Form 945-A Annual Record of Federal Tax Liability

Form

945-A

(Rev. October 2017)

Annual Record of Federal Tax Liability

OMB No. 1545-1430

Go to www.irs.gov/Form945A for the latest information.
File with Form 945, 945-X, CT-1, CT-1 X, 944, or 944-X.
Calendar Year
Name (as shown on Form 945, 945-X, CT-1, CT-1 X, 944, or 944-X)
Employer identification number (EIN)
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

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You must complete this form if you're a semiweekly schedule depositor or became one because your accumulated 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.) Don't change your current year tax
liability by adjustments reported on any Form 945-X, CT-1 X, or 944-X.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
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15
16
A

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
D

January Tax Liability
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
Total for month ▶

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

Total for month ▶

For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see page 4.

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2
3
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5
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8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

February Tax Liability
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29

B Total for month ▶

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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

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

C Total for month ▶

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

E Total for month ▶

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

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

F Total for month ▶
Cat. No. 14733M

Form 945-A (Rev. 10-2017)

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Form 945-A (Rev. 10-2017)

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G

1
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J

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

October Tax Liability
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
Total for month ▶

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

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

H Total for month ▶

1
2
3
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5
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7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

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

K Total for month ▶

1
2
3
4
5
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9
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15
16
I

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

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

Total for month ▶

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

L Total for month ▶

M Total tax liability for the year (add lines A through L). This should equal line 3 on Form 945 (line 15
on Form CT-1, line 9 on Form 944). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Form 945-A (Rev. 10-2017)

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Form 945-A (Rev. 10-2017)

Future Developments
For the latest information about developments related to Form
945-A and its instructions, such as legislation enacted after they
were published, go to www.irs.gov/Form945A.

What's New
Adjusting tax liability for the qualified small business payroll tax
credit for increasing research activities (Form 944 only). For
2017 and subsequent years, you must account for any qualified
small business payroll tax credit for increasing research activities
that you reported on Form 944, line 8, when reporting your liabilities
on Form 945-A. The total liability for the year must equal Form 944,
line 9. Failure to account for the amount reported on Form 944, line
8, may cause Form 945-A to report more than the total taxes after
adjustments and credits reported on Form 944, line 9.
The qualified small business payroll tax credit for increasing
research activities applies to the employer share of social security
tax on wages paid in the quarter that begins after the income tax
return electing the credit has been filed. In completing Form 945-A,
you take into account the payroll tax credit against your liability for
the employer share of social security tax starting with the first
payroll payment of the quarter that includes payments of wages to
your employees that are subject to social security tax. Don't reduce
your daily tax liability reported on Form 945-A below zero. For more
information, see the line 13 instructions in the Instructions for
Form 944.

Reminders
Reporting prior period adjustments. Prior period adjustments are
reported on Form 945-X, Adjusted Annual Return of Withheld
Federal Income Tax or Claim for Refund; Form CT-1 X, Adjusted
Employer's Annual Railroad Retirement Tax Return or Claim for
Refund; or Form 944-X, Adjusted Employer's ANNUAL Federal Tax
Return or Claim for Refund; and aren't taken into account when
figuring the tax liability for the current year.
When you file Form 945-A with your Form 945, CT-1, or 944,
don't change your current year tax liability by adjustments reported
on any Form 945-X, CT-1 X, or 944-X.

Who must file. Semiweekly schedule depositors must complete
and file Form 945-A with their tax return. Don't file Form 945-A if
your net tax liability for the return period is less than $2,500. Don't
file this form if you're a monthly schedule depositor unless you
accumulated a tax liability of $100,000 during any month of the
year. Monthly schedule depositors who accumulate $100,000 or
more of tax liability on any day of a calendar month become
semiweekly schedule depositors on the next day and remain so for
at least the remainder of the year and for the next year, and must
also complete and file Form 945-A for the entire year.
The deposit rules, including the $100,000 Next-Day Deposit Rule,
are explained in section 11 of Pub. 15, Employer's Tax Guide, and
in the instructions for your tax return.
Caution: The IRS uses Form 945-A to match the tax liability you
reported on the returns indicated earlier with your deposits. The IRS
also uses Form 945-A to determine if you have deposited your tax
liabilities on time. Unless Form 945-A is properly completed and
filed (if applicable) with your tax return, the IRS may propose an
“averaged” FTD penalty. See Deposit Penalties in section 11 of Pub.
15 for more information.
When to file. File Form 945-A with your Form 945, CT-1, or 944
every year when Form 945, CT-1, or 944 is due. See the instructions
to these forms for their 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 945, 945-X, CT-1,
CT-1 X, 944, or 944-X.
Calendar year. Enter the calendar year of the Form 945, 945-X,
CT-1, CT-1 X, 944, or 944-X to which Form 945-A is attached.
Form 945 filers. Don't complete entries A through M of the Monthly
Summary of Federal Tax Liability (Form 945, line 7). Be sure to mark
the semiweekly schedule depositor checkbox above line 7 on
Form 945.

Amended Form 945-A. If you have been assessed a
failure-to-deposit (FTD) penalty, you may be able to file an amended
Form 945-A. For more information, see Correcting Previously
Reported Tax Liability, later.

Form CT-1 filers. Don't complete the Monthly Summary of Railroad
Retirement Tax Liability (Part II of Form CT-1).

General Instructions

Enter your tax liability by month. Each numbered space on
Form 945-A corresponds to a date during the year. Enter your tax
liabilities in the spaces that correspond to the dates you paid wages
to your employees or made nonpayroll payments, not the date
liabilities were accrued or deposits were made. The total tax liability
for the year (line M) must equal net taxes on Form 945 (line 3), Form
CT-1 (line 15), or Form 944 (line 9). 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.

Purpose of form. Use Form 945-A to report your federal tax liability
(based on the dates payments were made or wages were paid) for
the following tax returns.
• Forms 945 and 945-X for federal income tax withholding on
nonpayroll payments. Nonpayroll withholding includes backup
withholding and federal income tax withholding on pensions,
annuities, IRAs, Indian gaming profits, gambling winnings, military
retirement, certain government payments on which the recipient
elected voluntary income tax withholding, and dividends and other
distributions by an Alaska Native Corporation on which the recipient
elected voluntary income tax withholding.
• Forms CT-1 and CT-1 X for both employee and employer Tier 1
and Tier 2 taxes.
• Forms 944 and 944-X for federal income tax withheld plus both
employee and employer social security and Medicare taxes.
Forms 944(SP) and 944-X (SP). If you're a semiweekly schedule
depositor who files Formulario 944(SP), Declaración Federal ANUAL
de Impuestos del Patrono o Empleador, you should use Formulario
943A-PR, Registro de la Obligación Contributiva Federal del
Patrono Agrícola, to report your tax liability. You should also file
Form 943A-PR if you file Form 944-X (SP) and you need to amend a
previously filed Form 943A-PR.

Form 944 filers. On Form 944, check the box for “Line 9 is $2,500
or more” at line 13, and leave blank lines 13a–13m.

For example, if you're a Form 945 filer, and you became liable for
a pension distribution on December 31, 2016, but didn't make the
distribution until January 7, 2017, you would:
• Go to January on Form 945-A filed with your 2017 return, and
• Enter your tax liability on line 7 because line 7 represents the
seventh day of the month.
Example 1. Cedar Co., which has a semiweekly deposit
schedule, makes periodic payments on gambling winnings on the
15th day of each month. On December 24, 2017, in addition to its
periodic payments, it withheld from a payment on gambling
winnings under the backup withholding rules. Since Cedar Co. is a
semiweekly schedule depositor, it must record these nonpayroll
withholding liabilities on Form 945-A. It must report tax liabilities on
line 15 for each month and line 24 for December.
Cedar Co. enters the monthly totals on lines A through L. It adds
these monthly subtotals and enters the total tax liability for the year
on line M. The amount on line M should equal Form 945, line 3.

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Form 945-A (Rev. 10-2017)

Example 2. Fir Co. is a semiweekly schedule depositor. During
January, it withheld federal income tax on pension distributions as
follows: $52,000 on January 10; $35,000 on January 24. Since Fir
Co. is a semiweekly schedule depositor, it must record its federal
income tax withholding liabilities on Form 945-A. It must record
$52,000 on line 10 and $35,000 on line 24 for January.
Example 3. Elm Co. is a new business and monthly schedule
depositor for 2017. During January, it withheld federal income tax
on nonpayroll payments as follows: $2,000 on January 10; $99,000
on January 24. The deposit rules require that a monthly schedule
depositor begin depositing on a semiweekly deposit schedule when
a $100,000 or more tax liability is accumulated on any day within a
month (see section 11 of Pub. 15 for details). Since Elm Co.
accumulated $101,000 ($2,000 + $99,000) on January 24, 2017, it
became a semiweekly schedule depositor on January 25, 2017. Elm
Co. must complete Form 945-A and file it with Form 945. It must
record $2,000 on line 10 and $99,000 on line 24 for January. No
entries should be made on Form 945, line 7, even though Elm Co.
was a monthly schedule depositor until January 25.

Correcting Previously Reported Tax Liability
Semiweekly schedule depositors. If you have been assessed an
FTD penalty and you made an error on Form 945-A and the
correction won't change the total liability you reported on Form
945-A, you may be able to reduce your penalty by filing an
amended Form 945-A.
Example. You reported a tax liability of $3,000 on January 1.
However, the liability was actually for March. Prepare an amended
Form 945-A showing the $3,000 liability on March 1. Also, you must
enter the liabilities previously reported for the year that didn't
change. Write “Amended” at the top of Form 945-A. The IRS will
refigure the penalty and notify you of any change in the penalty.
Monthly schedule depositors. You can file Form 945-A if you have
been assessed an FTD penalty and you made an error on the
monthly tax liability section of Form 945. When completing Form
945-A for this situation, only enter the monthly totals. The daily
entries aren't required.
Where to file. File your amended Form 945-A, or, for monthly
schedule depositors, your original Form 945-A at the address
provided in the penalty notice you received. If you're filing an
amended Form 945-A, you don't have to submit your original
Form 945-A.

Forms 945-X, CT-1 X, and 944-X
You may need to file an amended Form 945-A with Forms 945-X,
CT-1 X, or 944-X to avoid or reduce an FTD penalty.
Tax decrease. If you're filing Form 945-X, CT-1 X, or 944-X, you
can file an amended Form 945-A with the form if both of the
following apply.
1. You have a tax decrease.
2. You were assessed an FTD penalty.

File your amended Form 945-A with Form 945-X, CT-1 X, or
944-X. The total liability reported on your amended Form 945-A
must equal the corrected amount of tax reported on Form 945-X,
CT-1 X, or 944-X. If your penalty is decreased, the IRS will include
the penalty decrease with your tax decrease.
Tax increase—Form 945-X, CT-1 X, or 944-X filed timely. If
you're filing a timely Form 945-X, CT-1 X, or 944-X showing a tax
increase, don't file an amended Form 945-A, unless you were
assessed an FTD penalty caused by an incorrect, incomplete, or
missing Form 945-A. Don't include the tax increase reported on
Form 945-X, CT-1 X, or 944-X on an amended Form 945-A you file.
Tax increase—Form 945-X, CT-1 X, or 944-X filed late. If you
owe tax and are filing late, that is, after the due date of the return for
the filing period in which you discovered the error, you must file the
form with an amended Form 945-A. Otherwise, the IRS may assess
an “averaged” FTD penalty.
The total tax reported on line M of Form 945-A must match the
corrected tax (Form 945, line 3; Form 944, line 9 (line 7 for years
before 2017); Form CT-1, line 15); combined with any correction
reported on Form 945-X, line 5; Form 944-X, line 17; or Form
CT-1 X, line 19; for the year, less any previous abatements and
interest-free tax assessments.
Note: Form 944-X, line 17, which is referenced above, will change
to line 18 on the February 2018 revision of Form 944-X.
Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We ask for the information on
this form to carry out the Internal Revenue laws of the United
States. You're required to give us the information. We need it to
ensure that you're complying with these laws and to allow us to
figure and collect the right amount of tax.
You're not required to provide the information requested on a
form that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act unless the form
displays a valid OMB control number. Books or records relating to a
form or its instructions must be retained as long as their contents
may become material in the administration of any Internal Revenue
law. Generally, tax returns and return information are confidential,
as required by Code section 6103.
The time needed to complete and file this form will vary
depending on individual circumstances. The estimated average
time is:
Recordkeeping .

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. 6 hr., 27 min.

Learning about the
law or the form . .

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Preparing and sending
the form to the IRS . .

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. 12 min.

6 min.

If you have comments concerning the accuracy of these time
estimates or suggestions for making this form simpler, we would be
happy to hear from you. You can write to the IRS at the address
listed in the Privacy Act Notice for your tax return.