Pub. 80 (Circular SS) for
information and rules about federal tax deposits.
• If line 7 is $2,500 or more, you generally must deposit
your tax liabilities by electronic funds transfer. However, if
you deposited all taxes accumulated in the first three
quarters of the year and your fourth quarter liability is less
than $2,500, you may pay taxes accumulated during the
fourth quarter with a timely filed Form 944-SS. The amount
shown on line 7 must equal the amount shown on line 13m.
See section 8 of Pub. 80 (Circular SS) for information and
rules about federal tax deposits.

line 4b (column 1)
.104
line 4b (column 2)

4c. Taxable Medicare wages & tips. Report all
wages, tips, sick pay, and taxable fringe benefits that are
subject to Medicare tax. Unlike social security wages, there
is no limit on the amount of wages subject to Medicare tax.
The rate of Medicare tax is 1.45% (.0145) each for the
employer and employee, or 2.9% (.029) for both. Include all
tips your employees reported during the year, even if you
were unable to withhold the employee tax of 1.45%.

8. Total Deposits for This Year
Enter your deposits for this year, including any overpayment
that you applied from filing Form 944-X or Form 941-X in the
current year. Also include in the amount shown any
overpayment from a previous period that you applied to this
return.

line 4c (column 1)
x .029
line 4c (column 2)

For more information, see sections 4, 5, and 7 of Pub. 80
(Circular SS).
4d. Total social security and Medicare taxes. Add
the social security tax, social security tips tax, and Medicare
tax.

9a. COBRA Premium Assistance Payments
Report on this line 65% of the COBRA premiums for
assistance eligible individuals. Take the COBRA premium
assistance credit on this line only after the assistance
eligible individual’s 35% share of the premium has been
paid. For COBRA coverage provided under a self-insured
plan, COBRA premium assistance is treated as having been
made for each assistance eligible individual who pays 35%
of the COBRA premium. Do not include the assistance
eligible individual’s 35% of the premium in the amount
entered on this line. For more information on COBRA
premium assistance credit, visit IRS.gov and enter the
keyword COBRA.

line 4a (column 2)
line 4b (column 2)
+ line 4c (column 2)
line 4d

6. Current Year’s Adjustments
Enter tax amounts that result from current period
adjustments. Use a minus sign (if possible) to show an

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!

CAUTION

945-A.

The amount reported on line 9a is treated as a
deposit of taxes on the first day of your return period
and must not be used to adjust line 13 or Form

Part 2: Tell Us About Your Deposit
Schedule and Tax Liability for This
Year

9b. Number of Individuals Provided COBRA
Premium Assistance

13. Check One:

Enter the total number of assistance eligible individuals
provided COBRA premium assistance reported on line 9a.
Count each assistance eligible individual who paid a
reduced COBRA premium in the year as one individual,
whether or not the reduced premium was for insurance that
covered more than one assistance eligible individual. For
example, if the reduced COBRA premium was for coverage
for a former employee, spouse, and two children, you would
include one individual in the number entered on line 9b for
the premium assistance. Further, each individual is reported
only once per year. For example, an assistance eligible
individual who made monthly premium payments during the
year would only be reported as one individual.

If line 7 is less than $2,500, check the first box on line 13
and go to line 15.
If line 7 is $2,500 or more, check the second box on line
13. If you are a monthly schedule depositor, enter your tax
liability for each month and figure the total liability for the
year. If you do not enter your tax liability for each month, the
IRS will not know when you should have made deposits and
may assess an “averaged” failure-to-deposit penalty. See
section 8 of Pub. 80 (Circular SS). If your tax liability for any
month is negative (for example, if you are adjusting an
overreported liability in a prior month), do not enter a
negative amount for the month. Instead, enter zero for the
month and subtract that negative amount from your tax
liability for the next month.
Note. Your total tax liability for the year (line 13m) must
equal your total taxes on line 7.

10. Total Deposits and Credits
Add lines 8 and 9a.

11. Balance Due

If you are a semiweekly schedule depositor, or if you
accumulate $100,000 or more in tax liability on any day in a
deposit period, you must complete Form 945-A, Annual
Record of Federal Tax Liability, and file it with Form 944-SS.
See the $100,000 Next Day Deposit Rule in section 8 of
Pub. 80 (Circular SS). Do not complete lines 13a through
13m if you file Form 945-A.

If line 7 is more than line 10, enter the difference on line 11.
Otherwise, see Overpayment below.
You do not have to pay if line 11 is less than $1.
Generally, you should have a balance due only if your total
taxes after adjustments (line 7) are less than $2,500. See If
line 7 is $2,500 or more, earlier, for an exception.
If line 11 is:

• Less than $1, you do not have to pay it.
• $1 or more, but less than $2,500, you can pay the amount

Part 3: Tell Us About Your Business

owed with your return. Make your check or money order
payable to the United States Treasury and write your EIN,
Form 944-SS, and 2011 on the check or money order.
Complete Form 944-V(SS), Payment Voucher, and enclose
it with your return.
• $2,500 or more, you must deposit your tax. See Must You
Deposit Your Taxes, earlier.

In Part 3, answer question 15 only if it applies to your
business. If it does not apply, leave it blank and go to Part 4.

15. If Your Business Has Closed
If you go out of business or stop paying wages, you must file
a final return. To notify the IRS that a particular Form
944-SS is your final return, check the box on line 15 and
enter the date you last paid wages in the space provided.

You may pay the amount shown on line 11 using EFTPS
or a credit or debit card. Do not use a credit or debit card to
pay taxes that were required to be deposited. For more
information, visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov/e-pay.

Part 4: May We Speak With Your
Third-Party Designee?

If you pay by EFTPS or credit or debit card, file your
return using the “Form 944-SS without payment” address
under Where Should You File. Do not file Form 944-V(SS).

!

CAUTION

If you want to allow an employee, a paid tax preparer, or
another person to discuss your Form 944-SS with the IRS,
check the “Yes” box in Part 4. Enter the name, phone
number, and the 5-digit personal identification number (PIN)
of the specific person to contact — not the name of the firm
who prepared your tax return. The designee may choose
any numbers as his or her PIN.
By checking “Yes,” you authorize the IRS to talk to the
person you named (your designee) about any questions we
may have while we process your return. You also authorize
your designee to do all of the following.
• Give us any information that is missing from your return.
• Call us for information about processing your return.
• Respond to certain IRS notices that you have shared with
your designee about math errors and return preparation.
The IRS will not send notices to your designee.
You are not authorizing your designee to bind you to
anything (including additional tax liability) or to otherwise
represent you before the IRS. If you want to expand your
designee’s authorization, see Pub. 947, Practice Before the
IRS and Power of Attorney.

If you are required to make deposits and, instead,
pay the taxes with Form 944-SS, you may be subject
to a penalty.

12. Overpayment
If line 10 is more than line 7, enter the amount on line 12.
Never make an entry on both lines 11 and 12.
If you deposited more than the correct amount for a year,
you can choose to have us either refund the overpayment or
apply it to your next return. Check the appropriate box on
line 12. If you do not check either box, we will automatically
refund the overpayment. We may apply your overpayment
to any past due tax account that is shown in our records
under your EIN.
If line 12 is less than $1, we will send a refund or apply it
to your next return only if you ask us in writing to do so.
Complete both pages. You must complete both pages of
Form 944-SS and sign on page 2. Failure to do so may
delay processing of your return.

-6-

The authorization will automatically expire 1 year after the
due date (without regard to extensions) for filing your Form
944-SS. If you or your designee want to terminate the
authorization, write to the IRS office for your locality using
the “Form 944-SS without payment” address under Where
Should You File.

Visit IRS.gov.

Other IRS Products You May Need

Part 5: Sign Here
Complete all information in Part 5 and sign Form 944-SS as
follows:
• Sole proprietorship — The individual who owns the
business.
• Corporation (including a limited liability company
(LLC) treated as a corporation) — The president, vice
president, or other principal officer duly authorized to sign.
• Partnership (including an LLC treated as a
partnership) or unincorporated organization — A
responsible and duly authorized partner, member, or officer
having knowledge of its affairs.
• Single member LLC treated as a disregarded entity —
The owner of the LLC, or principal officer duly authorized to
sign.
• Trust or estate — The fiduciary.
If you have filed a valid power of attorney, your duly
authorized agent may also sign your Form 944-SS.
Alternative signature method. Corporate officers or duly
authorized agents may sign Form 944-SS by rubber stamp,
mechanical device, or computer software program. For
details and required documentation, see Rev. Proc.
2005-39. You can find Rev. Proc. 2005-39 on page 82 of
Internal Revenue Bulletin 2005-28 at www.irs.gov/pub/
irs-irbs/irb05-28.pdf.
Paid Preparer Use Only. A paid preparer must sign Form
944-SS and provide the information in the Paid Preparer
Use Only section of Part 5 if the preparer was paid to
prepare Form 944-SS and is not an employee of the filing
entity. Paid preparers must sign paper 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.
If you are a paid preparer, enter your Preparer Tax
Identification Number (PTIN) in the space provided. Include
your complete address. If you work for a firm, enter the
firm’s name and the EIN of your firm. You can apply for a
PTIN online or by filing Form W-12, IRS Paid Preparer Tax
Identification Number (PTIN) Application and Renewal. For
more information about applying for a PTIN online, visit the
IRS website at www.irs.gov/ptin. You cannot use your PTIN
in place of the EIN of the tax preparation firm.
Generally, do not complete this section if you are filing
the return as a reporting agent and have a valid Form 8655,
Reporting Agent Authorization, on file with the IRS.
However, a reporting agent must complete this section if the
reporting agent offered legal advice, for example, advising
the client on determining whether its workers are employees
or independent contractors for Federal tax purposes.

How to Order Forms and Publications
from the IRS
Call 1-800-829-3676 (U.S. Virgin Islands only) or
267-941-1000 (toll call).

-7-

•

Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number

•

Form W-2AS, W-2GU, W-2CM, or W-2VI, Wage and Tax
Statement

•

Form W-2c, Corrected Wage and Tax Statement

•

Form W-3SS, Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements

•

Form W-3c, Transmittal of Corrected Wage and Tax
Statements

•

Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate

•

Form 940, Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA)
Tax Return

•

Form 941-SS, Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return

•

Form 941-X, Adjusted Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax
Return or Claim for Refund

•

Form 943, Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return for
Agricultural Employees

•

Form 943-X, Adjusted Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return
for Agricultural Employees or Claim for Refund

•

Form 944-X, Adjusted Employer’s ANNUAL Federal Tax
Return and Claim for Refund

•

Form 945-A, Annual Record of Federal Tax Liability

•

Form 4070, Employee’s Report of Tips to Employer

•

Form 8027, Employer’s Annual Information Return of Tip
Income and Allocated Tips

•

Form 8655, Reporting Agent Authorization

•

Instructions for Form 941-SS, Employer’s QUARTERLY
Federal Tax Return

•

Pub. 80 (Circular SS), Employer’s Tax Guide for Employers in
the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

•

Pub. 15-A, Employer’s Supplemental Tax Guide

•

Pub. 15-B, Employer’s Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits

•

Pub. 51, (Circular A), Agricultural Employer’s Tax Guide

•

Pub. 926, Household Employer’s Tax Guide

•

Pub. 947, Practice Before the IRS and Power of Attorney

•

Schedule H (Form 1040), Household Employment Taxes