Form 943-A Agricultural Employer's Record of Federal Tax Liability

Form

943-A

Agricultural Employer's Record of
Federal Tax Liability

(Rev. February 2015)
▶

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Name (as shown on Form 943)

OMB No. 1545-0035

Information about Form 943-A and its instructions is at www.irs.gov/form943a.
▶ File with Form 943 or Form 943-X.
Calendar Year
Employer identification number (EIN)

You must complete this form if you are required to deposit on a semiweekly schedule or if your tax liability during any month was
$100,000 or more. Show tax liability here, not deposits. (The IRS gets deposit data from electronic funds transfers.) DO NOT change
your tax liability by adjustments reported on any Forms 943-X.
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2
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7
8
9
10
11
12
13
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15

January Tax Liability
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

A Total liability for month

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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

▶

April Tax Liability
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

D Total liability for month

▶

1
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5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

February Tax Liability
16
17
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19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29

B Total liability for month

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

▶

May Tax Liability
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

E Total liability for month

▶

For Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see the separate Instructions for Form 943.

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5
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8
9
10
11
12
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14
15

March Tax Liability
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

C Total liability for month

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

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June Tax Liability
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

F Total liability for month
Cat. No. 17030C

▶

Form

943-A

(Rev. 2-2015)

Form 943-A (Rev. 2-2015)

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9
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15

G Total liability for month

1
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5
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7
8
9
10
11
12
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15

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July Tax Liability
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
▶

October Tax Liability
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

J Total liability for month

▶

August Tax Liability
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
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12
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14
15

H Total liability for month

I Total liability for month

▶

November Tax Liability
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
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14
15

K Total liability for month

M Total tax liability for year (add lines A through L)

1
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5
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7
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9
10
11
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13
14
15

.

.

.

.

.

.

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5
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15

.

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December Tax Liability
16
17
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19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

L Total liability for month

▶

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

2

September Tax Liability
16
17
18
19
20
21
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23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

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Form

943-A

(Rev. 2-2015)

Form 943-A (Rev. 2-2015)

Future Developments
For the latest information about developments related to Form 943-A
and its instructions, such as legislation enacted after they were
published, go to www.irs.gov/form943a.

Reminders
Reporting prior period adjustments. Prior period adjustments are
reported on Form 943-X, Adjusted Employer’s Annual Federal Tax
Return for Agricultural Employees or Claim for Refund, and are not
taken into account when figuring the tax liability for the current year.
When you file Form 943-A with your Form 943, do not change
your tax liability by adjustments reported on any Forms 943-X.
Amended Form 943-A. If you have been assessed a
failure-to-deposit (FTD) penalty, you may be able to file an amended
Form 943-A. See Correcting Previously Reported Tax Liability, later.

General Instructions
Purpose of form. Use Form 943-A to report your tax liability
(federal income tax withheld plus both employee and employer
social security and Medicare taxes). Do not show federal tax
deposits here.
Do not report taxes on wages paid to nonfarm workers on this
form. Taxes on wages paid to nonfarm workers are reported on
Form 941/941-SS, Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return, or
Form 944, Employer’s ANNUAL Federal Tax Return. Do not attach
Form 943-A to your Form 941/941-SS or Form 944. Instead, use
Schedule B (Form 941) or Form 945-A, Annual Record of Federal
Tax Liability (with Form 944).
Caution. IRS uses Form 943-A to determine if you have timely
deposited your Form 943 tax liabilities. If you are a semiweekly
schedule depositor and you do not properly complete and file
Form 943-A with Form 943, the IRS may propose an “averaged”
FTD penalty. See Deposit Penalties in section 7 of Pub. 51 (Circular
A), Agricultural Employer's Tax Guide, for more information.
Who must file. Semiweekly schedule depositors must complete
and file Form 943-A with Form 943. Monthly schedule depositors
who accumulate $100,000 or more of tax liability during any month
become semiweekly schedule depositors on the next day and must
also complete and file Form 943-A. Do not file Form 943-A if you
were a monthly schedule depositor for the entire year or if your total
taxes after adjustments for the year (Form 943, line 11) are less than
$2,500.
Note. If you use Form 943-A, do not complete Form 943, line 17.
When to file. File Form 943-A with your Form 943 every year when
Form 943 is due. See the Instructions for Form 943 for due dates.

Specific Instructions
Enter your business information. Carefully enter your employer
identification number (EIN) and name at the top of the form. Make
sure that they exactly match the name of your business and the EIN
that the IRS assigned to your business and also agree with the
name and EIN shown on the attached Form 943 or Form 943-X.
Calendar year. Enter the calendar year of the Form 943 or Form
943-X to which Form 943-A is attached.
Enter your tax liability by month. Enter your tax liabilities in the
spaces that correspond to the dates you paid wages to your
employees, not the date payroll deposits were made. The total tax
liability for the year (line M) must equal total taxes after adjustments
on Form 943 (line 11). Report your tax liabilities on this form
corresponding to the dates of each wage payment, not to when
payroll liabilities are accrued. Enter the monthly totals on lines A, B,
C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, and L. Enter the total for the year on line M.
For example, if your payroll period ended on December 31, 2013,
and you paid the wages for that period on January 7, 2014, you
would:
• Go to January, and
• Enter your tax liability on line 7 (because line 7 represents the
seventh day of the month).

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Make sure you have checked the appropriate box
below line 16 of Form 943 to show that you are a
semiweekly schedule depositor.

Here are some additional examples.
• Employer A is a semiweekly schedule depositor. Employer A
accumulated a federal tax liability of $3,000 on its January 11 and
January 25 paydays. In the January column, Employer A must enter
$3,000 on lines 11 and 25.
• Employer B is a semiweekly schedule depositor who paid wages
in October, November, and December on the last day of the month.
On December 24, 2014, Employer B also paid its employees
year-end bonuses (subject to employment taxes). Because
Employer B is a semiweekly schedule depositor, Employer B must
record employment tax liabilities on Form 943-A.
Month

Lines for dates wages were paid

October

line 31 (payday, last day of the month)

November

line 30 (payday, last day of the month)

December

lines 24 (bonus paid) + 31 (payday, last day of the
month)

• Employer C is a new business and monthly schedule depositor
for 2014. Employer C pays wages every Friday. Employer C
incurred a $2,000 employment tax liability on 10/10/14. Employer C
incurred a $110,000 tax liability on 10/17/14 and on every
subsequent Friday during 2014. Under the deposit rules, employers
become semiweekly schedule depositors on the day after any
day they accumulate $100,000 or more of tax liability in a deposit
period.
Because Employer C accumulated $112,000 in tax liability on
10/17/14, Employer C became a semiweekly schedule depositor
on the next day and must complete Form 943-A and file it with
Form 943.
Month

Lines for dates wages were paid

Amount to record

October

line 10

$2,000

October

lines 17, 24, 31

$110,000

November

lines 7, 14, 21, 28

$110,000

December

lines 5, 12, 19, 26

$110,000

See Depositing Taxes in Pub. 51 (Circular A) for more information.

Correcting Previously Reported Tax Liability
Semiweekly schedule depositors. If you have been assessed an
FTD penalty and you made an error on Form 943-A and the
correction will not change the total liability you reported on Form
943-A, you may be able to reduce your penalty by filing an
amended Form 943-A.
Example. You reported a tax liability of $3,000 on January 1.
However, the liability was actually for March. Prepare an amended
Form 943-A showing the $3,000 liability on March 1. Also, you must
enter the liabilities previously reported for the year that did not
change. Write “Amended” at the top of Form 943-A. The IRS will
refigure the penalty and notify you of any change in the penalty.
Monthly schedule depositors. You can file Form 943-A if you have
been assessed an FTD penalty and you made an error on the
monthly tax liability section of Form 943. When completing Form
943-A for this situation, only enter the monthly totals. The daily
entries are not required.
Where to file. File your amended Form 943-A, or, for monthly
schedule depositors, your original Form 943-A at the address
provided in the penalty notice you received. If you are filing an
amended Form 943-A, you do not have to submit your original
Form 943-A.

Form 943-A (Rev. 2-2015)

Form 943-X
Tax decrease. If you are filing Form 943-X, you can file an
amended Form 943-A with Form 943-X if both of the following
apply.
1. You have a tax decrease.
2. You were assessed an FTD penalty.
File your amended Form 943-A with Form 943-X. The total liability
reported on your amended Form 943-A must equal the corrected
amount of tax reported on Form 943-X. If your penalty is decreased,
the IRS will include the penalty decrease with your tax decrease.
Tax increase—Form 943-X filed timely. If you are filing a timely
Form 943-X showing a tax increase, do not file an amended Form
943-A, unless you were assessed an FTD penalty caused by an
incorrect, incomplete, or missing Form 943-A. Do not include the
tax increase reported on Form 943-X on an amended Form 943-A
you file.

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Tax increase—Form 943-X filed late. If you owe tax and are filing
Form 943-X late, that is, after the due date for Form 943 for the year
in which you discovered the error, you must file an amended Form
943-A with the Form 943-X. Otherwise, IRS may assess an
“averaged” FTD penalty.
The total tax reported on line M of Form 943-A must match the
corrected tax (Form 943, line 11 (line 9 for calendar years 2011 and
2012), combined with any correction reported on Form 943-X, line
15) for the year, less any previous abatements and interest-free tax
assessments.