Publication 926 |
2000 Tax Year |
What Forms Must You File?
You must file certain forms to report your household employee's
wages and the federal employment taxes for the employee if you pay any
of the following wages to the employee.
- Social security and Medicare wages.
- FUTA wages.
- Wages from which you withhold federal income tax.
The employment tax forms and instructions you need for 2001 will be
sent to you automatically in January 2002 if you reported employment
taxes for 2000 on Schedule H (Form 1040), Household Employment
Taxes. Otherwise, for information on ordering these forms, see
How To Get Tax Help, later.
Employer identification number (EIN).
You must include your employer identification number (EIN) on the
forms you file for your household employee. An EIN is a 9-digit number
issued by the IRS. It is not the same as a social security number.
You ordinarily will have an EIN if you previously paid taxes for
employees, either as a household employer or as a sole proprietor of a
business you own. If you already have an EIN, use that number.
If you do not have an EIN, get
Form SS-4,
Application for Employer Identification Number. The
instructions for Form SS-4 explain how you can get an EIN
immediately by telephone or in about 4 weeks if you apply by mail.
Form W-2.
File a separate 2001 Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement,
for each household employee to whom you pay either of the
following wages during the year.
- Social security and Medicare wages of $1,300 or more.
- Wages from which you withhold federal income tax.
You must complete Form W-2 and give Copies B, C, and 2 to
your employee by January 31, 2002. You must send Copy A of Form
W-2 with Form W-3, Transmittal of Wage and Tax
Statements, to the Social Security Administration by February
28, 2002 (April 1, 2002, if you file your Form W-2
electronically).
Employee who leaves during the year.
If an employee stops working for you before the end of 2001, you
may file Form W-2 and provide copies to your employee
immediately after you make your final payment of wages. You do not
need to wait until 2002. If the employee asks you for Form W-2,
give it to him or her within 30 days after the request or the last
wage payment, whichever is later.
Schedule H.
Use Schedule H (Form 1040), Household Employment Taxes,
to report household employment taxes if you pay any of the
following wages to the employee.
- Cash wages of $1,300 or more.
- FUTA wages.
- Wages from which you withhold federal income tax.
File Schedule H with your 2001 federal income tax return by
April 15, 2002. If you get an extension to file your return, the
extension will also apply to your Schedule H.
Filing options when no return is required.
If you are not required to file a 2001 tax return, you have the
following two options.
- You can file Schedule H by itself. See the Schedule H
instructions for details.
- If, besides your household employee, you have other
employees for whom you report employment taxes on Form 941 or Form 943
and on Form 940 (or 940-EZ), you can include your taxes for your
household employee on those forms. See Business employment tax
returns, next.
Employers having the options listed above include certain
tax-exempt organizations that do not have to file a tax return, such
as churches that pay a household worker to take care of a minister's
home.
Business employment tax returns.
Do not use Schedule H (Form 1040) if you choose to pay the
employment taxes for your household employee with business or farm
employment taxes. (For information on choosing to pay the taxes that
way, see Payment option for business employers, earlier.)
Instead, include the social security, Medicare, and withheld federal
income taxes for the employee on the
Form 941, Employer's
Quarterly Federal Tax Return, that you file for your business or
on the
Form 943, Employer's
Annual Tax Return for Agricultural Employees, that you file for
your farm. Include the FUTA tax for the employee on your
Form 940 (or 940-EZ),
Employer's Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return.
If you report the employment taxes for your household employee on
Form 941 or Form 943, file Form W-2 for that employee with the
Forms W-2 and Form W-3 for your business or farm
employees.
For information on filing Form 941, get Publication 15. For
information on filing Form 943, get Publication 51,
Circular A,
Agricultural Employer's Tax Guide. Both of these publications
also provide information about filing Form 940 (or 940-EZ).
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