Form 945-A (Rev. 10-2017)
Page 3
Future Developments
For the latest information about developments related to Form
945-A and its instructions, such as legislation enacted after they
were published, go to www.irs.gov/Form945A.
What's New
Adjusting tax liability for the qualified small business payroll tax
credit for increasing research activities (Form 944 only). For
2017 and subsequent years, you must account for any qualified
small business payroll tax credit for increasing research activities
that you reported on Form 944, line 8, when reporting your liabilities
on Form 945-A. The total liability for the year must equal Form 944,
line 9. Failure to account for the amount reported on Form 944, line
8, may cause Form 945-A to report more than the total taxes after
adjustments and credits reported on Form 944, line 9.
The qualified small business payroll tax credit for increasing
research activities applies to the employer share of social security
tax on wages paid in the quarter that begins after the income tax
return electing the credit has been filed. In completing Form 945-A,
you take into account the payroll tax credit against your liability for
the employer share of social security tax starting with the first
payroll payment of the quarter that includes payments of wages to
your employees that are subject to social security tax. Don't reduce
your daily tax liability reported on Form 945-A below zero. For more
information, see the line 13 instructions in the Instructions for
Form 944.
Reminders
Reporting prior period adjustments. Prior period adjustments are
reported on Form 945-X, Adjusted Annual Return of Withheld
Federal Income Tax or Claim for Refund; Form CT-1 X, Adjusted
Employer's Annual Railroad Retirement Tax Return or Claim for
Refund; or Form 944-X, Adjusted Employer's ANNUAL Federal Tax
Return or Claim for Refund; and aren't taken into account when
figuring the tax liability for the current year.
When you file Form 945-A with your Form 945, CT-1, or 944,
don't change your current year tax liability by adjustments reported
on any Form 945-X, CT-1 X, or 944-X.
Amended Form 945-A. If you have been assessed a
failure-to-deposit (FTD) penalty, you may be able to file an amended
Form 945-A. For more information, see Correcting Previously
Reported Tax Liability, later.
General Instructions
Purpose of form. Use Form 945-A to report your federal tax liability
(based on the dates payments were made or wages were paid) for
the following tax returns.
• Forms 945 and 945-X for federal income tax withholding on
nonpayroll payments. Nonpayroll withholding includes backup
withholding and federal income tax withholding on pensions,
annuities, IRAs, Indian gaming profits, gambling winnings, military
retirement, certain government payments on which the recipient
elected voluntary income tax withholding, and dividends and other
distributions by an Alaska Native Corporation on which the recipient
elected voluntary income tax withholding.
• Forms CT-1 and CT-1 X for both employee and employer Tier 1
and Tier 2 taxes.
• Forms 944 and 944-X for federal income tax withheld plus both
employee and employer social security and Medicare taxes.
Forms 944(SP) and 944-X (SP). If you're a semiweekly schedule
depositor who files Formulario 944(SP), Declaración Federal ANUAL
de Impuestos del Patrono o Empleador, you should use Formulario
943A-PR, Registro de la Obligación Contributiva Federal del
Patrono Agrícola, to report your tax liability. You should also file
Form 943A-PR if you file Form 944-X (SP) and you need to amend a
previously filed Form 943A-PR.
Who must file. Semiweekly schedule depositors must complete
and file Form 945-A with their tax return. Don't file Form 945-A if
your net tax liability for the return period is less than $2,500. Don't
file this form if you're a monthly schedule depositor unless you
accumulated a tax liability of $100,000 during any month of the
year. Monthly schedule depositors who accumulate $100,000 or
more of tax liability on any day of a calendar month become
semiweekly schedule depositors on the next day and remain so for
at least the remainder of the year and for the next year, and must
also complete and file Form 945-A for the entire year.
The deposit rules, including the $100,000 Next-Day Deposit Rule,
are explained in section 11 of Pub. 15, Employer's Tax Guide, and
in the instructions for your tax return.
Caution: The IRS uses Form 945-A to match the tax liability you
reported on the returns indicated earlier with your deposits. The IRS
also uses Form 945-A to determine if you have deposited your tax
liabilities on time. Unless Form 945-A is properly completed and
filed (if applicable) with your tax return, the IRS may propose an
“averaged” FTD penalty. See Deposit Penalties in section 11 of Pub.
15 for more information.
When to file. File Form 945-A with your Form 945, CT-1, or 944
every year when Form 945, CT-1, or 944 is due. See the instructions
to these forms for their due dates.
Specific Instructions
Enter your business information. Carefully enter your employer
identification number (EIN) and name at the top of the form. Make
sure that they exactly match the name of your business and the EIN
that the IRS assigned to your business and also agree with the
name and EIN shown on the attached Form 945, 945-X, CT-1,
CT-1 X, 944, or 944-X.
Calendar year. Enter the calendar year of the Form 945, 945-X,
CT-1, CT-1 X, 944, or 944-X to which Form 945-A is attached.
Form 945 filers. Don't complete entries A through M of the Monthly
Summary of Federal Tax Liability (Form 945, line 7). Be sure to mark
the semiweekly schedule depositor checkbox above line 7 on
Form 945.
Form CT-1 filers. Don't complete the Monthly Summary of Railroad
Retirement Tax Liability (Part II of Form CT-1).
Form 944 filers. On Form 944, check the box for “Line 9 is $2,500
or more” at line 13, and leave blank lines 13a–13m.
Enter your tax liability by month. Each numbered space on
Form 945-A corresponds to a date during the year. Enter your tax
liabilities in the spaces that correspond to the dates you paid wages
to your employees or made nonpayroll payments, not the date
liabilities were accrued or deposits were made. The total tax liability
for the year (line M) must equal net taxes on Form 945 (line 3), Form
CT-1 (line 15), or Form 944 (line 9). Enter the monthly totals on lines
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, and L. Enter the total for the year on
line M.
For example, if you're a Form 945 filer, and you became liable for
a pension distribution on December 31, 2016, but didn't make the
distribution until January 7, 2017, you would:
• Go to January on Form 945-A filed with your 2017 return, and
• Enter your tax liability on line 7 because line 7 represents the
seventh day of the month.
Example 1. Cedar Co., which has a semiweekly deposit
schedule, makes periodic payments on gambling winnings on the
15th day of each month. On December 24, 2017, in addition to its
periodic payments, it withheld from a payment on gambling
winnings under the backup withholding rules. Since Cedar Co. is a
semiweekly schedule depositor, it must record these nonpayroll
withholding liabilities on Form 945-A. It must report tax liabilities on
line 15 for each month and line 24 for December.
Cedar Co. enters the monthly totals on lines A through L. It adds
these monthly subtotals and enters the total tax liability for the year
on line M. The amount on line M should equal Form 945, line 3.
