Department of the Treasury (2023)
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Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Contents
What's New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Reminders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Publication 15
Cat. No. 10000W
Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
(Circular E),
Employer's
Tax Guide
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
For use in
2023
1. Employer Identification Number (EIN) . . . . . . . 11
2. Who Are Employees? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3. Family Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4. Employee's Social Security Number (SSN) . . . 14
5. Wages and Other Compensation . . . . . . . . . . . 15
6. Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
7. Supplemental Wages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
8. Payroll Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
9. Withholding From Employees' Wages . . . . . . . 21
10. Required Notice to Employees About the
Earned Income Credit (EIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
11. Depositing Taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
12. Filing Form 941 or Form 944 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
13. Reporting Adjustments to Form 941 or
Form 944 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
14. Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax . . . . . . . . 37
15. Special Rules for Various Types of
Services and Payments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
16. Third-Party Payer Arrangements . . . . . . . . . . 45
How To Get Tax Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Future Developments
For the latest information about developments related to
Pub. 15, such as legislation enacted after it was
published, go to IRS.gov/Pub15.
What's New
Get forms and other information faster and easier at:
• IRS.gov (English)
• IRS.gov/Spanish (Español)
• IRS.gov/Chinese (中文)
Dec 13, 2022
• IRS.gov/Korean (한국어)
• IRS.gov/Russian (Pусский)
• IRS.gov/Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)
Social security and Medicare tax for 2023. The rate of
social security tax on taxable wages, including qualified
sick leave wages and qualified family leave wages paid in
2023 for leave taken after March 31, 2021, and before October 1, 2021, is 6.2% each for the employer and employee or 12.4% for both. Qualified sick leave wages and
qualified family leave wages paid in 2023 for leave taken
after March 31, 2020, and before April 1, 2021, aren't subject to the employer share of social security tax; therefore,
the tax rate on these wages is 6.2%. The social security
wage base limit is $160,200.
The Medicare tax rate is 1.45% each for the employee
and employer, unchanged from 2022. There is no wage
base limit for Medicare tax.
Social security and Medicare taxes apply to the wages
of household workers you pay $2,600 or more in cash wages in 2023. Social security and Medicare taxes apply to
election workers who are paid $2,200 or more in cash or
an equivalent form of compensation in 2023.
Qualified small business payroll tax credit for increasing research activities. For tax years beginning
before January 1, 2023, a qualified small business may
elect to claim up to $250,000 of its credit for increasing research activities as a payroll tax credit. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the IRA) increases the election
amount to $500,000 for tax years beginning after December 31, 2022. The payroll tax credit election must be made
on or before the due date of the originally filed income tax
return (including extensions). The portion of the credit
used against payroll taxes is allowed in the first calendar
quarter beginning after the date that the qualified small
business filed its income tax return. The election and determination of the credit amount that will be used against
the employer’s payroll taxes are made on Form 6765,
Credit for Increasing Research Activities. The amount
from Form 6765, line 44, must then be reported on Form
8974, Qualified Small Business Payroll Tax Credit for Increasing Research Activities.
Starting in the first quarter of 2023, the payroll tax credit
is first used to reduce the employer share of social security tax up to $250,000 per quarter and any remaining
credit reduces the employer share of Medicare tax for the
quarter. Any remaining credit, after reducing the employer
share of social security tax and the employer share of
Medicare tax, is then carried forward to the next quarter.
Form 8974 is used to determine the amount of the credit
that can be used in the current quarter. The amount from
Form 8974, line 12, or, if applicable, line 17, is reported on
Form 941 or Form 944. For more information about the
payroll tax credit, see IRS.gov/ResearchPayrollTC. Also
see the line 16 instructions in the Instructions for Form
941 (line 13 instructions in the Instructions for Form 944)
for information on reducing your record of tax liability for
this credit.
Forms 941-SS and 941-PR discontinued after 2023.
Form 941-SS, Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return—American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and
Form 941-PR, Planilla para la Declaración Federal TRIMESTRAL del Patrono, will no longer be available after
the fourth quarter of 2023. Instead, employers in the U.S.
territories will file Form 941, Employer’s QUARTERLY
Federal Tax Return, or, if you prefer your form and instructions in Spanish, you can file new Form 941 (sp), Declaración del Impuesto Federal TRIMESTRAL del Empleador.
Pubs. 51, 80, and 179 discontinued after 2023. Pub.
51, Agricultural Employer’s Tax Guide; Pub. 80, Federal
Tax Guide for Employers in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam,
American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern
Page 2
Mariana Islands; and Pub. 179, Guía Contributiva Federal
para Patronos Puertorriqueños, will no longer be available
after 2023. Instead, information specific to agricultural employers and employers in the U.S. territories will be included in Pub. 15 beginning with the Pub. 15 for use in 2024
(published December 2023). Beginning in 2024, there will
be a new Pub. 15 (sp) that is a Spanish-language version
of Pub. 15.
Reminders
The COVID-19 related credit for qualified sick and
family leave wages is limited to leave taken after
March 31, 2020, and before October 1, 2021. Generally, the credit for qualified sick and family leave wages as
enacted under the Families First Coronavirus Response
Act (FFCRA) and amended and extended by the
COVID-related Tax Relief Act of 2020 for leave taken after
March 31, 2020, and before April 1, 2021, and the credit
for qualified sick and family leave wages under sections
3131, 3132, and 3133 of the Internal Revenue Code, as
enacted under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the
ARP), for leave taken after March 31, 2021, and before
October 1, 2021, have expired. However, employers that
pay qualified sick and family leave wages in 2023 for
leave taken after March 31, 2020, and before October 1,
2021, are eligible to claim a credit for qualified sick and
family leave wages in 2023. See the March 2023 revision
of the Instructions for Form 941 or the 2023 Instructions
for Form 944 for more information.
Disaster tax relief. Disaster tax relief is available for
those impacted by disasters. For more information about
disaster relief, go to IRS.gov/DisasterTaxRelief.
Payroll tax credit for certain tax-exempt organizations affected by qualified disasters. Section 303(d) of
the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of
2020 allows for a payroll tax credit for certain tax-exempt
organizations affected by certain qualified disasters not
related to COVID-19. This credit is claimed on Form
5884-D (not on Form 941 and Form 944). Form 5884-D is
filed after the Form 941 for the quarter or Form 944 for the
year for which the credit is being claimed has been filed.
For more information about this credit, go to IRS.gov/
Form5884D.
2023 withholding tables. The Percentage Method and
Wage Bracket Method withholding tables, the employer
instructions on how to figure employee withholding, and
the amount to add to a nonresident alien employee's wages for figuring income tax withholding are included in
Pub. 15-T, Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods,
available at IRS.gov/Pub15T.
Moving expense reimbursement. P.L. 115-97 suspends the exclusion for qualified moving expense reimbursements from your employee's income for tax years
beginning after 2017 and before 2026. However, the exclusion is still available in the case of a member of the
U.S. Armed Forces on active duty who moves because of
a permanent change of station due to a military order. The
exclusion applies only to reimbursement of moving
Publication 15 (2023)
expenses that the member could deduct if they had paid
or incurred them without reimbursement. See Moving Expenses in Pub. 3, Armed Forces' Tax Guide, for the definition of what constitutes a permanent change of station
and to learn which moving expenses are deductible.
Withholding on supplemental wages. P.L. 115-97
lowered the withholding rates on supplemental wages for
tax years beginning after 2017 and before 2026. See section 7 for the withholding rates.
Backup withholding. P.L. 115-97 lowered the backup
withholding rate to 24% for tax years beginning after 2017
and before 2026. For more information on backup withholding, see Backup withholding, later.
Certification program for professional employer organizations (PEOs). The Stephen Beck, Jr., Achieving a
Better Life Experience Act of 2014 required the IRS to establish a voluntary certification program for PEOs. PEOs
handle various payroll administration and tax reporting responsibilities for their business clients and are typically
paid a fee based on payroll costs. To become and remain
certified under the certification program, certified professional employer organizations (CPEOs) must meet various requirements described in sections 3511 and 7705
and related published guidance. Certification as a CPEO
may affect the employment tax liabilities of both the CPEO
and its customers. A CPEO is generally treated for employment tax purposes as the employer of any individual
who performs services for a customer of the CPEO and is
covered by a contract described in section 7705(e)(2) between the CPEO and the customer (CPEO contract), but
only for wages and other compensation paid to the individual by the CPEO. To become a CPEO, the organization
must apply through the IRS Online Registration System.
For more information or to apply to become a CPEO, go to
IRS.gov/CPEO. Also see Revenue Procedure 2017-14,
2017-3
I.R.B.
426,
available
at
IRS.gov/irb/
2017-03_IRB#RP-2017-14.
Outsourcing payroll duties. Generally, as an employer,
you’re responsible to ensure that tax returns are filed and
deposits and payments are made, even if you contract
with a third party to perform these acts. You remain responsible if the third party fails to perform any required action. Before you choose to outsource any of your payroll
and related tax duties (that is, withholding, reporting, and
paying over social security, Medicare, FUTA, and income
taxes) to a third-party payer, such as a payroll service proIRS.gov/
vider
or
reporting
agent,
go
to
OutsourcingPayrollDuties for helpful information on this
topic. If a CPEO pays wages and other compensation to
an individual performing services for you, and the services
are covered by a contract described in section 7705(e)(2)
between you and the CPEO (CPEO contract), then the
CPEO is generally treated as the employer, but only for
wages and other compensation paid to the individual by
the CPEO. However, with respect to certain employees
covered by a CPEO contract, you may also be treated as
an employer of the employees and, consequently, may
also be liable for federal employment taxes imposed on
wages and other compensation paid by the CPEO to such
employees. For more information on the different types of
third-party payer arrangements, see section 16.
Publication 15 (2023)
Aggregate Form 941 filers. Approved section 3504
agents and CPEOs must complete Schedule R (Form
941), Allocation Schedule for Aggregate Form 941 Filers,
when filing an aggregate Form 941. Aggregate Forms 941
are filed by agents approved by the IRS under section
3504 of the Internal Revenue Code. To request approval
to act as an agent for an employer, the agent files Form
2678 with the IRS unless you're a state or local government agency acting as an agent under the special procedures provided in Revenue Procedure 2013-39, 2013-52
I.R.B.
830,
available
at
IRS.gov/irb/
2013-52_IRB#RP-2013-39. Aggregate Forms 941 are
also filed by CPEOs approved by the IRS under section
7705. To become a CPEO, the organization must apply
through the IRS Online Registration System at IRS.gov/
CPEO. CPEOs file Form 8973, Certified Professional Employer Organization/Customer Reporting Agreement, to
notify the IRS that they’ve started or ended a service contract with a client or customer. CPEOs must generally file
Form 941 and Schedule R (Form 941) electronically. For
more information about a CPEO's requirement to file electronically, see Revenue Procedure 2017-14, 2017-3 I.R.B.
426, available at IRS.gov/irb/2017-03_IRB#RP-2017-14.
Other third-party payers that file aggregate Forms 941,
such as non-certified PEOs, must complete and file
Schedule R (Form 941) if they have clients that are claiming any employment tax credit (for example, the qualified
small business payroll tax credit for increasing research
activities).
Aggregate Form 940 filers. Approved section 3504
agents and CPEOs must complete Schedule R (Form
940), Allocation Schedule for Aggregate Form 940 Filers,
when filing an aggregate Form 940, Employer's Annual
Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return. Aggregate
Forms 940 can be filed by agents acting on behalf of
home care service recipients who receive home care
services through a program administered by a federal,
state, or local government. To request approval to act as
an agent on behalf of home care service recipients, the
agent files Form 2678 with the IRS unless you're a state or
local government agency acting as an agent under the
special procedures provided in Revenue Procedure
2013-39. Aggregate Forms 940 are also filed by CPEOs
approved by the IRS under section 7705. CPEOs file
Form 8973 to notify the IRS that they’ve started or ended
a service contract with a client or customer. CPEOs must
generally file Form 940 and Schedule R (Form 940) electronically. For more information about a CPEO's requirement to file electronically, see Revenue Procedure
2017-14.
Work opportunity tax credit for qualified tax-exempt
organizations hiring qualified veterans. Qualified
tax-exempt organizations that hire eligible unemployed
veterans may be able to claim the work opportunity tax
credit against their payroll tax liability using Form 5884-C.
For more information, go to IRS.gov/WOTC.
Medicaid waiver payments. Notice 2014-7 provides
that certain Medicaid waiver payments are excludable
from income for federal income tax purposes. See Notice
2014-7, 2014-4 I.R.B. 445, available at IRS.gov/irb/
Page 3
2014-04_IRB#NOT-2014-7. For more information, including questions and answers related to Notice 2014-7, go to
IRS.gov/MedicaidWaiverPayments.
No federal income tax withholding on disability payments for injuries incurred as a direct result of a terrorist attack directed against the United States. Disability payments for injuries incurred as a direct result of a
terrorist attack directed against the United States (or its allies) aren't included in income. Because federal income
tax withholding is only required when a payment is includible in income, no federal income tax should be withheld
from these payments. See Pub. 907, Tax Highlights for
Persons With Disabilities, and Pub. 3920, Tax Relief for
Victims of Terrorist Attacks.
Voluntary withholding on dividends and other distributions by an Alaska Native Corporation (ANC). A
shareholder of an ANC may request voluntary income tax
withholding on dividends and other distributions paid by
an ANC. A shareholder may request voluntary withholding
by giving the ANC a completed Form W-4V. For more information, see Notice 2013-77, 2013-50 I.R.B. 632, available at IRS.gov/irb/2013-50_IRB#NOT-2013-77.
Definition of marriage. A marriage of two individuals is
recognized for federal tax purposes if the marriage is recognized by the state, possession, or territory of the United
States in which the marriage is entered into, regardless of
legal residence. Two individuals who enter into a relationship that is denominated as marriage under the laws of a
foreign jurisdiction are recognized as married for federal
tax purposes if the relationship would be recognized as
marriage under the laws of at least one state, possession,
or territory of the United States, regardless of legal residence. Individuals who have entered into a registered domestic partnership, civil union, or other similar relationship
that isn't denominated as a marriage under the law of the
state, possession, or territory of the United States where
such relationship was entered into aren't lawfully married
for federal tax purposes, regardless of legal residence.
Severance payments. Severance payments are wages
subject to social security and Medicare taxes, income tax
withholding, and FUTA tax.
You must receive written notice from the IRS to file
Form 944. If you’ve been filing Forms 941 (or Forms
941-SS or Formularios 941-PR), and believe your employment taxes for the calendar year will be $1,000 or less,
and you would like to file Form 944 instead of Forms 941,
you must contact the IRS during the first calendar quarter
of the tax year to request to file Form 944. You must receive written notice from the IRS to file Form 944 instead
of Forms 941 before you may file this form. For more information on requesting to file Form 944, including the methods and deadlines for making a request, see the Instructions for Form 944.
Employers can request to file Forms 941 instead of
Form 944. If you received notice from the IRS to file
Form 944 but would like to file Forms 941 instead, you
must contact the IRS during the first calendar quarter of
the tax year to request to file Forms 941. You must receive
written notice from the IRS to file Forms 941 instead of
Form 944 before you may file these forms. For more
Page 4
information on requesting to file Forms 941, including the
methods and deadlines for making a request, see the Instructions for Form 944.
Correcting Form 941 or 944. If you discover an error on
a previously filed Form 941, make the correction using
Form 941-X. If you discover an error on a previously filed
Form 944, make the correction using Form 944-X. Forms
941-X and 944-X are filed separately from Forms 941 and
944. Forms 941-X and 944-X are used by employers to
claim refunds or abatements of employment taxes, rather
than Form 843. See section 13 for more information.
Zero wage return. If you haven't filed a “final” Form 940
and "final" Form 941 or 944, or aren't a “seasonal” employer (Form 941 only), you must continue to file a Form
940 and Forms 941 or Form 944, even for periods during
which you paid no wages. The IRS encourages you to file
your “zero wage” Form 940 and Form 941 or 944 electronically. Go to IRS.gov/EmploymentEfile for more information on electronic filing.
Federal tax deposits must be made by electronic
funds transfer (EFT). You must use EFT to make all
federal tax deposits. Generally, an EFT is made using the
Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS). If you
don't want to use EFTPS, you can arrange for your tax
professional, financial institution, payroll service, or other
trusted third party to make electronic 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 the Treasury. Services provided by your tax professional, financial
institution, payroll service, or other third party may have a
fee.
For more information on making federal tax deposits,
see How To Deposit in section 11. To get more information about EFTPS or to enroll in EFTPS, go to EFTPS.gov
or call 800-555-4477. To contact EFTPS using Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) for people who are
deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, dial 711
and then provide the TRS assistant the 800-555-4477
number above or 800-733-4829. Additional information
about EFTPS is also available in Pub. 966.
Pub. 5146 explains employment tax examinations
and appeal rights. Pub. 5146 provides employers with
information on how the IRS selects employment tax returns to be examined, what happens during an exam, and
what options an employer has in responding to the results
of an exam, including how to appeal the results. Pub.
5146 also includes information on worker classification issues and tip exams.
Electronic Filing and Payment
Businesses can enjoy the benefits of filing and 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 filing and payment
easier.
Publication 15 (2023)
Spend less time worrying about taxes and more time
running your business. Use e-file and EFTPS to your
benefit.
• For e-file, go to IRS.gov/EmploymentEfile for
additional information. A fee may be charged to file
electronically.
• For EFTPS, go to EFTPS.gov or call EFTPS Customer
Service at 800-555-4477. To contact EFTPS using
TRS for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have
a speech disability, dial 711 and then provide the TRS
assistant the 800-555-4477 number above or
800-733-4829.
• For electronic filing of Forms W-2, Wage and Tax
Statement, go to SSA.gov/employer. You may be
required to file Forms W-2 electronically. For details,
see the General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3.
If you’re filing your tax return or paying your federal taxes electronically, a valid employer identifiCAUTION cation number (EIN) is required at the time the return is filed or the payment is made. If a valid EIN isn't
provided, the return or payment won't be processed. This
may result in penalties. See section 1 for information
about applying for an EIN.
!
Electronic funds withdrawal (EFW). If you file your employment tax return electronically, you can e-file and use
EFW to pay the balance due in a single step using tax
preparation software or through a tax professional. However, don't use EFW to make federal tax deposits. For
more information on paying your taxes using EFW, go to
IRS.gov/EFW.
Credit or debit card payments. You can pay the balance due shown on your employment tax return by credit
or debit card. Your payment will be processed by a payment processor who will charge a processing fee. Don't
use a credit or debit card to make federal tax deposits. For
more information on paying your taxes with a credit or
debit card, go to IRS.gov/PayByCard.
Online payment agreement. You may be eligible to apply for an installment agreement online if you can’t pay the
full amount of tax you owe when you file your employment
tax return. For more information, see the instructions for
your employment tax return or go to IRS.gov/OPA.
Forms in Spanish
You can provide Formulario W-4(SP), Certificado de
Retenciones del Empleado, in place of Form W-4,
Employee's
Withholding
Certificate,
to
your
Spanish-speaking employees. For more information, see
Pub. 17(SP), El Impuesto Federal sobre los Ingresos
(Para Personas Físicas). For nonemployees, such as
independent contractors, Formulario W-9(SP), Solicitud y
Certificación del Número de Identificación del
Contribuyente, may be used in place of Form W-9,
Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and
Certification.
Publication 15 (2023)
Hiring New Employees
Eligibility for employment. You must verify that each
new employee is legally eligible to work in the United
States. This includes completing the U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. You can get Form I-9 at USCIS.gov/
Forms. For more information, go to the USCIS website at
USCIS.gov/I-9-Central, or call 800-375-5283 or
800-767-1833 (TTY).
You may use the Social Security Number Verification
Service (SSNVS) at SSA.gov/employer/ssnv.htm to verify
that an employee name matches an SSN. A person may
have a valid SSN but not be authorized to work in the United States. You may use E-Verify at E-Verify.gov to confirm the employment eligibility of newly hired employees.
New hire reporting. You’re required to report any new
employee to a designated state new hire registry. A new
employee is an employee who hasn't previously been employed by you or was previously employed by you but has
been separated from such prior employment for at least
60 consecutive days.
Many states accept a copy of Form W-4 with employer
information added. Go to the Office of Child Support Enforcement
website
at
acf.hhs.gov/programs/css/
employers for more information.
W-4 request. Ask each new employee to complete the
2023 Form W-4. See section 9.
Name and social security number (SSN). Record
each new employee's name and SSN from their social security card. Any employee without a social security card
should apply for one. See section 4.
Information Returns
You must file Forms W-2 to report wages paid to
employees. You may also be required to file information
returns to report certain types of payments made during
the year. For example, you must file Form 1099-NEC,
Nonemployee Compensation, to report payments of $600
or more to persons not treated as employees (for
example, independent contractors) for services performed
for your trade or business. For details about filing Forms
1099 and for information about required electronic filing,
see the General Instructions for Certain Information
Returns for general information, and the separate, specific
instructions for each information return you file (for
example, the Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and
1099-NEC). Generally, don't use Forms 1099 to report
wages and other compensation you paid to employees;
report these on Form W-2. See the General Instructions
for Forms W-2 and W-3 for details about filing Form W-2
and for information about required electronic filing.
Technical Services Operation (TSO). The IRS operates the TSO to answer questions about reporting on
Forms W-2, W-3, and 1099, and other information returns.
If you have questions related to reporting on information
returns, call 866-455-7438 (toll free) or 304-263-8700 (toll
Page 5
Employer Responsibilities
The following list provides a brief summary of your basic responsibilities. Because the individual circumstances for each employer
can vary greatly, responsibilities for withholding, depositing, and reporting employment taxes can differ. Each item in this list has a
page reference to a more detailed discussion in this publication.
New Employees:
Page
Verify work eligibility of new employees . . . . . . .
5
Record employees' names and SSNs from
social security cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5
Ask employees for Form W-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5
Each Payday:
Withhold federal income tax based on each
employee's Form W-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21
Withhold employee's share of social security
and Medicare taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
24
Deposit:
• Withheld income tax
• Withheld and employer social security taxes
• Withheld and employer Medicare taxes . . . . .
26
Note: Due date of deposit generally depends
on your deposit schedule (monthly or
semiweekly).
Quarterly (By April 30, July 31, October 31,
and January 31):
Deposit FUTA tax if undeposited amount
is over $500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
38
File Form 941 (pay tax with return if not
required to deposit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
32
call). The center can also be reached by email at
mccirp@irs.gov. Don't include taxpayer identification numbers (TINs) or attachments in email because email isn't
secure.
Federal Income Tax
Withholding
Withhold federal income tax from each wage payment or
supplemental unemployment compensation plan benefit
payment according to the employee's Form W-4 and the
correct withholding table in Pub. 15-T. If you're paying
supplemental wages to an employee, see section 7. If you
have nonresident alien employees, see Withholding
income taxes on the wages of nonresident alien
employees in section 9.
See section 8 of Pub. 15-A, Employer’s Supplemental
Tax Guide, for information about withholding on pensions
(including distributions from tax-favored retirement plans),
annuities, and individual retirement arrangements (IRAs).
Nonpayroll Income Tax
Withholding
Nonpayroll federal income tax withholding (reported on
Forms 1099 and Form W-2G, Certain Gambling
Page 6
Annually (see Calendar for due dates):
Page
File Form 944 if required (pay tax with return if
not required to deposit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
32
Remind employees to submit a new Form W-4
if they need to change their withholding . . . . . . . . . .
21
Ask for a new Form W-4 from employees
claiming exemption from income tax
withholding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
22
Reconcile Forms 941 (or Form 944) with Forms
W-2 and W-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
34
Furnish each employee a Form W-2 . . . . . . . . . . . .
9
File Copy A of Forms W-2 and the transmittal
Form W-3 with the SSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9
Furnish each other payee a Form 1099 (for example,
Form 1099-NEC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9
File Forms 1099 and the transmittal Form
1096 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9
9
File Form 940 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
File Form 945 for any nonpayroll income tax
withholding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9
Winnings) must be reported on Form 945, Annual Return
of Withheld Federal Income Tax. Separate deposits are
required for payroll (Form 941 or Form 944) and
nonpayroll (Form 945) withholding. Nonpayroll items
include the following.
• Pensions (including distributions from tax-favored
retirement plans, for example, section 401(k), section
403(b), and governmental section 457(b) plans),
annuities, and IRA distributions.
• Military retirement.
• Gambling winnings.
• Indian gaming profits.
• Certain government payments on which the recipient
elected voluntary income tax withholding.
• Dividends and other distributions by an ANC on which
the recipient elected voluntary income tax withholding.
• Payments subject to backup withholding.
For details on depositing and reporting nonpayroll
income tax withholding, see the Instructions for Form 945.
Distributions from nonqualified pension plans and
deferred compensation plans. Because distributions to
participants from some nonqualified pension plans and
deferred compensation plans (including section 457(b)
plans of tax-exempt organizations) are treated as wages
and are reported on Form W-2, income tax withheld must
be reported on Form 941 or Form 944, not on Form 945.
However, distributions from such plans to a beneficiary or
Publication 15 (2023)
estate of a deceased employee aren't wages and are reported on Forms 1099-R, Distributions From Pensions,
Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc.; income tax withheld must be reported on Form 945.
Backup withholding. You must generally withhold 24%
of certain taxable payments if the payee fails to furnish
you with their correct TIN. This withholding is referred to
as “backup withholding.”
Payments subject to backup withholding include interest, dividends, patronage dividends, rents, royalties, commissions, nonemployee compensation, payments made in
settlement of payment card or third-party network transactions, and certain other payments you make in the course
of your trade or business. In addition, transactions by
brokers and barter exchanges and certain payments
made by fishing boat operators are subject to backup
withholding.
Backup withholding doesn't apply to wages, pensions, annuities, IRAs (including simplified emCAUTION ployee pension (SEP) and SIMPLE retirement
plans), section 404(k) distributions from an employee
stock ownership plan (ESOP), medical savings accounts
(MSAs), health savings accounts (HSAs), long-term-care
benefits, or real estate transactions.
!
You can use Form W-9 or Formulario W-9(SP) to request payees to furnish a TIN. Form W-9 or Formulario
W-9(SP) must be used when payees must certify that the
number furnished is correct, or when payees must certify
that they’re not subject to backup withholding or are exempt from backup withholding. The Instructions for the
Requester of Form W-9 or Formulario W-9(SP) includes a
list of types of payees who are exempt from backup withholding. For more information, see Pub. 1281, Backup
Withholding for Missing and Incorrect Name/TIN(s).
Recordkeeping
Keep all records of employment taxes for at least 4 years.
These should be available for IRS review. Your records
should include the following information.
• Your EIN.
• Amounts and dates of all wage, annuity, and pension
payments.
• Amounts of tips reported to you by your employees.
• Records of allocated tips.
• The fair market value of in-kind wages paid.
• Names, addresses, SSNs, and occupations of
employees and recipients.
• Any employee copies of Forms W-2 and W-2c
returned to you as undeliverable.
• Dates of employment for each employee.
• Periods for which employees and recipients were paid
while absent due to sickness or injury and the amount
Publication 15 (2023)
and weekly rate of payments you or third-party payers
made to them.
• Copies of employees' and recipients' income tax
withholding certificates (Forms W-4, W-4P, W-4(SP),
W-4S, and W-4V).
• Dates and amounts of tax deposits you made and
acknowledgment numbers for deposits made by
EFTPS.
• Copies of returns filed and confirmation numbers.
• Records of fringe benefits and expense
reimbursements provided to your employees,
including substantiation.
• Documentation to substantiate any credits claimed.
Records related to qualified sick leave wages and
qualified family leave wages for leave taken after
March 31, 2021, and before October 1, 2021, and
records related to qualified wages for the employee
retention credit paid after June 30, 2021, should be
kept for at least 6 years. For more information on
substantiation requirements, go to IRS.gov/PLC and
IRS.gov/ERC.
• Documentation to substantiate the amount of any
employer or employee share of social security tax that
you deferred and paid for 2020.
Change of Business Name
Notify the IRS immediately if you change your business
name. Write to the IRS office where you file your returns,
using the Without a payment address provided in the
instructions for your employment tax return, to notify the
IRS of any business name change. See Pub. 1635 to see
if you need to apply for a new EIN.
Change of Business Address
or Responsible Party
Notify the IRS immediately if you change your business
address or responsible party. Complete and mail Form
8822-B to notify the IRS of a business address or
responsible party change. For a definition of “responsible
party,” see the Instructions for Form SS-4.
Filing Addresses
Generally, your filing address for Form 940, 941, 943,
944, 945, or CT-1 depends on the location of your
residence or principal place of business and whether or
not you’re including a payment with your return. There are
separate filing addresses for these returns if you’re a
tax-exempt organization or government entity. See the
separate instructions for Form 940, 941, 943, 944, 945, or
CT-1 for the filing addresses.
Page 7
Private Delivery Services
You can use certain private delivery services (PDSs)
designated by the IRS to meet the “timely mailing as
timely filing” rule for tax returns. Go to IRS.gov/PDS for the
current list of PDSs.
The PDS can tell you how to get written proof of the
mailing date.
For the IRS mailing address to use if you're using a
PDS, go to IRS.gov/PDSstreetAddresses. Select the
mailing address listed on the webpage that is in the same
state as the address to which you would mail returns filed
without a payment, as shown in the instructions for your
employment tax return.
PDSs can't deliver items to P.O. boxes. You must
use the U.S. Postal Service to mail any item to an
CAUTION IRS P.O. box address.
!
Dishonored Payments
Any form of payment that is dishonored and returned from
a financial institution is subject to a penalty. The penalty is
$25 or 2% of the payment, whichever is more. However,
the penalty on dishonored payments of $24.99 or less is
an amount equal to the payment. For example, a
dishonored payment of $18 is charged a penalty of $18.
E-News for Payroll
Professionals
The IRS has a subscription-based email service for
payroll professionals. Subscribers will receive periodic
updates from the IRS. The updates may include
information regarding recent legislative changes affecting
federal payroll reporting, IRS news releases and special
announcements pertaining to the payroll industry, new
employment tax procedures, and other information
specifically affecting federal payroll tax returns. To
subscribe, go to IRS.gov/ENewsPayroll.
Telephone Help
Tax questions. You can call the IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line with your employment tax questions at
800-829-4933.
Help for people with disabilities. You may call
800-829-4059 (TDD/TTY for persons who are deaf, hard
of hearing, or have a speech disability) with any employment tax questions. You may also use this number for assistance with unresolved tax problems.
Additional
information. Go
to
IRS.gov/
EmploymentTaxes for additional employment tax information. For information about employer responsibilities under
the Affordable Care Act, go to IRS.gov/ACA. For
Page 8
information about COVID-19 tax relief, go to IRS.gov/
Coronavirus.
Ordering Employer Tax Forms,
Instructions, and Publications
You can view, download, or print most of the forms,
instructions, and publications you may need at IRS.gov/
Forms. Otherwise, you can go to IRS.gov/OrderForms to
place an order and have them mailed to you. The IRS will
process your order as soon as possible. Don't resubmit
requests you've already sent us. You can get forms,
instructions, and publications faster online.
Instead of ordering paper Forms W-2 and W-3,
consider filing them electronically using the SSA's free
e-file service. Go to the SSA's Employer W-2 Filing
Instructions & Information webpage at SSA.gov/employer
to register for Business Services Online. You’ll be able to
create Forms W-2 online and submit them to the SSA by
typing your wage information into easy-to-use fill-in fields.
In addition, you can print out completed copies of Forms
W-2 to file with state or local governments, distribute to
your employees, and keep for your records. Form W-3 will
be created for you based on your Forms W-2.
Photographs of Missing
Children
The IRS is a proud partner with the National Center for
Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC). 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.
Calendar
The following is a list of important dates and
responsibilities. The dates listed here haven’t been
adjusted for Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays (see
the TIP next). Pub. 509, Tax Calendars (for use in 2023),
adjusts the dates for Saturdays, Sundays, and legal
holidays. See section 11 for information about depositing
taxes reported on Forms 941, 944, and 945. See section
14 for information about depositing FUTA tax. Due dates
for forms required for health coverage reporting aren't
listed here. For these dates, see Pub. 509.
If any date shown next for filing a return, furnish-
TIP ing a form, or depositing taxes falls on a Saturday,
Sunday, or legal holiday, the due date is the next
business day. The term "legal holiday" means any legal
holiday in the District of Columbia. A statewide legal holiday delays a filing due date only if the IRS office where
you’re required to file is located in that state. However, a
Publication 15 (2023)
statewide legal holiday doesn't delay the due date of federal tax deposits. See Deposits Due on Business Days
Only in section 11. For any filing due date, you’ll meet the
“file” or “furnish” requirement if the envelope containing
the return or form 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 PDS on or before the due date. See Private Delivery
Services under Reminders, earlier, for more information.
File Form 945.
File Form 945 to report any nonpayroll
federal income tax withheld. If you deposited all taxes
when due, you may file by February 10. See Nonpayroll
Income Tax Withholding under Reminders, earlier, for
more information.
By February 15
Fiscal year taxpayers. The due dates listed next apply
whether you use a calendar or a fiscal year.
Request a new Form W-4 from exempt employees.
Ask for a new Form W-4 from each employee who
claimed exemption from income tax withholding last
year.
By January 31
On February 16
File Form 941 or Form 944.
File Form 941 for the
fourth quarter of the previous calendar year and deposit
any undeposited income, social security, and Medicare
taxes. You may pay these taxes with Form 941 if your
total tax liability for the quarter (Form 941, line 12) is less
than $2,500. File Form 944 for the previous calendar
year instead of Form 941 if the IRS has notified you in
writing to file Form 944. Pay any undeposited income,
social security, and Medicare taxes with your Form 944.
You may pay these taxes with Form 944 if your total tax
liability for the year (Form 944, line 9) is less than
$2,500. For additional rules on when you can pay your
taxes with your return, see Payment with return in section 11. If you timely deposited all taxes when due, you
may file by February 10.
Forms W-4 claiming exemption from withholding expire.
Any Form W-4 claiming exemption from withholding for the previous year has now expired. Begin
withholding for any employee who previously claimed
exemption from withholding but hasn't given you a new
Form W-4 for the current year. If the employee doesn't
give you a new Form W-4, withhold tax as if they had
checked the box for Single or Married filing separately in
Step 1(c) and made no entries in Step 2, Step 3, or Step
4 of the 2023 Form W-4. See section 9 for more information. If the employee gives you a new Form W-4
claiming exemption from withholding after February 15,
you may apply the exemption to future wages, but don't
refund taxes withheld while the exempt status wasn't in
place.
File Form 940.
File Form 940 to report any FUTA tax.
However, if you deposited all of the FUTA tax when due,
you may file by February 10. See section 14 for more information on FUTA tax.
By February 28
File paper 2022 Forms 1099 and 1096.
File Copy A
of all paper 2022 Forms 1099, except Forms 1099-NEC,
with Form 1096 with the IRS. For electronically filed returns, see By March 31, later.
Furnish Forms 1099 and W-2.
Furnish each employee a completed 2022 Form W-2. Furnish a 2022
Form 1099-NEC to payees for nonemployee compensation. Most Forms 1099 must be furnished to payees by
January 31, but some can be furnished by February 15.
For more information, see the Guide to Information Returns chart in the General Instructions for Certain Information Returns.
File paper Form 8027.
File paper Form 8027, Employer's Annual Information Return of Tip Income and
Allocated Tips, with the IRS. See section 6. For electronically filed returns, see By March 31 next.
File Form W-2.
File with the SSA Copy A of all 2022
paper and electronic Forms W-2 with Form W-3, Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements. For more information on reporting Form W-2 information to the SSA electronically, go to the SSA’s Employer W-2 Filing
Instructions & Information webpage at SSA.gov/
employer. If filing electronically, via the SSA's Form W-2
Online service, the SSA will generate Form W-3 data
from the electronic submission of Form(s) W-2.
File electronic 2022 Forms 1099 and 8027.
File
electronic 2022 Forms 1099, except Forms 1099-NEC,
with the IRS. Also file electronic Form 8027 with the IRS.
For information on filing information returns electronically with the IRS, see Pub. 1220 and Pub. 1239, Specifications for Electronic Filing of Form 8027, Employer's
Annual Information Return of Tip Income and Allocated
Tips.
File Form 1099-NEC reporting nonemployee compensation.
File with the IRS Copy A of all 2022 paper
and electronic Forms 1099-NEC. Paper forms must be
filed with Form 1096, Annual Summary and Transmittal
of U.S. Information Returns. For information on filing information returns electronically with the IRS, see Pub.
1220, Specifications for Electronic Filing of Forms 1097,
1098, 1099, 3921, 3922, 5498, and W-2G.
Publication 15 (2023)
By March 31
By April 30, July 31, October 31, and
January 31
Deposit FUTA taxes.
Deposit FUTA tax for the quarter (including any amount carried over from other quarters) if over $500. If $500 or less, carry it over to the next
quarter. See section 14 for more information.
Page 9
File Form 941.
File Form 941 and deposit any undeposited income, social security, and Medicare taxes.
You may pay these taxes with Form 941 if your total tax
liability for the quarter (Form 941, line 12) is less than
$2,500. If you timely deposited all taxes when due, you
may file by May 10, August 10, November 10, or February 10, respectively. Don't file Form 941 for these quarters if you have been notified to file Form 944 and you
didn't request and receive written notice from the IRS to
file quarterly Forms 941.
Before December 1
New Forms W-4.
Remind employees to submit a new
Form W-4 if their filing status, other income, deductions,
or credits have changed or will change for the next year.
Introduction
This publication explains your tax responsibilities as an
employer. It explains the requirements for withholding, depositing, reporting, paying, and correcting employment
taxes. It explains the forms you must give to your employees, those your employees must give to you, and those
you must send to the IRS and the SSA. References to “income tax” in this guide apply only to federal income tax.
Contact your state or local tax department to determine
their rules.
When you pay your employees, you don't pay them all
the money they earned. As their employer, you have the
added responsibility of withholding taxes from their paychecks. The federal income tax and employees' share of
social security and Medicare taxes that you withhold from
your employees' paychecks are part of their wages that
you pay to the U.S. Treasury instead of to your employees. Your employees trust that you pay the withheld taxes
to the U.S. Treasury by making federal tax deposits. This
is the reason that these withheld taxes are called trust
fund taxes. If federal income, social security, or Medicare
taxes that must be withheld aren't withheld or aren't deposited or paid to the U.S. Treasury, the trust fund recovery penalty may apply. See section 11 for more information.
Additional employment tax information is available in
Pubs. 15-A, 15-B, and 15-T. Pub. 15-A includes specialized information supplementing the basic employment tax
information provided in this publication. Pub. 15-B, Employer's Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits, contains information about the employment tax treatment and valuation of
various types of noncash compensation. Pub. 15-T includes the federal income tax withholding tables and instructions on how to use the tables.
Most employers must withhold (except FUTA), deposit,
report, and pay the following employment taxes.
• Income tax.
• Social security tax.
• Medicare tax.
• FUTA tax.
Page 10
There are exceptions to these requirements. See section 15 for guidance. Railroad retirement taxes are explained in the Instructions for Form CT-1. Employment
taxes for agricultural employers are explained in Pub. 51.
If you have employees in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam,
American Samoa, or the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, see Pub. 80.
Comments and suggestions. We welcome your comments about this publication and suggestions for future
editions.
You can send us comments through IRS.gov/
FormComments.
Or, you can write to:
Internal Revenue Service
Tax Forms and Publications
1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6526
Washington, DC 20224
Although we can’t respond individually to each comment received, we do appreciate your feedback and will
consider your comments and suggestions as we revise
our tax forms, instructions, and publications. Don’t send
tax questions, tax returns, or payments to the above address.
Getting answers to your tax questions. If you have
a tax question not answered by this publication, check
IRS.gov and How To Get Tax Help at the end of this publication.
Getting tax forms, instructions, and publications.
Go to IRS.gov/Forms to download current and prior-year
forms, instructions, and publications.
Ordering tax forms, instructions, and publications.
Go to IRS.gov/OrderForms to order current forms, instructions, and publications; call 800-829-3676 to order
prior-year forms and instructions. The IRS will process
your order for forms and publications as soon as possible.
Don’t resubmit requests you’ve already sent us. You can
get forms and publications faster online.
Federal government employers. The information in this
publication, including the rules for making federal tax deposits, applies to federal agencies.
State and local government employers. Payments to
employees for services in the employ of state and local
government employers are generally subject to federal income tax withholding but not FUTA tax. Most elected and
appointed public officials of state or local governments are
employees under common law rules. See chapter 3 of
Pub. 963, Federal-State Reference Guide. In addition, wages, with certain exceptions, are subject to social security
and Medicare taxes. See section 15 for more information
on the exceptions.
If an election worker is employed in another capacity
with the same government entity, see Revenue Ruling
2000-6 on page 512 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 2000-6
at IRS.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb00-06.pdf.
Publication 15 (2023)
You can get information on reporting and social security coverage from your local IRS office. If you have any
questions about coverage under a section 218 (Social Security Act) agreement, contact the appropriate state official. To find your State Social Security Administrator, go to
the National Conference of State Social Security Administrators website at NCSSSA.org.
Indian tribal governments. See Pub. 4268 for employment tax information for Indian tribal governments.
Disregarded entities and qualified subchapter S subsidiaries (QSubs). Eligible single-owner disregarded entities and QSubs are treated as separate entities for employment tax purposes. Eligible single-member entities
must report and pay employment taxes on wages paid to
their employees using the entities' own names and EINs.
See
Regulations
sections
1.1361-4(a)(7)
and
301.7701-2(c)(2)(iv).
1. Employer Identification
Number (EIN)
If you’re required to report employment taxes or give tax
statements to employees or annuitants, you need an EIN.
The EIN is a nine-digit number the IRS issues. The digits are arranged as follows: 00-0000000. It is used to identify the tax accounts of employers and certain others who
have no employees. Use your EIN on all of the items you
send to the IRS and the SSA. For more information, see
Pub. 1635.
If you don’t have an EIN, you may apply for one online
by going to IRS.gov/EIN. You may also apply for an EIN
by faxing or mailing Form SS-4 to the IRS. If the principal
business was created or organized outside of the United
States or U.S. territories, you may also apply for an EIN by
calling 267-941-1099 (toll call). Don't use an SSN in place
of an EIN.
You should have only one EIN. If you have more than
one and aren't sure which one to use, call 800-829-4933
or 800-829-4059 (TDD/TTY for persons who are deaf,
hard of hearing, or have a speech disability). Give the
numbers you have, the name and address to which each
was assigned, and the address of your main place of business. The IRS will tell you which number to use. For more
information, see Pub. 1635.
If you took over another employer's business (see Successor employer in section 9), don't use that employer's
EIN. If you’ve applied for an EIN but don't have your EIN
by the time a return is due, file a paper return and write
“Applied For” and the date you applied for it in the space
shown for the number.
Always be sure the EIN on the form you file exactly matches the EIN the IRS assigned to your
CAUTION business. Don't use your SSN or individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) on forms that ask for an
EIN. If you used an EIN (including a prior owner's EIN) on
!
Publication 15 (2023)
Form 941, or Form 944, that is different from the EIN reported on Form W-3, see Box h—Other EIN used this year
in the General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3. The
name and EIN on Form 945 must match the name and
EIN on your information returns where federal income tax
withholding is reported (for example, backup withholding
reported on Form 1099-NEC). Filing a Form 945 with an
incorrect EIN or using another business's EIN may result
in penalties and delays in processing your return.
2. Who Are Employees?
Generally, employees are defined either under common
law or under statutes for certain situations. See Pub. 15-A
for details on statutory employees and nonemployees.
Employee status under common law. Generally, a
worker who performs services for you is your employee if
you have the right to control what will be done and how it
will be done. This is so even when you give the employee
freedom of action. What matters is that you have the right
to control the details of how the services are performed.
See Pub. 15-A for more information on how to determine
whether an individual providing services is an independent contractor or an employee.
Generally, people in business for themselves aren't
employees. For example, doctors, lawyers, veterinarians,
and others in an independent trade in which they offer
their services to the public are usually not employees. If
the business is incorporated, corporate officers who work
in the business are employees of the corporation.
If an employer-employee relationship exists, it doesn't
matter what it is called. The employee may be called an
agent or independent contractor. It also doesn't matter
how payments are measured or paid, what they’re called,
or if the employee works full or part time.
Statutory employees. If someone who works for you
isn't an employee under the common law rules discussed
earlier, don't withhold federal income tax from their pay,
unless backup withholding applies. Although the following
persons may not be common law employees, they’re considered employees by statute for social security and Medicare tax purposes under certain conditions.
• An agent or commission driver who delivers meat,
vegetable, fruit, or bakery products; beverages (other
than milk); laundry; or dry cleaning for someone else.
• A full-time life insurance salesperson who sells primarily for one company.
• A homeworker who works at home or off premises according to guidelines of the person for whom the work
is done, with materials or goods furnished by and returned to that person or to someone that person designates.
• A traveling or city salesperson (other than an agent or
commission driver) who works full time (except for
sideline sales activities) for one firm or person getting
orders from customers. The orders must be for
Page 11
merchandise for resale or supplies for use in the customer's business. The customers must be retailers,
wholesalers, contractors, or operators of hotels, restaurants, or other businesses dealing with food or
lodging.
If the employer didn't issue required information returns, the section 3509 rates are the following.
For FUTA tax, an agent or commission driver and a
traveling or city salesperson are considered statutory employees; however, a full-time life insurance salesperson
and a homeworker aren't considered statutory employees.
• For Medicare taxes: employer rate of 1.45% plus 40%
Statutory nonemployees. Direct sellers, qualified real
estate agents, and certain companion sitters are, by law,
considered nonemployees. They’re generally treated as
self-employed for all federal tax purposes, including income and employment taxes. See Pub. 15-A for more information.
ployee rate of 0.9%) of wages subject to Additional
Medicare Tax.
H-2A agricultural workers. On Form W-2, don't check
box 13 (Statutory employee), as H-2A workers aren't statutory employees.
Treating employees as nonemployees. You’ll generally be liable for social security and Medicare taxes and
withheld income tax if you don't deduct and withhold these
taxes because you treated an employee as a nonemployee. You may be able to figure your liability using special section 3509 rates for the employee share of social
security and Medicare taxes and federal income tax withholding. The applicable rates depend on whether you filed
required Forms 1099. You can't recover the employee
share of social security tax, Medicare tax, or income tax
withholding from the employee if the tax is paid under section 3509. You’re liable for the income tax withholding regardless of whether the employee paid income tax on the
wages. You continue to owe the full employer share of social security and Medicare taxes. The employee remains
liable for the employee share of social security and Medicare taxes. See section 3509 for details. Also see the Instructions for Form 941-X or the Instructions for Form
944-X.
Section 3509 rates aren't available if you intentionally
disregard the requirement to withhold taxes from the employee or if you withheld income taxes but not social security or Medicare taxes. Section 3509 isn't available for
reclassifying statutory employees. See Statutory employees, earlier.
If the employer issued required information returns, the
section 3509 rates are the following.
• For social security taxes: employer rate of 6.2% plus
20% of the employee rate of 6.2%, for a total rate of
7.44% of wages.
• For Medicare taxes: employer rate of 1.45% plus 20%
of the employee rate of 1.45%, for a total rate of
1.74% of wages.
• For Additional Medicare Tax: 0.18% (20% of the employee rate of 0.9%) of wages subject to Additional
Medicare Tax.
• For federal income tax withholding, the rate is 1.5% of
wages.
Page 12
• For social security taxes: employer rate of 6.2% plus
40% of the employee rate of 6.2%, for a total rate of
8.68% of wages.
of the employee rate of 1.45%, for a total rate of
2.03% of wages.
• For Additional Medicare Tax: 0.36% (40% of the em• For federal income tax withholding, the rate is 3.0% of
wages.
Relief provisions. If you have a reasonable basis for
not treating a worker as an employee, you may be relieved from having to pay employment taxes for that
worker. To get this relief, you must file all required federal
tax returns, including information returns, on a basis consistent with your treatment of the worker. You (or your
predecessor) must not have treated any worker holding a
substantially similar position as an employee for any periods beginning after 1977. See Pub. 1976, Do You Qualify
for Relief Under Section 530.
IRS help. If you want the IRS to determine whether a
worker is an employee, file Form SS-8.
Voluntary Classification Settlement Program (VCSP).
Employers who are currently treating their workers (or a
class or group of workers) as independent contractors or
other nonemployees and want to voluntarily reclassify
their workers as employees for future tax periods may be
eligible to participate in the VCSP if certain requirements
are met. File Form 8952 to apply for the VCSP. For more
information, go to IRS.gov/VCSP.
Business Owned and Operated by
Spouses
If you and your spouse jointly own and operate a business
and share in the profits and losses, you may be partners
in a partnership, whether or not you have a formal partnership agreement. See Pub. 541 for more details. The partnership is considered the employer of any employees,
and is liable for any employment taxes due on wages paid
to its employees.
Exception—Qualified joint venture. For tax years beginning after 2006, the Small Business and Work Opportunity Tax Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-28) provides that a
“qualified joint venture,” whose only members are spouses filing a joint income tax return, can elect not to be treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes. A qualified
joint venture conducts a trade or business where:
• The only members of the joint venture are spouses
who file a joint income tax return,
• Both spouses materially participate (see Material participation in the instructions for Schedule C (Form
Publication 15 (2023)
1040), line G) in the trade or business (mere joint ownership of property isn't enough),
• Both spouses elect to not be treated as a partnership,
and
• The business is co-owned by both spouses and isn't
held in the name of a state law entity such as a partnership or limited liability company (LLC).
To make the election, all items of income, gain, loss,
deduction, and credit must be divided between the spouses, in accordance with each spouse's interest in the venture, and reported as sole proprietors on a separate
Schedule C (Form 1040) or Schedule F (Form 1040).
Each spouse must also file a separate Schedule SE (Form
1040) to pay self-employment taxes, as applicable.
Spouses using the qualified joint venture rules are treated as sole proprietors for federal tax purposes and generally don't need an EIN. If employment taxes are owed by
the qualified joint venture, either spouse may report and
pay the employment taxes due on the wages paid to the
employees using the EIN of that spouse's sole proprietorship. Generally, filing as a qualified joint venture won't increase the spouses' total tax owed on the joint income tax
return. However, it gives each spouse credit for social security earnings on which retirement benefits are based
and for Medicare coverage without filing a partnership return.
Note. If your spouse is your employee, not your partner, see One spouse employed by another in section 3.
For more information on qualified joint ventures, go to
IRS.gov/QJV.
Exception—Community income. If you and your
spouse wholly own an unincorporated business as community property under the community property laws of a
state, foreign country, or U.S. possession, you can treat
the business either as a sole proprietorship (of the spouse
who carried on the business) or a partnership. You may
still make an election to be taxed as a qualified joint venture instead of a partnership. See Exception—Qualified
joint venture, earlier.
3. Family Employees
Child employed by parents. Payments for the services
of a child under age 18 who works for their parent in a
trade or business aren't subject to social security and
Medicare taxes if the trade or business is a sole proprietorship or a partnership in which each partner is a parent
of the child. If these payments are for work other than in a
trade or business, such as domestic work in the parent's
private home, they’re not subject to social security and
Medicare taxes until the child reaches age 21. However,
see Covered services of a child or spouse, later. Payments for the services of a child under age 21 who works
for their parent, whether or not in a trade or business,
aren't subject to FUTA tax. Payments for the services of a
child of any age who works for their parent are generally
subject to income tax withholding unless the payments
are for domestic work in the parent's home, or unless the
Publication 15 (2023)
payments are for work other than in a trade or business
and are less than $50 in the quarter or the child isn't regularly employed to do such work.
One spouse employed by another. The wages for the
services of an individual who works for their spouse in a
trade or business are subject to income tax withholding
and social security and Medicare taxes, but not to FUTA
tax. However, the payments for services of one spouse
employed by another in other than a trade or business,
such as domestic service in a private home, aren't subject
to social security, Medicare, and FUTA taxes.
Covered services of a child or spouse. The wages for
the services of a child or spouse are subject to income tax
withholding as well as social security, Medicare, and
FUTA taxes if they work for:
• A corporation, even if it is controlled by the child's parent or the individual's spouse;
• A partnership, even if the child's parent is a partner,
unless each partner is a parent of the child;
• A partnership, even if the individual's spouse is a partner; or
• An estate, even if it is the estate of a deceased parent.
In these situations, the child or spouse is considered to
work for the corporation, partnership, or estate, not you.
Parent employed by their child. When the employer is
a child employing their parent, the following rules apply.
• Payments for the services of a parent in their child’s
(the employer’s) trade or business are subject to income tax withholding and social security and Medicare taxes.
• Payments for the services of a parent not in their
child’s (the employer’s) trade or business are generally not subject to social security and Medicare taxes.
Social security and Medicare taxes do apply to
payments made to a parent for domestic services
CAUTION if all of the following apply.
!
• The parent is employed by their child (the employer).
• The employer has a child or stepchild (including an
adopted child) living in the home.
• The employer is a surviving spouse, divorced and not
remarried, or living with a spouse who, because of a
mental or physical condition, can't care for their child
or stepchild for at least 4 continuous weeks in the calendar quarter in which the service is performed.
• The child or stepchild of the employer is either under
age 18 or, due to a mental or physical condition, requires the personal care of an adult for at least 4 continuous weeks in the calendar quarter in which the
service is performed.
Payments made to a parent employed by their child
aren't subject to FUTA tax, regardless of the type of services provided.
Page 13
4. Employee's Social Security
Number (SSN)
You’re required to get each employee's name and SSN
and to enter them on Form W-2. This requirement also applies to resident and nonresident alien employees. You
should ask your employee to show you their social security card. The employee may show the card if it is available.
Don't accept a social security card that says “Not
valid for employment.” An SSN issued with this
CAUTION legend doesn't permit employment.
!
You may, but aren't required to, photocopy the social
security card if the employee provides it. If you don't provide the correct employee name and SSN on Form W-2,
you may owe a penalty unless you have reasonable
cause. See Pub. 1586, Reasonable Cause Regulations &
Requirements for Missing and Incorrect Name/TINs, for
information on the requirement to solicit the employee's
SSN.
Applying for a social security card. Any employee
who is legally eligible to work in the United States and
doesn't have a social security card can get one by completing Form SS-5, Application for a Social Security Card,
and submitting the necessary documentation. You can get
Form SS-5 from the SSA website at SSA.gov/forms/
ss-5.pdf, at SSA offices, or by calling 800-772-1213 or
800-325-0778 (TTY). The employee must complete and
sign Form SS-5; it can't be filed by the employer. You may
be asked to supply a letter to accompany Form SS-5 if the
employee has exceeded their yearly or lifetime limit for the
number of replacement cards allowed.
Applying for an SSN. If you file Form W-2 on paper and
your employee applied for an SSN but doesn't have one
when you must file Form W-2, enter “Applied For” on the
form. If you’re filing electronically, enter all zeros
(000-00-0000 if creating forms online or 000000000 if uploading a file) in the SSN field. When the employee receives the SSN, file Copy A of Form W-2c, Corrected
Wage and Tax Statement, with the SSA to show the employee's SSN. Furnish Copies B, C, and 2 of Form W-2c
to the employee. Up to 25 Forms W-2c for each Form
W-3c, Transmittal of Corrected Wage and Tax Statements, may be filed per session over the Internet, with no
limit on the number of sessions. For more information, go
to the SSA's Employer W-2 Filing Instructions & Information webpage at SSA.gov/employer. Advise your employee to correct the SSN on their original Form W-2.
Correctly record the employee's name and SSN. Record the name and SSN of each employee as they’re
shown on the employee's social security card. If the employee's name isn't correct as shown on the card (for example, because of marriage or divorce), the employee
should request an updated card from the SSA. Continue
to report the employee's wages under the old name until
Page 14
the employee shows you the updated social security card
with the corrected name.
If the SSA issues the employee an updated card after a
name change, or a new card with a different SSN after a
change in alien work status, file a Form W-2c to correct
the name/SSN reported for the most recently filed Form
W-2. It isn't necessary to correct other years if the previous name and number were used for years before the
most recent Form W-2.
IRS individual taxpayer identification numbers
(ITINs) for aliens. Don't accept an ITIN in place of an
SSN for employee identification or for work. An ITIN is
only available to resident and nonresident aliens who
aren't eligible for U.S. employment and need identification
for other tax purposes. You can identify an ITIN because it
is a nine-digit number, formatted like an SSN, that starts
with the number "9" and has a range of numbers from “50–
65,” “70–88,” “90–92,” and “94–99” for the fourth and fifth
digits (for example, 9NN-7N-NNNN). For more information about ITINs, see the Instructions for Form W-7 or go
to IRS.gov/ITIN.
An individual with an ITIN who later becomes eligible to work in the United States must obtain an
CAUTION SSN. If the individual is currently eligible to work
in the United States, instruct the individual to apply for an
SSN and follow the instructions under Applying for an
SSN, earlier. Don't use an ITIN in place of an SSN on
Form W-2.
!
Verification of SSNs. Employers and authorized reporting agents can use the Social Security Number Verification Service (SSNVS) to instantly verify that an employee
name matches an SSN for up to 10 names and SSNs (per
screen) at a time, or submit an electronic file of up to
250,000 names and SSNs and usually receive the results
the next business day. Go to SSA.gov/employer/ssnv.htm
for more information. A person may have a valid SSN but
not be authorized to work in the United States. Employers
may use E-Verify at E-Verify.gov to confirm the employment eligibility of newly hired employees.
Registering for SSNVS. You must register online to
use SSNVS. To register, go to the SSA's website at
SSA.gov/bso and click on the Register link under Business Services Online. Follow the registration instructions
to obtain a user identification (ID) and password. You’ll
need to provide the following information about yourself
and your company.
• Name.
• SSN.
• Date of birth.
• Type of employer.
• EIN.
• Company name, address, and telephone number.
• Email address.
When you have completed the online registration process, the SSA will mail a one-time activation code to you.
Publication 15 (2023)
You must enter the activation code online to use SSNVS.
Your employees must receive authorization from you to
use SSNVS. If your employees register, the one-time activation code will be mailed to you.
5. Wages and Other
Compensation
Wages subject to federal employment taxes generally include all pay you give to an employee for services performed. The pay may be in cash or in other forms. It includes salaries, vacation allowances, bonuses,
commissions, and taxable fringe benefits. It doesn't matter
how you measure or make the payments. Amounts an
employer pays as a bonus for signing or ratifying a contract in connection with the establishment of an employer-employee relationship and an amount paid to an
employee for cancellation of an employment contract and
relinquishment of contract rights are wages subject to social security, Medicare, and FUTA taxes and income tax
withholding. Also, compensation paid to a former employee for services performed while still employed is wages subject to employment taxes.
More information. See section 6 for a discussion of tips
and section 7 for a discussion of supplemental wages.
Also, see section 15 for exceptions to the general rules for
wages. Pub. 15-A provides additional information on wages, including nonqualified deferred compensation, and
other compensation. Pub. 15-B provides information on
other forms of compensation, including:
• Accident and health benefits,
• Achievement awards,
• Adoption assistance,
• Athletic facilities,
• De minimis (minimal) benefits,
• Dependent care assistance,
• Educational assistance,
• Employee discounts,
• Employee stock options,
• Employer-provided cell phones,
• Group-term life insurance coverage,
• Health savings accounts,
• Lodging on your business premises,
• Meals,
• No-additional-cost services,
• Retirement planning services,
• Transportation (commuting) benefits,
• Tuition reduction, and
• Working condition benefits.
Publication 15 (2023)
Employee business expense reimbursements. A reimbursement or allowance arrangement is a system by
which you pay the advances, reimbursements, and
charges for your employees' business expenses. How you
report a reimbursement or allowance amount depends on
whether you have an accountable or a nonaccountable
plan. If a single payment includes both wages and an expense reimbursement, you must specify the amount of the
reimbursement.
These rules apply to all allowable ordinary and necessary employee business expenses.
Accountable plan. To be an accountable plan, your
reimbursement or allowance arrangement must require
your employees to meet all three of the following rules.
1. They must have paid or incurred allowable expenses
while performing services as your employees. The reimbursement or advance must be payment for the expenses and must not be an amount that would have
otherwise been paid to the employee as wages.
2. They must substantiate these expenses to you within
a reasonable period of time.
3. They must return any amounts in excess of substantiated expenses within a reasonable period of time.
Amounts paid under an accountable plan aren't wages
and aren't subject to income, social security, Medicare,
and FUTA taxes.
If the expenses covered by this arrangement aren't
substantiated (or amounts in excess of substantiated expenses aren't returned within a reasonable period of time),
the amount paid under the arrangement in excess of the
substantiated expenses is treated as paid under a nonaccountable plan. This amount is subject to income, social
security, Medicare, and FUTA taxes for the first payroll period following the end of the reasonable period of time.
A reasonable period of time depends on the facts and
circumstances. Generally, it is considered reasonable if
your employees receive their advance within 30 days of
the time they pay or incur the expenses, adequately account for the expenses within 60 days after the expenses
were paid or incurred, and return any amounts in excess
of expenses within 120 days after the expenses were paid
or incurred. Alternatively, it is considered reasonable if
you give your employees a periodic statement (at least
quarterly) that asks them to either return or adequately account for outstanding amounts and they do so within 120
days.
Nonaccountable plan. Payments to your employee
for travel and other necessary expenses of your business
under a nonaccountable plan are wages and are treated
as supplemental wages and subject to income, social security, Medicare, and FUTA taxes. Your payments are
treated as paid under a nonaccountable plan if:
• Your employee isn't required to or doesn't substanti-
ate timely those expenses to you with receipts or other
documentation,
• You advance an amount to your employee for busi-
ness expenses and your employee isn't required to or
Page 15
doesn't return timely any amount they don’t use for
business expenses,
• You advance or pay an amount to your employee regardless of whether you reasonably expect the employee to have business expenses related to your
business, or
• You pay an amount as a reimbursement you would
have otherwise paid as wages.
See section 7 for more information on supplemental
wages.
Per diem or other fixed allowance. You may reimburse your employees by travel days, miles, or some
other fixed allowance under the applicable revenue procedure. In these cases, your employee is considered to have
accounted to you if your reimbursement doesn't exceed
rates established by the federal government. The standard mileage rate for auto expenses is provided in Pub.
15-B.
The government per diem rates for meals and lodging
in the continental United States can be found by going to
the U.S. General Services Administration website at
GSA.gov/PerDiemRates. Other than the amount of these
expenses, your employees' business expenses must be
substantiated (for example, the business purpose of the
travel or the number of business miles driven). For information on substantiation methods, see Pub. 463.
If the per diem or allowance paid exceeds the amounts
substantiated, you must report the excess amount as wages. This excess amount is subject to income tax withholding and payment of social security, Medicare, and
FUTA taxes. Show the amount equal to the substantiated
amount (that is, the nontaxable portion) in box 12 of Form
W-2 using code “L.”
Wages not paid in money. If in the course of your trade
or business you pay your employees in a medium that is
neither cash nor a readily negotiable instrument, such as
a check, you’re said to pay them “in kind.” Payments in
kind may be in the form of goods, lodging, food, clothing,
or services. Generally, the fair market value of such payments at the time they’re provided is subject to federal income tax withholding and social security, Medicare, and
FUTA taxes.
However, noncash payments for household work, agricultural labor, and service not in the employer's trade or
business are exempt from social security, Medicare, and
FUTA taxes. Withhold income tax on these payments only
if you and the employee agree to do so. Nonetheless,
noncash payments for agricultural labor, such as commodity wages, are treated as cash payments subject to
employment taxes if the substance of the transaction is a
cash payment.
Meals and lodging. The value of meals isn't taxable income and isn't subject to federal income tax withholding
and social security, Medicare, and FUTA taxes if the
meals are furnished for the employer's convenience and
on the employer's premises. The value of lodging isn't
subject to federal income tax withholding and social security, Medicare, and FUTA taxes if the lodging is furPage 16
nished for the employer's convenience, on the employer's
premises, and as a condition of employment.
“For the convenience of the employer” means you have
a substantial business reason for providing the meals and
lodging other than to provide additional compensation to
the employee. For example, meals you provide at the
place of work so that an employee is available for emergencies during their lunch period are generally considered
to be for your convenience. You must be able to show
these emergency calls have occurred or can reasonably
be expected to occur, and that the calls have resulted, or
will result, in you calling on your employees to perform
their jobs during their meal period.
Whether meals or lodging are provided for the convenience of the employer depends on all of the facts and circumstances. A written statement that the meals or lodging
are for your convenience isn't sufficient.
50% test. If over 50% of the employees who are provided meals on an employer's business premises receive
these meals for the convenience of the employer, all
meals provided on the premises are treated as furnished
for the convenience of the employer. If this 50% test is
met, the value of the meals is excludable from income for
all employees and isn't subject to federal income tax withholding or employment taxes. For more information, see
Pub. 15-B.
Health insurance plans. If you pay the cost of an accident or health insurance plan for your employees, including an employee's spouse and dependents, your payments aren't wages and aren't subject to social security,
Medicare, and FUTA taxes, or federal income tax withholding. Generally, this exclusion also applies to qualified
long-term-care insurance contracts. However, for income
tax withholding, the value of health insurance benefits
must be included in the wages of S corporation employees who own more than 2% of the S corporation (2%
shareholders). For social security, Medicare, and FUTA
taxes, the health insurance benefits are excluded from the
2% shareholder's wages. See Announcement 92-16 for
more information. You can find Announcement 92-16 on
page 53 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 1992-5.
Health savings accounts (HSAs) and medical savings accounts (MSAs). Your contributions to an employee's HSA or Archer MSA aren't subject to social security, Medicare, or FUTA taxes, or federal income tax
withholding if it is reasonable to believe at the time of payment of the contributions they’ll be excludable from the income of the employee. To the extent it isn't reasonable to
believe they’ll be excludable, your contributions are subject to these taxes. Employee contributions to their HSAs
or MSAs through a payroll deduction plan must be included in wages and are subject to social security, Medicare,
and FUTA taxes and income tax withholding. However,
HSA contributions made under a salary reduction arrangement in a section 125 cafeteria plan aren't wages
and aren't subject to employment taxes or withholding.
For more information, see the Instructions for Form 8889.
Publication 15 (2023)
Medical care reimbursements. Generally, medical care
reimbursements paid for an employee under an employer's self-insured medical reimbursement plan aren't wages and aren't subject to social security, Medicare, and
FUTA taxes, or income tax withholding. See Pub. 15-B for
a rule regarding inclusion of certain reimbursements in the
gross income of highly compensated individuals.
Differential wage payments. Differential wage payments are any payments made by an employer to an individual for a period during which the individual is performing service in the uniformed services while on active duty
for a period of more than 30 days and represent all or a
portion of the wages the individual would have received
from the employer if the individual were performing services for the employer.
Differential wage payments are wages for income tax
withholding, but aren't subject to social security, Medicare, or FUTA taxes. Employers should report differential
wage payments in box 1 of Form W-2. For more information about the tax treatment of differential wage payments,
see Revenue Ruling 2009-11, 2009-18 I.R.B. 896, available at IRS.gov/irb/2009-18_IRB#RR-2009-11.
Fringe benefits. You must generally include fringe benefits in an employee's wages (but see Nontaxable fringe
benefits next). The benefits are subject to income tax
withholding and employment taxes. Fringe benefits include cars you provide, flights on aircraft you provide, free
or discounted commercial flights, vacations, discounts on
property or services, memberships in country clubs or
other social clubs, and tickets to entertainment or sporting
events. In general, the amount you must include is the
amount by which the fair market value of the benefit is
more than the sum of what the employee paid for it plus
any amount the law excludes. There are other special
rules you and your employees may use to value certain
fringe benefits. See Pub. 15-B for more information.
Nontaxable fringe benefits. Some fringe benefits
aren't taxable (or are minimally taxable) if certain conditions are met. See Pub. 15-B for details. The following are
some examples of nontaxable fringe benefits.
• Services provided to your employees at no additional
cost to you.
• Qualified employee discounts.
• Working condition fringes that are property or services
that would be allowable as a business expense or depreciation expense deduction to the employee if they
had paid for them. Examples include a company car
for business use and subscriptions to business magazines.
• Certain minimal value fringes (including an occasional
cab ride when an employee must work overtime and
meals you provide at eating places you run for your
employees if the meals aren't furnished at below cost).
• Qualified transportation fringes subject to specified
conditions and dollar limitations (including transportation in a commuter highway vehicle, any transit pass,
and qualified parking).
Publication 15 (2023)
• The use of on-premises athletic facilities operated by
you if substantially all of the use is by employees, their
spouses, and their dependent children.
• Qualified tuition reduction an educational organization
provides to its employees for education. For more information, see Pub. 970.
• Employer-provided cell phones provided primarily for
a noncompensatory business reason.
However, don't exclude the following fringe benefits
from the wages of highly compensated employees unless
the benefit is available to other employees on a nondiscriminatory basis.
• No-additional-cost services.
• Qualified employee discounts.
• Meals provided at an employer-operated eating facility.
• Reduced tuition for education.
For more information, including the definition of a highly
compensated employee, see Pub. 15-B.
When taxable fringe benefits are treated as paid.
You may choose to treat certain taxable noncash fringe
benefits as paid by the pay period, by the quarter, or on
any other basis you choose, as long as you treat the benefits as paid at least once a year. You don't have to make
a formal choice of payment dates or notify the IRS of the
dates you choose. You don't have to make this choice for
all employees. You may change methods as often as you
like, as long as you treat all benefits provided in a calendar year as paid by December 31 of the calendar year.
See section 4 of Pub. 15-B for more information, including
a discussion of the special accounting rule for fringe benefits provided during November and December.
Valuation of fringe benefits. Generally, you must
determine the value of fringe benefits no later than January 31 of the next year. Before January 31, you may reasonably estimate the value of the fringe benefits for purposes of withholding and depositing on time.
Withholding on fringe benefits. You may add the
value of fringe benefits to regular wages for a payroll period and figure withholding taxes on the total, or you may
withhold federal income tax on the value of the fringe benefits at the optional flat 22% supplemental wage rate.
However, see Withholding on supplemental wages when
an employee receives more than $1 million of supplemental wages during the calendar year in section 7.
You may choose not to withhold income tax on the
value of an employee's personal use of a vehicle you provide. You must, however, withhold social security and
Medicare taxes on the use of the vehicle. See Pub. 15-B
for more information on this election.
Depositing taxes on fringe benefits. Once you
choose when fringe benefits are paid, you must deposit
taxes in the same deposit period you treat the fringe benefits as paid. To avoid a penalty, deposit the taxes following
the general deposit rules for that deposit period.
Page 17
If you determine by January 31 you overestimated the
value of a fringe benefit at the time you withheld and deposited for it, you may claim a refund for the overpayment
or have it applied to your next employment tax return. See
Valuation of fringe benefits, earlier. If you underestimated
the value and deposited too little, you may be subject to a
failure-to-deposit (FTD) penalty. See section 11 for information on deposit penalties.
If you deposited the required amount of taxes but withheld a lesser amount from the employee, you can recover
from the employee the social security, Medicare, or income taxes you deposited on their behalf and included in
the employee's Form W-2. However, you must recover the
income taxes before April 1 of the following year.
Sick pay. In general, sick pay is any amount you pay under a plan to an employee who is unable to work because
of sickness or injury. These amounts are sometimes paid
by a third party, such as an insurance company or an employees' trust. In either case, these payments are subject
to social security, Medicare, and FUTA taxes. These
taxes don't apply to sick pay paid more than 6 calendar
months after the last calendar month in which the employee worked for the employer. The payments are always subject to federal income tax. See section 6 of Pub.
15-A for more information.
For purposes of this publication, all references to
TIP "sick pay" mean ordinary sick pay, not "qualified
sick leave wages" under the FFCRA, as amended
by the COVID-related Tax Relief Act of 2020, and the
ARP.
Identity protection services. The value of identity protection services provided by an employer to an employee
isn't included in an employee's gross income and doesn't
need to be reported on an information return (such as
Form W-2) filed for an employee. This includes identity
protection services provided before a data breach occurs.
This exception doesn't apply to cash received instead of
identity protection services or to proceeds received under
an identity theft insurance policy. For more information,
see Announcement 2015-22, 2015-35 I.R.B. 288, available at IRS.gov/irb/2015-35_IRB#ANN-2015-22; and Announcement 2016-02, 2016-3 I.R.B. 283, available at
IRS.gov/irb/2016-03_IRB#ANN-2016-02.
6. Tips
Cash tips your employee receives from customers are
generally subject to withholding. Your employee must report cash tips to you by the 10th of the month after the
month the tips are received. Cash tips include tips paid by
cash, check, debit card, and credit card. 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. Your
Page 18
employee reports the tips on Form 4070 or on a similar
statement. The statement must be signed and dated by
the employee and must include:
• The employee's name, address, and SSN;
• Your name and address;
• The month and year (or the beginning and ending
dates, if the statement is for a period of less than 1
calendar month) the report covers; and
• The total of tips received during the month or period.
Both Forms 4070 and 4070-A, Employee's Daily Record of Tips, are included in Pub. 1244, Employee's Daily
Record of Tips and Report to Employer.
You’re permitted to establish a system for elec-
TIP tronic tip reporting by employees. See Regulations section 31.6053-1(d).
Collecting taxes on tips. You must collect federal income tax, employee social security tax, and employee
Medicare tax on the employee's tips. The withholding
rules for withholding an employee's share of Medicare tax
on tips also apply to withholding the Additional Medicare
Tax once wages and tips exceed $200,000 in the calendar year.
You can collect these taxes from the employee's wages
(excluding tips) or from other funds they make available.
See Tips are treated as supplemental wages in section 7
for more information. Stop collecting the employee social
security tax when their wages and tips for tax year 2023
reach $160,200; collect the income and employee Medicare taxes for the whole year on all wages and tips. You’re
responsible for the employer social security tax on wages
and tips until the wages (including tips) reach the limit.
You’re responsible for the employer Medicare tax for the
whole year on all wages and tips. Tips are considered to
be paid at the time the employee reports them to you. Deposit taxes on tips based on your deposit schedule as described in section 11. File Form 941 or Form 944 to report
withholding and employment taxes on tips.
Ordering rule. If, by the 10th of the month after the
month for which you received an employee's report on
tips, you don't have enough employee funds available to
deduct the employee tax, you no longer have to collect it.
If there aren't enough funds available, withhold taxes in
the following order.
1. Withhold on regular wages and other compensation.
2. Withhold social security and Medicare taxes on tips.
3. Withhold income tax on tips.
Reporting tips. Report tips and any collected and uncollected social security and Medicare taxes on Form W-2
and on Form 941, lines 5b, 5c, and, if applicable, 5d
(Form 944, lines 4b, 4c, and, if applicable, 4d). Report a
negative adjustment on Form 941, line 9 (Form 944,
line 6), for the uncollected social security and Medicare
taxes. Enter the amount of uncollected social security tax
and Medicare tax in box 12 of Form W-2 with codes “A”
Publication 15 (2023)
and “B,” respectively. Don't include any uncollected Additional Medicare Tax in box 12 of Form W-2. For additional
information on reporting tips, see section 13 and the General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3.
Revenue Ruling 2012-18 provides guidance for employers regarding social security and Medicare taxes imposed on tips, including information on the reporting of the
employer share of social security and Medicare taxes under section 3121(q), the difference between tips and service charges, and the section 45B credit. See Revenue
Ruling 2012-18, 2012-26 I.R.B. 1032, available at
IRS.gov/irb/2012-26_IRB#RR-2012-18.
FUTA tax on tips. If an employee reports to you in writing $20 or more of tips in a month, the tips are also subject
to FUTA tax.
Allocated tips. If you operate a large food or beverage
establishment, you must report allocated tips under certain circumstances. However, don't withhold income, social security, or Medicare taxes on allocated tips.
A large food or beverage establishment is one that provides food or beverages for consumption on the premises,
where tipping is customary, and where there were normally more than 10 employees on a typical business day
during the preceding year.
The tips may be allocated by one of three methods—hours worked, gross receipts, or good faith agreement. For information about these allocation methods,
and for information about required electronic filing of Form
8027, see the Instructions for Form 8027. For more information on filing Form 8027 electronically with the IRS, see
Pub. 1239.
Tip Rate Determination and Education Program. Employers may participate in the Tip Rate Determination and
Education Program. The program primarily consists of two
voluntary agreements developed to improve tip income
reporting by helping taxpayers to understand and meet
their tip reporting responsibilities. The two agreements are
the Tip Rate Determination Agreement (TRDA) and the
Tip Reporting Alternative Commitment (TRAC). A tip
agreement, the Gaming Industry Tip Compliance Agreement (GITCA), is available for the gaming (casino) industry. For more information, see Pub. 3144.
More information. Advise your employees to see Pub.
531 or use the IRS Interactive Tax Assistant at IRS.gov/
TipIncome for help in determining if their tip income is taxable and for information about how to report tip income.
7. Supplemental Wages
Supplemental wages are wage payments to an employee
that aren't regular wages. They include, but aren't limited
to, bonuses, commissions, overtime pay, payments for
accumulated sick leave, severance pay, awards, prizes,
back pay, reported tips, retroactive pay increases, and
payments for nondeductible moving expenses. However,
employers have the option to treat overtime pay and tips
as regular wages instead of supplemental wages. Other
Publication 15 (2023)
payments subject to the supplemental wage rules include
taxable fringe benefits and expense allowances paid under a nonaccountable plan. How you withhold on supplemental wages depends on whether the supplemental payment is identified as a separate payment from regular
wages. See Regulations section 31.3402(g)-1 for additional guidance. Also see Revenue Ruling 2008-29,
2008-24 I.R.B. 1149, available at IRS.gov/irb/
2008-24_IRB#RR-2008-29.
Withholding on supplemental wages when an employee receives more than $1 million of supplemental wages from you during the calendar year. Special
rules apply to the extent supplemental wages paid to any
one employee during the calendar year exceed $1 million.
If a supplemental wage payment, together with other supplemental wage payments made to the employee during
the calendar year, exceeds $1 million, the excess is subject to withholding at 37% (or the highest rate of income
tax for the year). Withhold using the 37% rate without regard to the employee's Form W-4. In determining supplemental wages paid to the employee during the year, include payments from all businesses under common
control. For more information, see Treasury Decision
9276, 2006-37 I.R.B. 423, available at IRS.gov/irb/
2006-37_IRB#TD-9276.
Withholding on supplemental wage payments to an
employee who doesn't receive $1 million of supplemental wages during the calendar year. If the supplemental wages paid to the employee during the calendar
year are less than or equal to $1 million, the following
rules apply in determining the amount of income tax to be
withheld.
Supplemental wages combined with regular wages.
If you pay supplemental wages with regular wages but
don't specify the amount of each, withhold federal income
tax as if the total were a single payment for a regular payroll period.
Supplemental wages identified separately from regular wages. If you pay supplemental wages separately
(or combine them in a single payment and specify the
amount of each), the federal income tax withholding
method depends partly on whether you withhold income
tax from your employee's regular wages.
1. If you withheld income tax from an employee's regular
wages in the current or immediately preceding calendar year, you can use one of the following methods
for the supplemental wages.
a. Withhold a flat 22% (no other percentage allowed).
b. If the supplemental wages are paid concurrently
with regular wages, add the supplemental wages
to the concurrently paid regular wages and withhold federal income tax as if the total were a single
payment for a regular payroll period. If there are
no concurrently paid regular wages, add the supplemental wages to, alternatively, either the
regular wages paid or to be paid for the current
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payroll period or the regular wages paid for the
preceding payroll period. Figure the income tax
withholding as if the total of the regular wages and
supplemental wages is a single payment. Subtract
the tax already withheld or to be withheld from the
regular wages. Withhold the remaining tax from
the supplemental wages. If there were other payments of supplemental wages paid during the payroll period made before the current payment of
supplemental wages, aggregate all the payments
of supplemental wages paid during the payroll period with the regular wages paid during the payroll
period, figure the tax on the total, subtract the tax
already withheld from the regular wages and the
previous supplemental wage payments, and withhold the remaining tax.
2. If you didn't withhold income tax from the employee's
regular wages in the current or immediately preceding
calendar year, use method 1b.
Regardless of the method you use to withhold income tax
on supplemental wages, they’re subject to social security,
Medicare, and FUTA taxes.
Example 1. You pay John Peters a base salary on the
1st of each month. John’s most recent Form W-4 is from
2018, and John is single, claims one withholding allowance, and didn’t enter an amount for additional withholding on Form W-4. In January, John is paid $1,000. You
decide to use the Wage Bracket Method of withholding.
Using Worksheet 3 and the withholding tables in section 3
of Pub. 15-T, you withhold $20 from this amount. In February, John receives salary of $1,000 plus a commission of
$500, which you combine with regular wages and don't
separately identify. You figure the withholding based on
the total of $1,500. The correct withholding from the tables
is $72.
Example 2. You pay Sharon Warren a base salary on
the 1st of each month. Sharon submitted a 2023 Form
W-4 and checked the box for Single or Married filing separately. Sharon didn’t complete Steps 2, 3, and 4 on Form
W-4. Sharon’s May 1 pay is $2,000. You decide to use the
Wage Bracket Method of withholding. Using Worksheet 2
and the withholding tables in section 2 of Pub. 15-T, you
withhold $86. On May 15, Sharon receives a bonus of
$1,000. Electing to use supplemental wage withholding
method 1b, you do the following.
1. Add the bonus amount to the amount of wages from
the most recent base salary pay date (May 1) ($2,000
+ $1,000 = $3,000).
2. Determine the amount of withholding on the combined $3,000 amount to be $202 using the wage
bracket tables.
3. Subtract the amount withheld from wages on the most
recent base salary pay date (May 1) from the combined withholding amount ($202 – $86 = $116).
4. Withhold $116 from the bonus payment.
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Example 3. The facts are the same as in Example 2,
except you elect to use the flat rate method of withholding
on the bonus. You withhold 22% of $1,000, or $220, from
Sharon's bonus payment.
Example 4. The facts are the same as in Example 2,
except you elect to pay Sharon a second bonus of $2,000
on May 29. Using supplemental wage withholding method
1b, you do the following.
1. Add the first and second bonus amounts to the
amount of wages from the most recent base salary
pay date (May 1) ($2,000 + $1,000 + $2,000 =
$5,000).
2. Determine the amount of withholding on the combined $5,000 amount to be $461 using the wage
bracket tables.
3. Subtract the amounts withheld from wages on the
most recent base salary pay date (May 1) and the
amounts withheld from the first bonus payment from
the combined withholding amount ($461 – $86 – $116
= $259).
4. Withhold $259 from the second bonus payment.
Tips are treated as supplemental wages. Withhold income tax on tips from wages earned by the employee or
from other funds the employee makes available. Don't
withhold the income tax due on tips from employee tips. If
an employee receives regular wages and reports tips, figure income tax withholding as if the tips were supplemental wages. If you withheld income tax from the regular wages in the current or immediately preceding calendar year,
you can withhold on the tips by method 1a or 1b discussed earlier in this section under Supplemental wages
identified separately from regular wages. If you didn’t withhold income tax from the regular wages in the current or
immediately preceding calendar year, add the tips to the
regular wages and withhold income tax on the total by
method 1b discussed earlier. Employers also have the option to treat tips as regular wages rather than supplemental wages. Service charges aren't tips; therefore, withhold
taxes on service charges as you would on regular wages.
Vacation pay. Vacation pay is subject to withholding as if
it were a regular wage payment. When vacation pay is in
addition to regular wages for the vacation period (for example, an annual lump-sum payment for unused vacation
leave), treat it as a supplemental wage payment. If the vacation pay is for a time longer than your usual payroll period, spread it over the pay periods for which you pay it.
8. Payroll Period
Your payroll period is a period of service for which you
usually pay wages. When you have a regular payroll period, withhold income tax for that time period even if your
employee doesn't work the full period.
No regular payroll period. When you don't have a regular payroll period, withhold the tax as if you paid wages
Publication 15 (2023)
for a daily or miscellaneous payroll period. Figure the
number of days (including Sundays and holidays) in the
period covered by the wage payment. If the wages are unrelated to a specific length of time (for example, commissions paid on completion of a sale), count back the number of days from the payment period to the latest of:
• The last wage payment made during the same calendar year;
• The date employment began, if during the same calendar year; or
• January 1 of the same year.
Employee paid for period less than 1 week. When
you pay an employee for a period of less than 1 week, and
the employee signs a statement under penalties of perjury
indicating they aren’t working for any other employer during the same week for wages subject to withholding, figure withholding based on a weekly payroll period. If the
employee later begins to work for another employer for
wages subject to withholding, the employee must notify
you within 10 days. You then figure withholding based on
the daily or miscellaneous period.
9. Withholding From
Employees' Wages
Federal Income Tax Withholding
Redesigned Form W‐4. The IRS redesigned Form W‐4
for 2020 and subsequent years. Before 2020, the value of
a withholding allowance was tied to the amount of the personal exemption. Due to changes in the law, taxpayers
can no longer claim personal exemptions or dependency
exemptions; therefore, Form W‐4 no longer asks an employee to report the number of withholding allowances
that they are claiming. The revised Form W‐4 is divided
into five steps. Step 1 and Step 5 apply to all employees.
In Step 1, employees enter personal information like their
name and filing status. In Step 5, employees sign the
form. Employees who complete only Step 1 and Step 5
will have their withholding figured based on their filing status's standard deduction and tax rates with no other adjustments. If applicable, in Step 2, employees increase
their withholding to account for higher tax rates due to income from other jobs in their household. Under Step 2,
employees either enter an additional amount to withhold
per payroll period in Step 4(c) or check the box in Step
2(c) for higher withholding rate tables to apply to their wages. In Step 3, employees decrease their withholding by
reporting the annual amount of any credits they will claim
on their income tax return. In Step 4, employees may increase or decrease their withholding based on the annual
amount of other income or deductions they will report on
their income tax return and they may also request any additional federal income tax they want withheld each pay
period.
Publication 15 (2023)
An employee who submitted Form W‐4 in any year before 2020 isn’t required to submit a new form merely because of the redesign. Employers will continue to figure
withholding based on the information from the employee's
most recently submitted Form W‐4. The withholding tables
in Pub. 15‐T allow employers to figure withholding based
on a Form W‐4 for 2019 or earlier, as well as the redesigned Form W‐4. While you may ask your employee first
paid wages before 2020 that hasn’t yet submitted a redesigned Form W‐4 to submit a new Form W‐4 using the redesigned version of the form, you should explain to them
that they’re not required to do this and if they don't submit
a new Form W‐4, withholding will continue based on a
valid Form W‐4 previously submitted. All newly hired employees must use the redesigned form. Similarly, any
other employees who wish to adjust their withholding must
use the redesigned form.
Pub. 15‐T provides an optional computational bridge to
treat 2019 and earlier Forms W‐4 as if they were 2020 or
later Forms W‐4 for purposes of figuring federal income
tax withholding. This computational bridge allows you to
use computational procedures and data fields for a 2020
and later Form W-4 to arrive at the equivalent withholding
for an employee that would have applied using the computational procedures and data fields on a 2019 or earlier
Form W-4. See How To Treat 2019 and Earlier Forms W‐4
as if They Were 2020 or Later Forms W‐4 in the Introduction section of Pub. 15-T.
More information. For more information about the redesigned Form W‐4 and regulations that provide guidance
for employers concerning income tax withholding from
employees’ wages, see Treasury Decision 9924, 2020‐44
I.R.B. 943, available at IRS.gov/irb/2020‐44_IRB#TD‐
9924. For information about Form W‐4, go to IRS.gov/
FormW4. Employer instructions on how to figure employee withholding are provided in Pub. 15‐T, available at
IRS.gov/Pub15T.
Using Form W-4 to figure withholding. To know how
much federal income tax to withhold from employees' wages, you should have a Form W-4 on file for each employee. Encourage your employees to file an updated
Form W-4 for 2023, especially if they owed taxes or received a large refund when filing their 2022 tax return.
Ask all new employees to give you a signed Form W-4
when they start work. Make the form effective with the first
wage payment. If a new employee doesn't give you a
completed Form W-4 in 2023 (including an employee who
previously worked for you and was rehired in 2023, and
who fails to furnish a Form W-4), treat the new employee
as if they had checked the box for Single or Married filing
separately in Step 1(c) and made no entries in Step 2,
Step 3, or Step 4 of the 2023 Form W-4. An employee
who was paid wages before 2020 and who failed to furnish a Form W-4 should continue to be treated as single
and claiming zero allowances on a 2019 Form W-4. If you
use the optional computational bridge, described earlier
under Redesigned Form W-4, you may treat this employee as if they had checked the box for Single or Married filing separately in Step 1(c), and made no entries in
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Step 2 and Step 3, an entry of $8,600 in Step 4(a), and an
entry of zero in Step 4(b) of the 2023 Form W-4.
Form in Spanish. You can provide Formulario
W-4(SP) in place of Form W-4 to your Spanish-speaking
employees. For more information, see Pub. 17(SP). The
rules discussed in this section that apply to Form W-4 also
apply to Formulario W-4(SP).
Electronic system to receive Form W-4. You may
establish a system to electronically receive Forms W-4
from your employees. See Regulations section 31.3402(f)
(5)-1(c) and Pub. 15-T for more information.
Effective date of Form W-4. A Form W-4 for 2022 or
earlier years remains in effect for 2023 unless the employee gives you a 2023 Form W-4. When you receive a
new Form W-4 from an employee, don't adjust withholding
for pay periods before the effective date of the new form. If
an employee gives you a Form W-4 that replaces an existing Form W-4, begin withholding no later than the start of
the first payroll period ending on or after the 30th day from
the date when you received the replacement Form W-4.
For exceptions, see Exemption from federal income tax
withholding, IRS review of requested Forms W-4, and Invalid Forms W-4, later in this section.
A Form W-4 that makes a change for the next calendar year won't take effect in the current calenCAUTION dar year.
!
Successor employer. If you’re a successor employer
(see Successor employer, later in this section), secure
new Forms W-4 from the transferred employees unless
the “Alternative Procedure” in section 5 of Revenue Procedure 2004-53 applies. See Revenue Procedure
2004-53, 2004-34 I.R.B. 320, available at IRS.gov/irb/
2004-34_IRB#RP-2004-53.
Completing Form W-4. The amount of any federal
income tax withholding must be based on filing status, income (including income from other jobs), deductions, and
credits. Your employees may not base their withholding
amounts on a fixed dollar amount or percentage. However, an employee may specify a dollar amount to be withheld each pay period in addition to the amount of withholding based on filing status and other information
reported on Form W-4.
Employees that are married filing jointly and have spouses that also currently work, or employees that hold more
than one job at the same time, should account for their
higher tax rate by completing Step 2 of their 2023 Form
W-4. Employees also have the option to report on their
2023 Form W-4 other income they will receive that isn't
subject to withholding and other deductions they will claim
in order to increase the accuracy of their federal income
tax withholding.
See Pub. 505 for more information about completing
Form W-4. Along with Form W-4, you may wish to order
Pub. 505 for use by your employees.
Don't accept any withholding or estimated tax payments from your employees in addition to withholding
based on their Form W-4. If they require additional withholding, they should submit a new Form W-4 and, if
Page 22
necessary, pay estimated tax by filing Form 1040-ES or
by using EFTPS to make estimated tax payments. Employees who receive tips may provide funds to their employer for withholding on tips; see Collecting taxes on tips
in section 6.
Exemption from federal income tax withholding.
Generally, an employee may claim exemption from federal income tax withholding because they had no income
tax liability last year and expect none this year. See the
Form W-4 instructions for more information. However, the
wages are still subject to social security and Medicare
taxes. See also Invalid Forms W-4, later in this section.
A Form W-4 claiming exemption from withholding is effective when it is given to the employer and only for that
calendar year. To continue to be exempt from withholding,
an employee must give you a new Form W-4 by February
15. If the employee doesn't give you a new Form W-4 by
February 15, begin withholding as if they had checked the
box for Single or Married filing separately in Step 1(c) and
made no entries in Step 2, Step 3, or Step 4 of the 2023
Form W-4. If the employee provides a new Form W-4
claiming exemption from withholding on February 16 or
later, you may apply it to future wages but don't refund any
taxes withheld while the exempt status wasn’t in place.
Withholding income taxes on the wages of nonresident alien employees. In general, you must withhold
federal income taxes on the wages of nonresident alien
employees. However, see Pub. 515 for exceptions to this
general rule. Also see section 3 of Pub. 51 for guidance
on H-2A visa workers.
Withholding adjustment for nonresident alien employees. Nonresident aliens may not claim the standard
deduction on their tax returns; therefore, employers must
add an amount to the wages of nonresident alien employees performing services within the United States in order
to figure the amount of federal income tax to withhold from
their wages. The amount is added to their wages solely for
calculating federal income tax withholding. The amount
isn’t included in any box on the employee's Form W-2 and
doesn’t increase the income tax liability of the employee.
The amount also doesn't increase the social security tax
or Medicare tax liability of the employer or the employee,
or the FUTA tax liability of the employer. See Withholding
Adjustment for Nonresident Alien Employees in the Introduction section of Pub. 15-T for the amount to add to their
wages for the payroll period.
Supplemental wage payment. The adjustment for
determining the amount of income tax withholding for nonresident alien employees doesn't apply to a supplemental
wage payment (see section 7) if the 37% mandatory flat
rate withholding applies or if the 22% optional flat rate
withholding is being used to calculate income tax withholding on the supplemental wage payment.
Nonresident alien employee's Form W-4. When completing Forms W-4, nonresident aliens are required to:
• Not claim exemption from income tax withholding
(even if they meet both of the conditions to claim
Publication 15 (2023)
exemption from withholding listed in the Form W-4 instructions);
• Request withholding as if they’re single, regardless of
their actual filing status;
• Not claim the child tax credit or credit for other de-
pendents in Step 3 of Form W-4 (if the nonresident
alien is a resident of Canada, Mexico, or South Korea,
or a student from India, or a business apprentice from
India, they may claim, under certain circumstances
(see Pub. 519), the child tax credit or credit for other
dependents); and
• Write “Nonresident Alien” or “NRA” in the space below
Step 4(c) of Form W-4.
If you maintain an electronic Form W-4 system, you
should provide a field for nonresident aliens to enter nonresident alien status instead of writing “Nonresident Alien”
or “NRA” in the space below Step 4(c) of Form W-4. You
should instruct nonresident aliens to see Notice 1392,
Supplemental Form W-4 Instructions for Nonresident Aliens, before completing Form W-4.
Form 8233. If a nonresident alien employee claims a
tax treaty exemption from withholding, the employee must
submit Form 8233 with respect to the income exempt under the treaty, instead of Form W-4. For more information,
see the Instructions for Form 8233 and Pay for Personal
Services Performed under Withholding on Specific Income in Pub. 515.
IRS review of requested Forms W-4. When requested
by the IRS, you must make original Forms W-4 available
for inspection by an IRS employee. You may also be directed to send certain Forms W-4 to the IRS. You may receive a notice from the IRS requiring you to submit a copy
of Form W-4 for one or more of your named employees.
Send the requested copy or copies of Form W-4 to the
IRS at the address provided and in the manner directed
by the notice. The IRS may also require you to submit
copies of Form W-4 to the IRS as directed by a revenue
procedure or notice published in the Internal Revenue
Bulletin. When we refer to Form W-4, the same rules apply to Formulario W-4(SP), its Spanish translation.
After submitting a copy of a requested Form W-4 to the
IRS, continue to withhold federal income tax based on
that Form W-4 if it is valid (see Invalid Forms W-4, later in
this section). However, if the IRS later notifies you in writing that the employee isn't entitled to claim exemption
from withholding or a claimed amount of deductions or
credits, withhold federal income tax based on the effective
date, employee's permitted filing status, and withholding
instructions specified in the IRS notice (commonly referred to as a “lock-in letter”).
Initial lock-in letter. The IRS uses information reported on Form W-2 to identify employees with withholding
compliance problems. In some cases, if a serious underwithholding problem is found to exist for a particular employee, the IRS may issue a lock-in letter to the employer
specifying the employee's permitted filing status and providing withholding instructions for the specific employee.
You’ll also receive a copy for the employee that identifies
Publication 15 (2023)
the permitted filing status and provides a description of
the withholding instructions you’re required to follow and
the process by which the employee can provide additional
information to the IRS for purposes of determining the appropriate withholding and/or modifying the specified filing
status. You must furnish the employee copy to the employee within 10 business days of receipt if the employee
is employed by you as of the date of the notice. You may
follow any reasonable business practice to furnish the employee copy to the employee. Begin withholding based on
the notice on the date specified in the notice.
Implementation of lock-in letter. When you receive
the notice specifying the permitted filing status and providing withholding instructions, you may not withhold immediately on the basis of the notice. You must begin withholding tax on the basis of the notice for any wages paid after
the date specified in the notice. The delay between your
receipt of the notice and the date to begin the withholding
on the basis of the notice permits the employee time to
contact the IRS.
Seasonal employees and employees not currently
performing services. If you receive a notice for an employee who isn't currently performing services for you,
you’re still required to furnish the employee copy to the
employee and withhold based on the notice if any of the
following apply.
• You’re paying wages for the employee's prior services
and the wages are subject to income tax withholding
on or after the date specified in the notice.
• You reasonably expect the employee to resume services within 12 months of the date of the notice.
• The employee is on a leave of absence that doesn't
exceed 12 months or the employee has a right to reemployment after the leave of absence.
Termination and rehire of employees. If you must
furnish and withhold based on the notice and the employment relationship is terminated after the date of the notice,
you must continue to withhold based on the notice if you
continue to pay any wages subject to income tax withholding. You must also withhold based on the notice or modification notice (explained next) if the employee resumes
the employment relationship with you within 12 months after the termination of the employment relationship.
Modification notice. After issuing the notice specifying the permitted filing status and providing withholding instructions, the IRS may issue a subsequent notice (modification notice) that modifies the original notice. The
modification notice may change the permitted filing status
and withholding instructions. You must withhold federal income tax based on the effective date specified in the
modification notice.
New Form W-4 after IRS notice. After the IRS issues a notice or modification notice, if the employee provides you with a new Form W-4 claiming complete exemption from withholding or a completed Form W-4 that
results in less withholding than would result under the IRS
notice or modification notice, disregard the new Form
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W-4. You must withhold based on the notice or modification notice unless the IRS notifies you to withhold based
on the new Form W-4. If the employee wants to put a new
Form W-4 into effect that results in less withholding than
required, the employee must contact the IRS.
If, after you receive an IRS notice or modification notice, your employee gives you a new completed Form W-4
that results in more withholding than would result under
the notice or modification notice, you must withhold tax
based on the new Form W-4. Otherwise, disregard any
subsequent Forms W-4 provided by the employee and
withhold based on the IRS notice or modification notice.
If, in a year before 2020, you received a lock-in
letter for an employee, then for 2023 you should
CAUTION continue to follow the instructions in the lock-in
letter. You will use the withholding methods described in
Pub. 15-T for an employee with a Form W-4 from 2019 or
earlier, or you may use the optional computational bridge
to treat 2019 and earlier Forms W-4 as if they were 2020
or later Forms W-4 for purposes of figuring federal income
tax withholding. See How To Treat 2019 and Earlier
Forms W-4 as if They Were 2020 or Later Forms W-4 in
the Introduction section of Pub. 15-T. You should continue
following the instructions in the pre-2020 lock-in letter until
you receive a letter releasing your employee from the
lock-in procedures, you receive a modification notice, or
your employee gives you a new Form W-4 that results in
more withholding than would result under the notice.
!
For additional information about employer withholding
compliance, see IRS.gov/WHC.
Substitute Forms W-4. You’re encouraged to have your
employees use the official version of Form W-4. You may
use a substitute version of Form W-4 to meet your business needs. However, your substitute Form W-4 must
contain language that is identical to the official Form W-4
and your form must meet all current IRS rules for substitute forms. At the time you provide your substitute form to
the employee, you must provide them with all tables, instructions, and worksheets from the current Form W-4.
For more information, see Pub. 15-T.
You can't accept substitute Forms W-4 developed by
employees. An employee who submits an employee-developed substitute Form W-4 after October 10, 2007, will
be treated as failing to furnish a Form W-4. However, continue to honor any valid employee-developed Forms W-4
you accepted before October 11, 2007.
Invalid Forms W-4. Any unauthorized change or addition to Form W-4 makes it invalid. This includes taking out
any language by which the employee certifies the form is
correct. A Form W-4 is also invalid if, by the date an employee gives it to you, they clearly indicate it is false. An
employee who submits a false Form W-4 may be subject
to a $500 penalty. You may treat a Form W-4 as invalid if
the employee wrote “exempt” below Step 4(c) and
checked the box in Step 2(c) or entered numbers for
Steps 3 and 4.
When you get an invalid Form W-4, don't use it to figure
federal income tax withholding. Tell the employee it is invalid and ask for another one. If the employee doesn't give
Page 24
you a valid one, and you have an earlier Form W-4 for this
employee that is valid, withhold as you did before. If you
don't have an earlier Form W-4 that is valid, withhold tax
as if the employee had checked the box for Single or Married filing separately in Step 1(c) and made no entries in
Step 2, Step 3, or Step 4 of the 2023 Form W-4. However,
an employee who was paid wages in 2019 who never
submitted a valid Form W-4 and submits an invalid Form
W-4 in 2023 should continue to be treated as single and
claiming zero allowances on a 2019 Form W-4. If you use
the optional computational bridge, described earlier under
Redesigned Form W-4, you may treat this employee as if
they had checked the box for Single or Married filing separately in Step 1(c), and made no entries in Step 2 and
Step 3, an entry of $8,600 in Step 4(a), and an entry of
zero in Step 4(b) of the 2023 Form W-4.
Amounts exempt from levy on wages, salary, and
other income. If you receive a Notice of Levy on Wages,
Salary, and Other Income (Forms 668-W(ACS), 668-W(c)
(DO), or 668-W(ICS)), you must withhold amounts as described in the instructions for these forms. Pub. 1494 has
tables to figure the amount exempt from levy. If a levy issued in a prior year is still in effect and the taxpayer submits a new Statement of Exemptions and Filing Status,
use the current year Pub. 1494 to figure the exempt
amount.
Social Security and Medicare Taxes
The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) provides
for a federal system of old-age, survivors, disability, and
hospital insurance. The old-age, survivors, and disability
insurance part is financed by the social security tax. The
hospital insurance part is financed by the Medicare tax.
Each of these taxes is reported separately.
Generally, you’re required to withhold social security
and Medicare taxes from your employees' wages and pay
the employer share of these taxes. Certain types of wages
and compensation aren't subject to social security and
Medicare taxes. See section 5 and section 15 for details.
Generally, employee wages are subject to social security
and Medicare taxes regardless of the employee's age or
whether they are receiving social security benefits. If the
employee reported tips, see section 6.
Tax rates and the social security wage base limit.
Social security and Medicare taxes have different rates
and only the social security tax has a wage base limit. The
wage base limit is the maximum wage subject to the tax
for the year. Determine the amount of withholding for social security and Medicare taxes by multiplying each payment by the employee tax rate.
For 2023, the social security tax rate is 6.2% (amount
withheld) each for the employer and employee (12.4% total). The social security wage base limit is $160,200. The
tax rate for Medicare is 1.45% (amount withheld) each for
the employee and employer (2.9% total). There is no
wage base limit for Medicare tax; all covered wages are
subject to Medicare tax.
Publication 15 (2023)
Qualified sick leave wages and qualified family
leave wages for leave taken after March 31, 2020,
CAUTION and before April 1, 2021, aren't subject to the employer share of social security tax; therefore, the tax rate
on these wages is 6.2%. Qualified sick leave wages and
qualified family leave wages for leave taken after March
31, 2021, and before October 1, 2021, are subject to both
the employer share (6.2%) and employee share (6.2%) of
social security tax (12.4% total).
!
Additional Medicare Tax withholding. In addition to
withholding Medicare tax at 1.45%, you must withhold a
0.9% Additional Medicare Tax from wages you pay to an
employee in excess of $200,000 in a calendar year.
You’re required to begin withholding Additional Medicare
Tax in the pay period in which you pay wages in excess of
$200,000 to an employee and continue to withhold it each
pay period until the end of the calendar year. Additional
Medicare Tax is only imposed on the employee. There is
no employer share of Additional Medicare Tax. All wages
that are subject to Medicare tax are subject to Additional
Medicare Tax withholding if paid in excess of the
$200,000 withholding threshold.
For more information on what wages are subject to
Medicare tax, see section 15. For more information on Additional Medicare Tax, go to IRS.gov/ADMTfaqs.
Successor employer. When corporate acquisitions
meet certain requirements, wages paid by the predecessor are treated as if paid by the successor for purposes of
applying the social security wage base and for applying
the Additional Medicare Tax withholding threshold (that is,
$200,000 in a calendar year). You should determine
whether or not you should file Schedule D (Form 941), Report of Discrepancies Caused by Acquisitions, Statutory
Mergers, or Consolidations, by reviewing the Instructions
for Schedule D (Form 941). See Regulations section
31.3121(a)(1)-1(b) for more information. Also see Revenue Procedure 2004-53, 2004-34 I.R.B. 320, available at
IRS.gov/irb/2004-34_IRB#RP-2004-53.
Example. Early in 2023, you bought all of the assets of
a plumbing business from Mr. Martin. Mr. Brown, who had
been employed by Mr. Martin and received $2,000 in wages before the date of purchase, continued to work for
you. The wages you paid to Mr. Brown are subject to social security taxes on the first $158,200 ($160,200 minus
$2,000). Medicare tax is due on all of the wages you pay
Mr. Brown during the calendar year. You should include
the $2,000 Mr. Brown received while employed by Mr.
Martin in determining whether Mr. Brown's wages exceed
the $200,000 for Additional Medicare Tax withholding
threshold.
Motion picture project employers. All wages paid by a
motion picture project employer to a motion picture project
worker during a calendar year are subject to a single social security tax wage base ($160,200 for 2023) and a single FUTA tax wage base ($7,000 for 2023) regardless of
the worker's status as a common law employee of multiple
clients of the motion picture project employer. For more
information, including the definition of a motion picture
Publication 15 (2023)
project employer and motion picture project worker, see
section 3512.
Withholding social security and Medicare taxes on
nonresident alien employees. In general, if you pay
wages to nonresident alien employees, you must withhold
social security and Medicare taxes as you would for a
U.S. citizen or resident alien. However, see Pub. 515 for
exceptions to this general rule.
International social security agreements. The United
States has social security agreements, also known as totalization agreements, with many countries that eliminate
dual social security coverage and taxation. Compensation
subject to social security and Medicare taxes may be exempt under one of these agreements. You can get more
information and a list of agreement countries from the
SSA at SSA.gov/international. Also see Pub. 519, U.S.
Tax Guide for Aliens.
Religious exemption. An exemption from social security and Medicare taxes is available to members of a recognized religious sect opposed to insurance. This exemption
is available only if both the employee and the employer
are members of the sect. For more information, see Pub.
517.
Foreign persons treated as American employers.
Under section 3121(z), a foreign person who meets both
of the following conditions is generally treated as an
American employer for purposes of paying FICA taxes on
wages paid to an employee who is a U.S. citizen or resident.
1. The foreign person is a member of a domestically
controlled group of entities.
2. The employee of the foreign person performs services in connection with a contract between the U.S.
Government (or an instrumentality of the U.S. Government) and any member of the domestically controlled
group of entities. Ownership of more than 50% constitutes control.
Part-Time Workers
Part-time workers and workers hired for short periods of
time are treated the same as full-time employees for federal income tax withholding and social security, Medicare,
and FUTA tax purposes.
Generally, it doesn't matter whether the part-time
worker or worker hired for a short period of time has another job or has the maximum amount of social security
tax withheld by another employer. See Successor employer, earlier, for an exception to this rule.
Income tax withholding may be figured the same way
as for full-time workers or it may be figured by the
part-year employment method explained in section 6 of
Pub. 15-T.
Page 25
10. Required Notice to
Employees About the Earned
Income Credit (EIC)
You must notify employees who have no federal income
tax withheld that they may be able to claim a tax refund
because of the EIC. Although you don't have to notify employees who claim exemption from withholding on Form
W-4 about the EIC, you’re encouraged to notify any employees whose wages for 2022 were less than $53,057
($59,187 if married filing jointly) that they may be eligible
to claim the credit for 2022. This is because eligible employees may get a refund of the amount of the EIC that is
more than the tax they owe.
You’ll meet this notification requirement if you issue the
employee Form W-2 with the EIC notice on the back of
Copy B, or a substitute Form W-2 with the same statement. You’ll also meet the requirement by providing Notice 797, Possible Federal Tax Refund Due to the Earned
Income Credit (EIC), or your own statement that contains
the same wording.
If a substitute for Form W-2 is given to the employee on
time but doesn't have the required statement, you must
notify the employee within 1 week of the date the substitute for Form W-2 is given. If Form W-2 is required but isn't
given on time, you must give the employee Notice 797 or
your written statement by the date Form W-2 is required to
be given. If Form W-2 isn't required, you must notify the
employee by February 7, 2023.
11. Depositing Taxes
If an employer is eligible to claim a credit for quali-
TIP fied sick and family leave wages during 2023, the
employer can reduce their deposits by the
amount of their anticipated credit. Employers won't be
subject to an FTD penalty for properly reducing their deposits if certain conditions are met. For more information
on reducing deposits, see Notice 2020-22, 2020-17 I.R.B.
664, available at IRS.gov/irb/2020-17_IRB#NOT-2020-22;
Notice 2021-24, 2021-18 I.R.B. 1122, available at
IRS.gov/irb/2021-18_IRB#NOT-2021-24; and the Instructions for Form 941 or the Instructions for Form 944. For
more information about the credit for qualified sick and
family leave wages, go to IRS.gov/PLC.
Generally, you must deposit federal income tax withheld and both the employer and employee social security
and Medicare taxes. You must use EFT to make all federal tax deposits. See How To Deposit, later in this section, for information on electronic deposit requirements.
Payment with return. You may make a payment with a
timely filed Form 941 or Form 944 instead of depositing,
without incurring a penalty, if one of the following applies.
• You’re a monthly schedule depositor (defined later)
and make a payment in accordance with the Accuracy
of Deposits Rule, discussed later in this section. This
payment may be $2,500 or more.
• Your Form 941 total tax liability (Form 941, line 12) for
either the current quarter or the prior quarter is less
than $2,500, and you didn't incur a $100,000 next-day
deposit obligation during the current quarter. If you
aren't sure your total tax liability for the current quarter
will be less than $2,500 (and your liability for the prior
quarter wasn't less than $2,500), make deposits using
the semiweekly or monthly rules so you won't be subject to an FTD penalty.
• Your Form 944 net tax liability for the year (Form 944,
line 9) is less than $2,500.
• Your Form 944 net tax liability for the year (Form 944,
line 9) is $2,500 or more and you already deposited
the taxes you owed for the first, second, and third
quarters of the year; your net tax for the fourth quarter
is less than $2,500; and you're paying, in full, the tax
you owe for the fourth quarter with a timely filed return.
Separate deposit requirements for nonpayroll (Form
945) tax liabilities. Separate deposits are required for
nonpayroll and payroll income tax withholding. Don't combine deposits for Forms 941 (or Form 944) and Form 945
tax liabilities. Generally, the deposit rules for nonpayroll liabilities are the same as discussed next, except the rules
apply to an annual rather than a quarterly return period. If
the total amount of tax for the year reported on Form 945
is less than $2,500, you're not required to make deposits
during the year. See the separate Instructions for Form
945 for more information.
When To Deposit
There are two deposit schedules—monthly and semiweekly—for determining when you deposit social security,
Medicare, and withheld federal income taxes. These
schedules tell you when a deposit is due after a tax liability
arises. Your tax liability is based on the dates payments
were made or wages were paid. For taxable noncash
fringe benefits, see When taxable fringe benefits are treated as paid in section 5. Before the beginning of each calendar year, you must determine which of the two deposit
schedules you’re required to use. The deposit schedule
you must use is based on the total tax liability you reported on Forms 941, line 12, or Form 944, line 9, during a
lookback period, discussed next. Your deposit schedule
isn't determined by how often you pay your employees or
make deposits. See special rules for Forms 944 and 945,
later. Also see Application of Monthly and Semiweekly
Schedules, later in this section.
!
These rules don't apply to FUTA tax. See section
14 for information on depositing FUTA tax.
CAUTION
Page 26
Publication 15 (2023)
Lookback period. If you’re a Form 941 filer, your deposit schedule for a calendar year is determined from the
total taxes reported on Forms 941, line 12, in a 4-quarter
lookback period. The lookback period begins July 1 and
ends June 30 as shown next in Table 1. If you reported
$50,000 or less of taxes for the lookback period, you’re a
monthly schedule depositor; if you reported more than
$50,000, you’re a semiweekly schedule depositor.
Deposit period. The term “deposit period” refers to the
period during which tax liabilities are accumulated for
each required deposit due date. For monthly schedule depositors, the deposit period is a calendar month. The deposit periods for semiweekly schedule depositors are
Wednesday through Friday and Saturday through Tuesday.
Table 1. Lookback Period for Calendar Year
2023
TIP the deposit rules apply to you based on the total
July 1, 2021,
through
Sept. 30, 2021
Oct. 1, 2021,
through
Dec. 31, 2021
Jan. 1, 2022,
through
Mar. 31, 2022
Apr. 1, 2022,
through
June 30, 2022
The lookback period for a 2023 Form 941 filer
who filed Form 944 in either 2021 or 2022 is calCAUTION endar year 2021.
!
If you’re a Form 944 filer for the current year or either of
the preceding 2 years, your deposit schedule for a calendar year is determined from the total taxes reported during
the second preceding calendar year (either on your Forms
941 for all 4 quarters of that year or your Form 944 for that
year). The lookback period for 2023 for a Form 944 filer is
calendar year 2021. If you reported $50,000 or less of
taxes for the lookback period, you’re a monthly schedule
depositor; if you reported more than $50,000, you’re a
semiweekly schedule depositor.
If you’re a Form 945 filer, your deposit schedule for a
calendar year is determined from the total taxes reported
on line 3 of your Form 945 for the second preceding calendar year. The lookback period for 2023 for a Form 945
filer is calendar year 2021.
Your total tax liability for the lookback period is
TIP determined based on the amount of taxes you re-
ported on Forms 941, line 12, or Form 944, line 9.
Your total liability isn’t reduced by the refundable portion
of the credit for qualified sick and family leave wages, the
refundable portion of the employee retention credit, or the
refundable portion of the COBRA premium assistance
credit. For more information about these credits, see the
instructions for your employment tax return that were applicable during the lookback period.
Adjustments and the lookback rule. Adjustments
made on Form 941-X, Form 944-X, and Form 945-X don't
affect the amount of tax liability for previous periods for
purposes of the lookback rule.
Example. An employer originally reported a tax liability of $45,000 for the lookback period. The employer discovered, during January 2023, that the tax reported for
one of the lookback period quarters was understated by
$10,000 and corrected this error by filing Form 941-X.
This employer is a monthly schedule depositor for 2023
because the lookback period tax liabilities are based on
the amounts originally reported, and they were $50,000 or
less. The $10,000 adjustment is also not treated as part of
the 2023 taxes.
Publication 15 (2023)
If you're an agent with an approved Form 2678,
employment taxes accumulated by you for your
own employees and on behalf of all employers for whom
you're authorized to act. For more information on an agent
with an approved Form 2678, see Revenue Procedure
2013-39, 2013-52 I.R.B. 830, available at IRS.gov/irb/
2013-52_IRB#RP-2013-39.
Monthly Deposit Schedule
You’re a monthly schedule depositor for a calendar year if
the total taxes on Forms 941, line 12, for the 4 quarters in
your lookback period were $50,000 or less. Under the
monthly deposit schedule, deposit employment taxes on
payments made during a month by the 15th day of the following month. See also Deposits Due on Business Days
Only and $100,000 Next-Day Deposit Rule, later in this
section. Monthly schedule depositors shouldn't file Form
941 or Form 944 on a monthly basis.
New employers. Your tax liability for any quarter in the
lookback period before you started or acquired your business is considered to be zero. Therefore, you’re a monthly
schedule depositor for the first calendar year of your business. However, see $100,000 Next-Day Deposit Rule,
later in this section.
Semiweekly Deposit Schedule
You’re a semiweekly schedule depositor for a calendar
year if the total taxes on Forms 941, line 12, during your
lookback period were more than $50,000. Under the semiweekly deposit schedule, deposit employment taxes for
payments made on Wednesday, Thursday, and/or Friday
by the following Wednesday. Deposit taxes for payments
made on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and/or Tuesday by
the following Friday. See also Deposits Due on Business
Days Only, later in this section.
Semiweekly schedule depositors must complete
Schedule B (Form 941), Report of Tax Liability for
CAUTION Semiweekly Schedule Depositors, and submit it
with Form 941. If you file Form 944 or Form 945 and are a
semiweekly schedule depositor, complete Form 945-A,
Annual Record of Federal Tax Liability, and submit it with
your return (instead of Schedule B).
!
Page 27
Table 2. Semiweekly Deposit Schedule
IF the payday falls on a...
THEN deposit taxes by the
following...
Wednesday, Thursday, and/or
Friday
Wednesday.
Saturday, Sunday, Monday,
and/or Tuesday
Friday.
Semiweekly deposit period spanning two quarters
(Form 941 filers). If you have more than one pay date
during a semiweekly period and the pay dates fall in different calendar quarters, you’ll need to make separate deposits for the separate liabilities.
Example. If you have a pay date on Saturday, September 30, 2023 (third quarter), and another pay date on
Monday, October 2, 2023 (fourth quarter), two separate
deposits would be required even though the pay dates fall
within the same semiweekly period. Both deposits would
be due Friday, October 6, 2023.
Semiweekly deposit period spanning two return periods (Form 944 or Form 945 filers). The period covered
by a return is the return period. The return period for annual Forms 944 and 945 is a calendar year. If you have
more than one pay date during a semiweekly period and
the pay dates fall in different return periods, you'll need to
make separate deposits for the separate liabilities. For example, if a return period ends on Thursday, taxes accumulated on Wednesday and Thursday are subject to one
deposit obligation, and taxes accumulated on Friday are
subject to a separate obligation. Separate deposits are required because two different return periods are affected.
Summary of Steps to Determine Your Deposit Schedule
1. Identify your lookback period (see Lookback period, earlier in
this section).
2. Add the total taxes you reported on Forms 941, line 12, during
the lookback period.
3. Determine if you’re a monthly or semiweekly schedule
depositor:
IF the total taxes you
reported in the lookback
period were...
THEN you’re a...
$50,000 or less
monthly schedule depositor.
more than $50,000
semiweekly schedule
depositor.
Example of Monthly and Semiweekly
Schedules
Rose Co. reported Form 941 taxes as follows:
Page 28
2022 Lookback Period
3rd Quarter 2020
4th Quarter 2020
1st Quarter 2021
2nd Quarter 2021
$12,000
12,000
12,000
12,000
$48,000
2023 Lookback Period
3rd Quarter 2021
4th Quarter 2021
1st Quarter 2022
2nd Quarter 2022
$12,000
12,000
12,000
15,000
$51,000
Rose Co. is a monthly schedule depositor for 2022 because its tax liability for the 4 quarters in its lookback period (third quarter 2020 through second quarter 2021)
wasn't more than $50,000. However, for 2023, Rose Co.
will be a semiweekly schedule depositor because the total
taxes exceeded $50,000 for the 4 quarters in its lookback
period (third quarter 2021 through second quarter 2022).
Deposits Due on Business Days Only
If a deposit is required to be made on a day that isn't a
business day, the deposit is considered timely if it is made
by the close of the next business day. A business day is
any day other than a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.
For example, if a deposit is required to be made on a Friday and Friday is a legal holiday, the deposit will be considered timely if it is made by the following Monday (if that
Monday is a business day).
Semiweekly schedule depositors have at least 3
business days following the close of the semiweekly period to make a deposit. If any of the 3 weekdays after the
end of a semiweekly period is a legal holiday, you’ll have
an additional day for each day that is a legal holiday to
make the required deposit. For example, if a semiweekly
schedule depositor accumulated taxes for payments
made on Friday and the following Monday is a legal holiday, the deposit normally due on Wednesday may be
made on Thursday (this allows 3 business days to make
the deposit).
Legal holiday. The term “legal holiday” means any legal
holiday in the District of Columbia. For purposes of the deposit rules, the term “legal holiday” doesn't include other
statewide legal holidays. Legal holidays for 2023 are listed
next.
• January 2—New Year's Day (observed)
• January 16—Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
• February 20—Washington's Birthday
• April 17—District of Columbia Emancipation Day (observed)
• May 29—Memorial Day
• June 19—Juneteenth National Independence Day
• July 4—Independence Day
• September 4—Labor Day
• October 9—Columbus Day
• November 10—Veterans Day (observed)
• November 23—Thanksgiving Day
• December 25—Christmas Day
Publication 15 (2023)
Application of Monthly and Semiweekly
Schedules
The terms “monthly schedule depositor” and “semiweekly
schedule depositor” don't refer to how often your business
pays its employees or even how often you’re required to
make deposits. The terms identify which set of deposit
rules you must follow when an employment tax liability arises. The deposit rules are based on the dates when wages are paid (cash basis), not on when tax liabilities are
accrued for accounting purposes.
Monthly schedule example. Spruce Co. is a monthly
schedule depositor with seasonal employees. It paid wages each Friday during May but didn't pay any wages during June. Under the monthly deposit schedule, Spruce
Co. must deposit the combined tax liabilities for the May
paydays by June 15. Spruce Co. doesn't have a deposit
requirement for June (due by July 15) because no wages
were paid and, therefore, it didn't have a tax liability for
June.
Semiweekly schedule example. Green, Inc., is a semiweekly schedule depositor and pays wages once each
month on the last Friday of the month. Although Green,
Inc., has a semiweekly deposit schedule, it will deposit
just once a month because it pays wages only once a
month. The deposit, however, will be made under the
semiweekly deposit schedule as follows: Green, Inc.'s tax
liability for the April 28, 2023 (Friday), payday must be deposited by May 3, 2023 (Wednesday). Under the semiweekly deposit schedule, liabilities for wages paid on
Wednesday through Friday must be deposited by the following Wednesday.
$100,000 Next-Day Deposit Rule
If you accumulate $100,000 or more in taxes on any day
during a monthly or semiweekly deposit period (see Deposit period, earlier in this section), you must deposit the
tax by the next business day, whether you’re a monthly or
semiweekly schedule depositor.
For purposes of the $100,000 rule, don't continue accumulating a tax liability after the end of a deposit period.
For example, if a semiweekly schedule depositor has accumulated a liability of $95,000 on a Tuesday (of a Saturday-through-Tuesday deposit period) and accumulated a
$10,000 liability on Wednesday, the $100,000 next-day
deposit rule doesn't apply because the $10,000 is accumulated in the next deposit period. Thus, $95,000 must be
deposited by Friday and $10,000 must be deposited by
the following Wednesday.
However, once you accumulate at least $100,000 in a
deposit period, stop accumulating at the end of that day
and begin to accumulate anew on the next day. For example, Fir Co. is a semiweekly schedule depositor. On Monday, Fir Co. accumulates taxes of $110,000 and must deposit this amount on Tuesday, the next business day. On
Tuesday, Fir Co. accumulates additional taxes of
$30,000. Because the $30,000 isn't added to the previous
Publication 15 (2023)
$110,000 and is less than $100,000, Fir Co. must deposit
the $30,000 by Friday (following the semiweekly deposit
schedule).
If you’re a monthly schedule depositor and accumulate a $100,000 tax liability on any day during
CAUTION the deposit period, you become a semiweekly
schedule depositor on the next day and remain so for at
least the rest of the calendar year and for the following
calendar year.
!
Example. Elm, Inc., started its business on May 1,
2023. On Wednesday, May 3, it paid wages for the first
time and accumulated a tax liability of $40,000. On Friday,
May 5, Elm, Inc., paid wages and accumulated a liability
of $60,000, bringing its total accumulated tax liability to
$100,000. Because this was the first year of its business,
the tax liability for its lookback period is considered to be
zero, and it would be a monthly schedule depositor based
on the lookback rules. However, since Elm, Inc., accumulated a $100,000 liability on May 5, it became a semiweekly schedule depositor on May 6. It will be a semiweekly schedule depositor for the remainder of 2023 and
for 2024. Elm, Inc., is required to deposit the $100,000 by
Monday, May 8, the next business day.
The $100,000 tax liability threshold requiring a
TIP next-day deposit is determined before you con-
sider any reduction of your liability for nonrefundable credits. For more information, see frequently asked
question 17 at IRS.gov/ETD.
Accuracy of Deposits Rule
You’re required to deposit 100% of your tax liability on or
before the deposit due date. However, penalties won't be
applied for depositing less than 100% if both of the following conditions are met.
• Any deposit shortfall doesn't exceed the greater of
$100 or 2% of the amount of taxes otherwise required
to be deposited.
• The deposit shortfall is paid or deposited by the shortfall makeup date as described next.
Makeup Date for Deposit Shortfall:
1. Monthly schedule depositor. Deposit the shortfall
or pay it with your return by the due date of your return
for the return period in which the shortfall occurred.
You may pay the shortfall with your return even if the
amount is $2,500 or more.
2. Semiweekly schedule depositor. Deposit by the
earlier of:
a. The first Wednesday or Friday (whichever comes
first) that falls on or after the 15th day of the month
following the month in which the shortfall occurred, or
b. The due date of your return (for the return period
of the tax liability).
Page 29
For example, if a semiweekly schedule depositor has a
deposit shortfall during May 2023, the shortfall makeup
date is June 16, 2023 (Friday). However, if the shortfall
occurred on the required October 4, 2023 (Wednesday),
deposit due date for the September 29, 2023 (Friday), pay
date, the return due date for the September 29 pay date
(October 31, 2023) would come before the November 15,
2023 (Wednesday), shortfall makeup date. In this case,
the shortfall must be deposited by October 31, 2023.
How To Deposit
You must deposit employment taxes, including Form 945
taxes, by EFT. See Payment with return, earlier in this
section, for exceptions explaining when taxes may be
paid with the tax return instead of being deposited.
Electronic deposit requirement. You must use EFT to
make all federal tax deposits. Generally, an EFT is made
using EFTPS. If you don't want to use EFTPS, you can arrange for your tax professional, financial institution, payroll
service, or other trusted third party to make electronic deposits on your behalf. EFTPS is a free service provided by
the Department of the Treasury. To get more information
about EFTPS or to enroll in EFTPS, go to EFTPS.gov or
call 800-555-4477. To contact EFTPS using TRS for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, dial 711 and then provide the TRS assistant the
800-555-4477 number above or 800-733-4829. Additional
information about EFTPS is also available in Pub. 966.
When you receive your EIN. If you’re a new employer that indicated a federal tax obligation when requesting an EIN, you’ll be pre-enrolled in EFTPS. You’ll
receive information about Express Enrollment in your Employer Identification Number (EIN) Package and an additional mailing containing your EFTPS personal identification number (PIN) and instructions for activating your PIN.
Call the toll-free number located in your “How to Activate
Your Enrollment” brochure to activate your enrollment and
begin making your payroll tax deposits. If you outsource
any of your payroll and related tax duties to a third-party
payer, such as a payroll service provider (PSP) or reporting agent, be sure to tell them about your EFTPS enrollment.
Deposit record. For your records, an EFT Trace
Number will be provided with each successful payment.
The number can be used as a receipt or to trace the payment.
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’ll need to
give to your financial institution to make a same-day wire
payment, go to IRS.gov/SameDayWire.
How to claim credit for overpayments. If you deposited more than the right amount of taxes for a quarter, you
can choose on Form 941 for that quarter (or on Form 944
for that year) to have the overpayment refunded or applied
as a credit to your next return. Don't ask EFTPS to request
a refund from the IRS for you.
Deposit Penalties
Although the deposit penalties information proviTIP ded next refers specifically to Form 941, these
rules also apply to Form 945 and Form 944. The
penalties won't apply if the employer qualifies for the exceptions to the deposit requirements discussed under
Payment with return, earlier in this section).
Penalties may apply if you don't make required deposits on time or if you make deposits for less than the required amount. The penalties don't apply if any failure to
make a proper and timely deposit was due to reasonable
cause and not to willful neglect. If you receive a penalty
notice, you can provide an explanation of why you believe
reasonable cause exists.
If you timely filed your employment tax return, the IRS
may also waive deposit penalties if you inadvertently
failed to deposit and it was the first quarter that you were
required to deposit any employment tax, or if you inadvertently failed to deposit the first time after your deposit frequency changed. You must also meet the net worth and
size limitations applicable to awards of administrative and
litigation costs under section 7430; for individuals, this
means that your net worth can't exceed $2 million, and for
businesses, your net worth can't exceed $7 million and
you also can't have more than 500 employees.
The IRS may also waive the deposit penalty the first
time you're required to make a deposit if you inadvertently
send the payment to the IRS rather than deposit it by EFT.
For amounts not properly or timely deposited
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