944 Employer�s ANNUAL Federal Tax Return

Employer's Annual Employment Tax Return

08f944

Employer's Annual Employment Tax Return

OMB: 1545-2007

⚠️ Notice: This form may be outdated. More recent filings and information on OMB 1545-2007 can be found here:

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2008 Form 944, Employer’s
ANNUAL Federal Tax Return

Purpose: This is the first circulation of the 2008 Form 944 for review and comment.
The major changes are discussed on page 2. This circulation includes the mailout
version and the over-the-counter version of Form 944.
TPCC Meeting:

None scheduled.

Prior Version: The 2007 Form 944 is available at:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f944.pdf .
Instructions: The 2008 Instructions for Form 944 will be circulated separately.
The 2007 instructions are available at:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i944.pdf
Other Products: Circulations of draft tax forms and instructions are posted at
http://taxforms.web.irs.gov/Circulations/index.htm
Comments: Please email, fax, or call with any comments by July 15, 2008, and
email the reviewer, Ron Gamble, at Ronald.W.Gamble@irs.gov .

Robert M. Coar, Tax Law Specialist
Business Branch, Tax Forms and Publications
Cubbie C-7-266, NCFB
SE:W:CAR:MP:T:B:P
Phone: (202) 283-0659
Fax: (202) 283-7008
Email: Robert.M.Coar@irs.gov

June 20, 2008

2008 Form 944, Employer’s ANNUAL Federal Tax Return
Major Changes
1. A paid preparer is now required to sign Form 944, beginning with the 2008
return. The paid preparer jurat has been added to taxpayer jurat in Part 5. The
jurat is identical to the paid preparer jurat on Form 1040. Part 6 has been
deleted. The paid preparer’s section is now called Paid Preparer’s Use Only (to
agree with Form 1040) and is a separate section within Part 5. Section 8246 of
the Small Business and Work Opportunity Tax Act of 2007 and Notice 2008-13.
2. We made some formatting changes to the paid preparer section so that
Form 940, Form 941, and Form 944 will look the same and request the same
information. An entry field for the firm’s phone number has been added to
Form 944.
3. We deleted “Total” from the start of line 2 at the request of Submission
Processing. Some taxpayers are entering the line 1 amount on line 2.
4. We have deleted the separate page 2 for the mailout version of Form 944.
The only difference between the two versions of page 2 (mailout and over-thecounter) is the gray shading in the name and EIN fields on the mailout version. .
There will now be one page for both the mailout and the over-the counter
Form 944. This change was coordinated with submission processing and the
printing specialist.
The following changes have been made on Form 941 for the 1st quarter of 2008
and are being made on Form 944.
5. On line 11, we deleted the reference to the payment voucher and replaced it
with “For information on how to pay, see the instructions.” This was suggested
by the Electronic Payments Branch to reduce the emphasis on paying by check
or money order. The instructions will describe all methods of payment.
6. An entry box for the phone number has been added to the third party designee
section. This was suggested by the National Association of Computer Tax
Professionals (NACTP) to be consistent with other payroll forms.
7. The line for the PIN in the third party designee section has been moved to the
right, based on an employee suggestion.

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Date

OTC

Version A

I.R.S. SPECIFICATIONS

TO BE REMOVED BEFORE PRINTING

INSTRUCTIONS TO PRINTERS
FORM 944, PAGE 1 of 4
MARGINS: TOP 13 mm (1⁄ 2 ") CENTER SIDES.
PAPER: WHITE, WRITING, SUB. 20
FLAT SIZE: 216 mm (81⁄ 2 ") x 279 mm (11")
PERFORATE: NONE

PRINTS: HEAD TO HEAD
INK: BLACK

DO NOT PRINT — DO NOT PRINT — DO NOT PRINT — DO NOT PRINT

Form

Action

Revised proofs
requested

Employer’s ANNUAL Federal Tax Return
Department of the Treasury — Internal Revenue Service

(77)

OMB No. 1545-2007

Who Must File Form 944

—

Employer identification number (EIN)

You must file annual
Form 944 instead of filing
quarterly Forms 941
only if the IRS notified
you in writing.

Name (not your trade name)
Trade name (if any)
Address

Signature

O.K. to print

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944 for 2008:

Date

Number

Street

Suite or room number

City

State

ZIP code

Read the separate instructions before you complete Form 944. Type or print within the boxes.
Part 1: Answer these questions for 2008.
1 Wages, tips, and other compensation

2 Income tax withheld from wages, tips, and other compensation

.
.

3 If no wages, tips, and other compensation are subject to social security or Medicare tax
4 Taxable social security and Medicare wages and tips:
Column 1
Column 2

Check and go to line 5.

4a Taxable social security wages
4b Taxable social security tips
4c Taxable Medicare wages & tips

.
.
.

3 .124 =
3 .124 =
3 .029 =

.
.
.

4d Total social security and Medicare taxes (Column 2, lines 4a + 4b + 4c = line 4d)
5 Total taxes before adjustments (lines 2 + 4d = line 5)
6 TAX ADJUSTMENTS. Read the instructions for line 6 before completing lines 6a through 6e.
6a Current year’s adjustments

6b Prior years’ income tax withholding adjustments. Attach
Form 941c

6c Prior years’ social security and Medicare tax adjustments.
Attach Form 941c

6d Special additions to federal income tax. Attach Form 941c

6e Special additions to social security and Medicare taxes.
Attach Form 941c

.
.

4d
5

.
.
.
.
.

6f TOTAL ADJUSTMENTS. Combine all amounts on lines 6a through 6e

.
.
.
.
.
.

7 Total taxes after adjustments. Combine lines 5 and 6f

8 Advance earned income credit (EIC) payments made to employees

9 Total taxes after adjustment for advance EIC (line 7 – line 8 = line 9)

10 Total deposits for this year, including overpayment applied from a prior year

11 Balance due. If line 9 is more than line 10, write the difference here. For information on how to
pay, see the instructions
11
12 Overpayment. If line 10 is more than line 9, write the difference here

Check one

© You MUST complete both pages of Form 944 and SIGN it.
For Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see the back of the Payment Voucher.

Apply to next return.
Send a refund.
Next ©

Cat. No. 39316N

Form

944

(2008)

TLS, have you
transmitted all R
text files for this
cycle update?

Date

MAILOUT
I.R.S. SPECIFICATIONS

Version A

TO BE REMOVED BEFORE PRINTING

INSTRUCTIONS TO PRINTERS
FORM 944, PAGE 1 of 4
MARGINS: TOP 13 mm (1⁄ 2 ") CENTER SIDES.
PAPER: WHITE, WRITING, SUB. 20
FLAT SIZE: 216 mm (81⁄ 2 ") x 279 mm (11")
PERFORATE: NONE

PRINTS: HEAD TO HEAD
INK: BLACK

DO NOT PRINT — DO NOT PRINT — DO NOT PRINT — DO NOT PRINT

Form

944 for 2008:

Action

Date

Signature

O.K. to print
Revised proofs
requested

Employer’s ANNUAL Federal Tax Return
Department of the Treasury — Internal Revenue Service

(77)

OMB No. 1545-2007

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Who Must File Form 944
You must file annual
Form 944 instead of filing
quarterly Forms 941
only if the IRS notified
you in writing.

Read the separate instructions before you complete Form 944. Type or print within the boxes.
Part 1: Answer these questions for 2008.

2 Income tax withheld from wages, tips, and other compensation

.
.

3 If no wages, tips, and other compensation are subject to social security or Medicare tax
4 Taxable social security and Medicare wages and tips:
Column 1
Column 2

Check and go to line 5.

1 Wages, tips, and other compensation

4a Taxable social security wages
4b Taxable social security tips
4c Taxable Medicare wages & tips

3 .124 =

.
.

3 .124 =
3 .029 =

.
.

6b Prior years’ income tax withholding adjustments. Attach
Form 941c

6c Prior years’ social security and Medicare tax adjustments.
Attach Form 941c

6d Special additions to federal income tax. Attach Form 941c

6e Special additions to social security and Medicare taxes.
Attach Form 941c

.
.

4d
5

.
.
.
.
.

6f TOTAL ADJUSTMENTS. Combine all amounts on lines 6a through 6e

.
.
.
.
.
.

7 Total taxes after adjustments. Combine lines 5 and 6f

8 Advance earned income credit (EIC) payments made to employees

9 Total taxes after adjustment for advance EIC (line 7 – line 8 = line 9)

10 Total deposits for this year, including overpayment applied from a prior year

Check one

© You MUST complete both pages of Form 944 and SIGN it.
For Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see the back of the Payment Voucher.

Apply to next return.
Send a refund.
Next ©

Cat. No. 39316N

Form

944

(2008)

OTC

I.R.S. SPECIFICATIONS

TO BE REMOVED BEFORE PRINTING

INSTRUCTIONS TO PRINTERS
FORM 944, PAGE 2 of 4
MARGINS: TOP 13 mm (1⁄ 2 ") CENTER SIDES.
PAPER: WHITE, WRITING, SUB. 20
FLAT SIZE: 216 mm (81⁄ 2 ") x 279 mm (11")
PERFORATE: NONE

PRINTS: HEAD TO HEAD
INK: BLACK

DO NOT PRINT — DO NOT PRINT — DO NOT PRINT — DO NOT PRINT

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Name (not your trade name)

Employer identification number (EIN)

Part 2: Tell us about your tax liability for 2008.
13 Check one:

Line 9 is less than $2,500. Go to Part 3.

Line 9 is $2,500 or more. Enter your tax liability for each month. If you are a semiweekly depositor or you accumulate
$100,000 or more of liability on any day during a deposit period, you must complete Form 945-A instead of the boxes below.
Jan.
Apr.
Jul.
Oct.

13a

13d

Feb.

May

13b

Aug.

13e

Mar.

13h

Jun.

13c

.
.
.

13g

Sep.

13f

13i

Total liability for year. Add lines 13a through 13l. Total must equal line 9.

13j
Nov.
13k
Dec.
13l

13m

.
.
.
.

If you made deposits of taxes reported on this form, write the state abbreviation for the state where you
made your deposits OR write MU if you made your deposits in multiple states.

Part 3: Tell us about your business. If question 15 does NOT apply to your business, leave it blank.
15 If your business has closed or you stopped paying wages...
Check here and enter the final date you paid wages.

Part 4: May we speak with your third-party designee?
Do you want to allow an employee, a paid tax preparer, or another person to discuss this return with the IRS? See the instructions
for details.
(

Yes. Designee’s name and phone number

)

–

Select a 5-digit Personal Identification Number (PIN) to use when talking to IRS.
No.

Part 5: Sign here. You MUST complete both pages of Form 944 and SIGN it.
Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this return, including accompanying schedules and statements, and to the best of my knowledge
and belief, it is true, correct, and complete. Declaration of preparer (other than taxpayer) is based on all information of which preparer has any knowledge.

Print your
name here

Sign your
name here

Date

Print your
title here
/

Best daytime phone (

Paid preparer’s use only

Preparer’s
SSN/PTIN

Preparer’s signature

Date

Firm’s name (or yours
if self-employed)

EIN

Address

Phone

Page

State

–

Check if you are self-employed

Preparer’s name

City

)

(

)

–

ZIP code

Form

944

(2008)

OTC

I.R.S. SPECIFICATIONS
TO BE REMOVED BEFORE PRINTING
INSTRUCTIONS TO PRINTERS
FORM 944 PAGE 3 of 4
MARGINS: TOP 13 mm (1⁄ 2 ") CENTER SIDES.
PRINTS: HEAD TO HEAD
PAPER: WHITE, WRITING, SUB. 20
INK: BLACK
FLAT SIZE: 216 mm (81⁄ 2 ") x 279 mm (11")
PERFORATE: 73⁄ 4 " FROM TOP (31⁄ 4 " FROM BOTTOM)
DO NOT PRINT — DO NOT PRINT — DO NOT PRINT — DO NOT PRINT

Form 944-V,
Payment Voucher

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Purpose of Form

Complete Form 944-V, Payment Voucher, if you are
making a payment with Form 944, Employer’s ANNUAL
Federal Tax Return. We will use the completed voucher
to credit your payment more promptly and accurately,
and to improve our service to you.
If you have your return prepared by a third party and
make a payment with that return, please provide this
payment voucher to the return preparer.

Caution. Use Form 944-V when making any payment
with Form 944. However, if you pay an amount with
Form 944 that should have been deposited, you may
be subject to a penalty. See Deposit Penalties in
section 11 of Pub. 15 (Circular E).

Specific Instructions

Making Payments With Form 944

Box 1—Employer identification number (EIN). If you
do not have an EIN, apply for one on Form SS-4,
Application for Employer Identification Number, and
write “Applied For” and the date you applied in this
entry space.

To avoid a penalty, make your payment with your 2008
Form 944 only if one of the following applies.

Box 2—Amount paid. Enter the amount paid with
Form 944.

● Your net taxes for the year (line 9 on Form 944) are
less than $2,500 and you are paying in full with a
timely filed return.

Box 3—Name and address. Enter your name and
address as shown on Form 944.

● You already deposited the taxes you owed for the
first, second, and third quarters of 2008, and the tax
you owe for the fourth quarter of 2008 is less than
$2,500, and you are paying, in full, the tax you owe for
the fourth quarter of 2008 with a timely filed return.

● Enclose your check or money order made payable to
the “United States Treasury” and write your EIN, “Form
944,” and “2008” on your check or money order. Do
not send cash. Do not attach Form 944-V or your
payment to Form 944 (or to each other). staple

● You are a monthly schedule depositor making a
payment in accordance with the Accuracy of Deposits
Rule. See section 11 of Pub. 15 (Circular E),
Employer’s Tax Guide, for details. In this case, the
amount of your payment may be $2,500 or more.

Note. You must also complete the entity information
above Part 1 on Form 944.

● Detach Form 944-V and send it with your payment
and Form 944 to the address provided in the
Instructions for Form 944.

Otherwise, you must deposit your payment at an
authorized financial institution or by using the
Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS). See
section 11 of Pub. 15 (Circular E) for deposit
instructions. Do not use Form 944-V to make federal
tax deposits.

Form

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service (77)

1 Enter your employer identification
number (EIN).

✃

✁
944-V

Detach Here and Mail With Your Payment and Form 944.
Ä

Payment Voucher

OMB No. 1545-2007

Do not attach this voucher or your payment to Form 944.

2008

staple
©

Dollars

Enter the amount of your payment.

3 Enter your business name (individual name if sole proprietor).

Enter your address.

Enter your city, state, and ZIP code.

Cents

MAILOUT

I.R.S. SPECIFICATIONS
TO BE REMOVED BEFORE PRINTING
INSTRUCTIONS TO PRINTERS
FORM 944 PAGE 3 of 4
MARGINS: TOP 13 mm (1⁄ 2 ") CENTER SIDES.
PRINTS: HEAD TO HEAD
PAPER: WHITE, WRITING, SUB. 20
INK: BLACK and PMS 332 (Green)
FLAT SIZE: 216 mm (81⁄ 2 ") x 279 mm (11")
PERFORATE: 73⁄ 4 " FROM TOP (31⁄ 4 " FROM BOTTOM)
DO NOT PRINT — DO NOT PRINT — DO NOT PRINT — DO NOT PRINT

Separation 1: Black

Separation 2: PMS 332 (Green)

Form 944-V,
Payment Voucher

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Purpose of Form

Making Payments With Form 944

To avoid a penalty, make your payment with your 2008
Form 944 only if one of the following applies.
● Your net taxes for the year (line 9 on Form 944) are
less than $2,500 and you are paying in full with a
timely filed return.
● You already deposited the taxes you owed for the
first, second, and third quarters of 2008, and the tax
you owe for the fourth quarter of 2008 is less than
$2,500, and you are paying, in full, the tax you owe for
the fourth quarter of 2008 with a timely filed return.
● You are a monthly schedule depositor making a
payment in accordance with the Accuracy of Deposits
Rule. See section 11 of Pub. 15 (Circular E),
Employer’s Tax Guide, for details. In this case, the
amount of your payment may be $2,500 or more.

Specific Instructions

● Enter on the voucher the amount paid with
Form 944.
staple

● Enclose your check or money order made payable to
the “United States Treasury.” Be sure also to enter
your EIN, “Form 944,” and “2008” on your check or
money order. Do not send cash. Do not attach Form
944-V or your payment to Form 944 (or to each other).
● Detach Form 944-V and send it with your payment
and Form 944 to the address in the Instructions for
Form 944. Do not send a photocopy of Form 944-V
because your payment may be misapplied or delayed.
If any of the preprinted information is incorrect, make
changes on the top of Form 944, not on the payment
voucher. If you change any of the preprinted
information on the voucher, your payment may be
misapplied or delayed.

Detach Here and Mail With Your Payment and Form 944.
Ä

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Ä
OMB No. 1545-2007

2008

Form 944-V, Payment Voucher

Do not attach this voucher or your payment to Form 944.

staple

✃

✁
©

Enter the amount of
your payment

Dollars
©

Cents

OTC & MAILOUT

I.R.S. SPECIFICATIONS
TO BE REMOVED BEFORE PRINTING
INSTRUCTIONS TO PRINTERS
FORM 944, PAGE 4 of 4
MARGINS: TOP 13 mm (1⁄ 2 ") CENTER SIDES.
PRINTS: HEAD TO HEAD
PAPER: WHITE, WRITING, SUB. 20
INK: BLACK
FLAT SIZE: 216 mm (81⁄ 2 ") x 279 mm (11")
PERFORATE: NONE
DO NOT PRINT — DO NOT PRINT — DO NOT PRINT — DO NOT PRINT

Form 944 (2008)

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Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice.
We ask for the information on this form to carry out the
Internal Revenue laws of the United States. We need it
to figure and collect the right amount of tax. Subtitle C,
Employment Taxes, of the Internal Revenue Code
imposes employment taxes on wages, including
income tax withholding. This form is used to determine
the amount of the taxes that you owe. Section 6011
requires you to provide the requested information if the
tax is applicable to you. Section 6109 requires you to
provide your employer identification number (EIN). If
you fail to provide this information in a timely manner,
you may be subject to penalties and interest.
You are not required to provide the information
requested on a form that is subject to the Paperwork
Reduction Act unless the form displays a valid OMB
control number. Books and records relating to a form
or instructions must be retained as long as their
contents may become material in the administration of
any Internal Revenue law.

Generally, tax returns and return information are
confidential, as required by section 6103. However,
section 6103 allows or requires the IRS to disclose or
give the information shown on your tax return to others
as described in the Code. For example, we may
disclose your tax information to the Department of

Justice for civil and criminal litigation, and to cities,
states, and the District of Columbia for use in
administering their tax laws. We may also disclose this
information to other countries under a tax treaty, to
federal and state agencies to enforce federal nontax
criminal laws, or to federal law enforcement and
intelligence agencies to combat terrorism.
The time needed to complete and file Form 944 will
vary depending on individual circumstances. The
estimated average time is:
Recordkeeping
Learning about the law or the form
Preparing the form
Copying, assembling, and sending
the form to the IRS

12 hrs., 12 min.
40 min.
1 hr., 49 min.
16 min.

If you have comments concerning the accuracy of
these time estimates or suggestions for making Form
944 simpler, we would be happy to hear from you. You
can write to: Internal Revenue Service, Tax Products
Coordinating Committee, SE:W:CAR:MP:T:T:SP, 1111
Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6526, Washington, DC
20224. Do not send Form 944 to this address. Instead,
see Where Should You File? on page 4 of the
Instructions for Form 944.

Printed on recycled paper

File Type	application/pdf
File Title	2008 Form 944
Subject	Employer's Annual Federal Tax Return
Author	SE:W:CAR:MP
File Modified	2008-06-20
File Created	2008-03-19