What Records Must You Keep?
Keep your copies of Schedule H or other employment tax forms you file and related Forms W-2, W-3, W-4, and W-5. You must also keep records to support the information you enter on the forms you file. If you must file Form W-2, you will need to keep a record of your employee's name, address, and social security number.
Wage and tax records. On each payday you should record the date and amounts of all the following items.
- Your employee's cash and noncash wages.
- Any employee social security tax you withhold or agree to pay for your employee.
- Any employee Medicare tax you withhold or agree to pay for your employee.
- Any federal income tax you withhold.
- Any advance EIC payments you make.
- Any state employment taxes you withhold.
Employee's social security number. You must keep a record of your employee's name and social security number exactly as they appear on his or her social security card if you pay the employee either of the following.
- Social security and Medicare wages of $1,400 or more.
- Wages from which you withhold federal income tax.
You must ask for your employee's social security number no later than the first day on which you pay the wages. You may wish to ask for it when you hire your employee.
An employee who does not have a social security number must apply for one on Form SS-5, Application for a Social Security Card. An employee who has lost his or her social security card or whose name is not correctly shown on the card should apply for a new card.
Employees can get Form SS-5 from any Social Security Administration office or by calling 1-800-772-1213.
You also can download Form SS-5 from the Social Security Administration web site, www.ssa.gov.
How long to keep records. Keep your employment tax records for at least 4 years after the due date of the return on which you report the taxes or the date the taxes were paid, whichever is later.
Can You Claim a Credit for Child and Dependent Care Expenses?
If your household employee cares for your dependent who is under age 13 or for your spouse or dependent who is not capable of self care, you may be able to take an income tax credit of up to 30% of your expenses. To qualify, you must pay these expenses so you can work or look for work. If you can take the credit, you can include in your qualifying expenses your share of the federal and state employment taxes you pay, as well as the employee's wages. For information about the credit, see Publication 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses.
How To Get Tax Help
You can get help with unresolved tax issues, order free publications and forms, ask tax questions, and get more information from the IRS in several ways. By selecting the method that is best for you, you will have quick and easy access to tax help.
Contacting your Taxpayer Advocate. If you have attempted to deal with an IRS problem unsuccessfully, you should contact your Taxpayer Advocate.
The Taxpayer Advocate represents your interests and concerns within the IRS by protecting your rights and resolving problems that have not been fixed through normal channels. While Taxpayer Advocates cannot change the tax law or make a technical tax decision, they can clear up problems that resulted from previous contacts and ensure that your case is given a complete and impartial review.
To contact your Taxpayer Advocate:
- Call the Taxpayer Advocate at
1-877-777-4778.
- Call, write, or fax the Taxpayer Advocate office in your area.
- Call 1-800-829-4059 if you are a
TTY/TDD user.
For more information, see Publication 1546, The Taxpayer Advocate Service of the IRS.
Free tax services. To find out what services are available, get Publication 910, Guide to Free Tax Services. It contains a list of free tax publications and an index of tax topics. It also describes other free tax information services, including tax education and assistance programs and a list of TeleTax topics.
Personal computer. With your personal computer and modem, you can access the IRS on the Internet at www.irs.gov. While visiting our web site, you can:
- See answers to frequently asked tax questions or request help by e-mail.
- Download forms and publications or search for forms and publications by topic or keyword.
- Order IRS products on-line.
- View forms that may be filled in electronically, print the completed form, and then save the form for recordkeeping.
- View Internal Revenue Bulletins published in the last few years.
- Search regulations and the Internal Revenue Code.
- Receive our electronic newsletters on hot tax issues and news.
- Learn about the benefits of filing electronically (IRS e-file).
- Get information on starting and operating a small business.
You can also reach us with your computer using File Transfer Protocol at ftp.irs.gov.
TaxFax Service. Using the phone attached to your fax machine, you can receive forms and instructions by calling 703-368-9694. Follow the directions from the prompts. When you order forms, enter the catalog number for the form you need. The items you request will be faxed to you.
For help with transmission problems, call the FedWorld Help Desk at 703-487-4608.
Phone. Many services are available by phone.
- Ordering forms, instructions, and publications. Call 1-800-829-3676 to order current and prior year forms, instructions, and publications.
- Asking tax questions. Call the IRS with your tax questions at 1-800-829-1040.
- Solving problems. Take advantage of Everyday Tax Solutions service by calling your local IRS office to set up an in-person appointment at your convenience. Check your local directory assistance or www.irs.gov for the numbers.
- TTY/TDD equipment. If you have access to TTY/TDD equipment, call 1-800-829-4059 to ask tax questions or to order forms and publications.
- TeleTax topics. Call 1-800-829-4477 to listen to pre-recorded messages covering various tax topics.
Evaluating the quality of our telephone services. To ensure that IRS representatives give accurate, courteous, and professional answers, we use several methods to evaluate the quality of our telephone services. One method is for a second IRS representative to sometimes listen in on or record telephone calls. Another is to ask some callers to complete a short survey at the end of the call.
Walk-in. Many products and services are available on a walk-in basis.
- Products. You can walk in to many post offices, libraries, and IRS offices to pick up certain forms, instructions, and publications. Some IRS offices, libraries, grocery stores, copy centers, city and county governments, credit unions, and office supply stores have an extensive collection of products available to print from a CD-ROM or photocopy from reproducible proofs. Also, some IRS offices and libraries have the Internal Revenue Code, regulations, Internal Revenue Bulletins, and Cumulative Bulletins available for research purposes.
- Services. You can walk in to your local IRS office to ask tax questions or get help with a tax problem. Now you can set up an appointment by calling your local IRS office number and, at the prompt, leaving a message requesting Everyday Tax Solutions help. A representative will call you back within 2 business days to schedule an in-person appointment at your convenience.
Mail. You can send your order for forms, instructions, and publications to the Distribution Center nearest to you and receive a response within 10 workdays after your request is received. Find the address that applies to your part of the country.
- Western part of U.S.:
Western Area Distribution Center
Rancho Cordova, CA 95743-0001
- Central part of U.S.:
Central Area Distribution Center
P.O. Box 8903
Bloomington, IL 61702-8903
- Eastern part of U.S. and foreign addresses:
Eastern Area Distribution Center
P.O. Box 85074
Richmond, VA 23261-5074
CD-ROM for tax products. You can order IRS Publication 1796, Federal Tax Products on CD-ROM, and obtain:
- Current tax forms, instructions, and publications.
- Prior-year tax forms and instructions.
- Popular tax forms that may be filled in electronically, printed out for submission, and saved for recordkeeping.
- Internal Revenue Bulletins.
The CD-ROM can be purchased from National Technical Information Service (NTIS) by calling 1-877-233-6767 or on the Internet at http://www.irs.gov/cdorders. The first release is available in early January and the final release is available in late February.
CD-ROM for small businesses. IRS Publication 3207, Small Business Resource Guide, is a must for every small business owner or any taxpayer about to start a business. This handy, interactive CD contains all the business tax forms, instructions, and publications needed to successfully manage a business. In addition, the CD provides an abundance of other helpful information, such as how to prepare a business plan, finding financing for your business, and much more. The design of the CD makes finding information easy and quick and incorporates file formats and browsers that can be run on virtually any desktop or laptop computer.
It is available in March. You can get a free copy by calling 1-800-829-3676 or by visiting the website at www.irs.gov/smallbiz.
Appendix: State Unemployment Tax Agencies
The following list of state unemployment tax agencies was provided to the IRS by the U.S. Department of Labor. If the telephone number listed for your state would be a long distance call from your area, you can use the name of the agency to look for a local number in your telephone book. The addresses and telephone numbers of the agencies, which were current at the time this publication was prepared for print, are subject to change.
For the most up-to-date addresses and telephone numbers for these agencies, you can download this publication from the IRS web site. You can access the IRS web site at www.irs.gov.
- Alabama
Department of Industrial
Relations
649 Monroe Street
Montgomery, AL 36131
(334) 242-8467
www.dir.state.al.us
-
- Alaska
Department of Labor
Employment Security
Division
P O Box 25509
Juneau, AK 99802-5509
(907) 465-5912
www.state.ak.us
-
- Arizona
Department of Economic
Security
3225 N. Central Avenue
Suite 1411
Phoenix, AZ 85012
(602) 248-9396
www.de.state.az.us
-
- Arkansas
Employment Security
Department
P O Box 2981
Little Rock, AR 72203
(501) 682-3253
www.state.ar.us/esd
-
- California
Employment Development
Department
3321 Power Inn Road, Suite 220
Sacramento, CA 95826-6110
(916) 464-3502
www.edd.cahwnet.gov
-
- Colorado
Department of Labor and
Employment
1515 Arapahoe Street
Tower 2, Suite 200
Denver, CO 80202-2117
(800) 480-8299
www.coworkforce.com
-
- Connecticut
Department of Labor
200 Folly Brook Blvd.
Wethersfield, CT 06109-1114
(860) 263-6550
www.ctdol.state.ct.us
-
- Delaware
Department of Labor
4425 North Market Street
Wilmington, DE 19802
(302) 761-8484
www.delawareworks.com
-
- District of Columbia
Department of Employment
Services
609 H Street, NE, Room 354
Washington, DC 20002
(202) 727-1000
http://does.ci.washington.dc.us
-
- Florida
Florida Department of Revenue
5050 West Tennessee Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0100
(800) 482-8293
www.myflorida.com/dor
-
- Georgia
Department of Labor
148 International Blvd.
Suite 800
Atlanta, GA 30303
(404) 656-3122
www.dol.state.ga.us
-
- Hawaii
Department of Labor and
Industrial Relations
830 Punchbowl Street
Room 437
Honolulu, HI 96813
(808) 586-8913
www.state.hi.us/dlir
-
- Idaho
Department of Labor
317 Main Street
Boise, ID 83735-0760
(208) 332-3576
www.labor.state.id.us
-
- Illinois
Department of Employment
Security
401 South State Street
Chicago, IL 60605
(312) 793-4880
www.ides.state.il.us
-
- Indiana
Department of Workforce
Development
10 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 232-7436
www.IN.gov/dwd/
-
- Iowa
Workforce Development
1000 East Grand Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50319
(515) 281-8200
http://www.state.ia.us/government/des
-
- Kansas
Department of Human
Resources
401 SW Topeka Blvd.
Topeka, KS 66603
(785) 296-5025
www.2.hr.state.ks.us
-
- Kentucky
Division of Employment
Services
P O Box 948
Frankfort, KY 40602
(502) 564-6838
www.kycwd.org/des/ui
-
- Louisiana
Department of Labor
P O Box 98146
Baton Rouge, LA 70804
(225) 342-2944
www.ldol.state.la.us
-
- Maine
Department of Labor
P O Box 259
Augusta, ME 04332-0259
(207) 287-3176
www.state.me.us/labor/uibennys
-
- Maryland
Department of Labor,
Licensing & Regulation
1100 North Eutaw Street,
Room 414
Baltimore, MD 21201
(410) 767-2414
www.dllr.state.md.us
-
- Massachusetts
Division of Employment and
Training
19 Staniford Street
Boston, MA 02114
(617) 626-5050
www.detma.org
-
- Michigan
Bureau of Workers' and Unemployment Compensation
3024 West Grand Blvd.
Detroit, MI 48202
(313) 456-2180
www.michigan.gov/bwuc
-
- Minnesota
Department of Economic
Security
390 North Robert Street
St. Paul, MN 55101
(651) 296-6141
www.mnwfc.org
-
- Mississippi
Employment Security
Commission
P O Box 22781
Jackson, MS 39225-2781
(601) 961-7755
www.mesc.state.ms.us
-
- Missouri
Division of Employment Security
P O Box 59
Jefferson City, MO 65104
(573) 751-3215
www.dolir.state.mo.us
-
- Montana
Department of Labor and
Industry
P O Box 1728
Helena, MT 59624
(406) 444-6900
http://dli.state.mt.us
-
- Nebraska
Department of Labor
Box 94600
State House Station
Lincoln, NE 68509
(402) 471-9835
www.dol.state.ne.us
-
- Nevada
Department of Employment
Training and Rehabilitation
500 East Third Street
Carson City, NV 89713
(775) 687-4545
http://detr.state.nv.us/uicont
-
- New Hampshire
Department of Employment
Security
32 South Main Street
Concord, NH 03301
(603) 228-4045
www.nhworks.state.nh.us
-
- New Jersey
Department of Labor
P O Box 947
Trenton, NJ 08625-0947
(609) 292-6400
www.nj.gov/labor/ea
-
- New Mexico
Department of Labor
P O Box 2281
Albuquerque, NM 87103
(505) 841-2000
www.dol.state.nm.us
-
- New York
Department of Labor
State Campus, Building 12,
Room 542
Albany, NY 12240
(800) 225-5829
www.labor.state.ny.us
-
- North Carolina
Employment Security
Commission
P O Box 26504
Raleigh, NC 27611
(919) 733-7395
www.ncesc.com
-
- North Dakota
Job Service of North Dakota
P O Box 5507
Bismarck, ND 58506-5507
(800) 472-2952
www.state.nd.us/jsnd
-
- Ohio
Department of Job and
Family Services
P O Box 182404
Columbus, OH 43218-2404
(614) 466-2319
http://www.state.oh.us/odjfs
-
- Oklahoma
Employment Security
Commission
Will Rogers Memorial
Office Building
2401 North Lincoln
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 557-7226
www.oesc.state.ok.us
-
- Oregon
Employment Department
875 Union Street NE
Salem, OR 97311
(503) 947-1488
www.emp.state.or.us
-
- Pennsylvania
Department of Labor and
Industry
7th and Forster Street
Harrisburg, PA 17121
(717) 787-7679
www.dli.state.pa.us
-
- Puerto Rico
Department of Labor and
Human Resources
P O Box 1020
San Juan, PR 00919
(787) 754-5262
www.interempleo.org
-
- Rhode Island
Department of Labor and
Training
One Capitol Hill
Providence, RI 02908-5829
(401) 222-3696
www.det.state.ri.us
-
- South Carolina
Employment Security
Commission
P O Box 995
Columbia, SC 29202
(803) 737-3070
www.sces.org
-
- South Dakota
Department of Labor
P O Box 4730
Aberdeen, SD 57402
(605) 626-2312
www.state.sd.us/dol
-
- Tennessee
Department of Employment
Security
500 James Robertson Parkway
Davy Crocket Tower, 8th Floor
Nashville, TN 37245-3500
(615) 741-2486
www.state.tn.us/labor-wfd
-
- Texas
Workforce Commission
101 East 15th Street
Austin, TX 78778
(512) 463-2700
www.twc.state.tx.us
-
- Utah
Department of Workforce
Services
P O Box 45249
Salt Lake City, UT 84145-0249
(801) 526-9400
http://jobs.utah.gov
-
- Vermont
Department of Employment
and Training
P O Box 488
Montpelier, VT 05601-0488
(802) 828-4152
www.det.state.vt.us
-
- Virginia
Employment Commission
P O Box 1358
Richmond, VA 23218-1358
(804) 371-6325
www.vec.state.va.us
-
- Virgin Islands
Employment Security Agency
P O Box 3159
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
00803-3159
(340) 776-3700
www.vidol.org
-
- Washington
Employment Security
Department
P O Box 9046
Olympia, WA 98507-9046
(360) 902-9360
www.wa.gov/esd
-
- West Virginia
Bureau of Employment
Programs
112 California Avenue
Charleston, WV 25305-0112
(304) 558-2675
www.state.wv.us/bep
-
- Wisconsin
Department of Workforce
Development
P O Box 7942, GEF 1
Madison, WI 53702
(608) 261-6700
www.dwd.state.wi.us
-
- Wyoming
Department of Employment
P O Box 2760
Casper, WY 82602
(307) 235-3217
www.wyjobs.state.wy.us
-
(See Circular E for income tax withholding tables.)
Table 3. Employee Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) Tax Withholding Table
Use this table to figure the amount of social security and Medicare taxes to withhold from each wage payment. For example, on a wage payment of $180, the employee social security tax is $11.16 ($6.20 tax on $100 plus $4.96 on $80 wages). The employee Medicare tax is $2.61 ($1.45 tax on $100 plus $1.16 on $80 wages).
|
If wage payment is:
|
The social security tax to be withheld is:
|
The Medicare tax to be withheld is:
|
If wage payment is:
|
The social security tax to be withheld is:
|
The Medicare tax to be withheld is:
|
$ 1.00
|
.
|
$ .06
|
$ .01
|
$ 51.00
|
.
|
$ 3.16
|
$ .74
|
2.00
|
.
|
.12
|
.03
|
52.00
|
.
|
3.22
|
.75
|
3.00
|
.
|
.19
|
.04
|
53.00
|
.
|
3.29
|
.77
|
4.00
|
.
|
.25
|
.06
|
54.00
|
.
|
3.35
|
.78
|
5.00
|
.
|
.31
|
.07
|
55.00
|
.
|
3.41
|
.80
|
6.00
|
.
|
.37
|
.09
|
56.00
|
.
|
3.47
|
.81
|
7.00
|
.
|
.43
|
.10
|
57.00
|
.
|
3.53
|
.83
|
8.00
|
.
|
.50
|
.12
|
58.00
|
.
|
3.60
|
.84
|
9.00
|
.
|
.56
|
.13
|
59.00
|
.
|
3.66
|
.86
|
10.00
|
.
|
.62
|
.15
|
60.00
|
.
|
3.72
|
.87
|
11.00
|
.
|
.68
|
.16
|
61.00
|
.
|
3.78
|
.88
|
12.00
|
.
|
.74
|
.17
|
62.00
|
.
|
3.84
|
.90
|
13.00
|
.
|
.81
|
.19
|
63.00
|
.
|
3.91
|
.91
|
14.00
|
.
|
.87
|
.20
|
64.00
|
.
|
3.97
|
.93
|
15.00
|
.
|
.93
|
.22
|
65.00
|
.
|
4.03
|
.94
|
16.00
|
.
|
.99
|
.23
|
66.00
|
.
|
4.09
|
.96
|
17.00
|
.
|
1.05
|
.25
|
67.00
|
.
|
4.15
|
.97
|
18.00
|
.
|
1.12
|
.26
|
68.00
|
.
|
4.22
|
.99
|
19.00
|
.
|
1.18
|
.28
|
69.00
|
.
|
4.28
|
1.00
|
20.00
|
.
|
1.24
|
.29
|
70.00
|
.
|
4.34
|
1.02
|
21.00
|
.
|
1.30
|
.30
|
71.00
|
.
|
4.40
|
1.03
|
22.00
|
.
|
1.36
|
.32
|
72.00
|
.
|
4.46
|
1.04
|
23.00
|
.
|
1.43
|
.33
|
73.00
|
.
|
4.53
|
1.06
|
24.00
|
.
|
1.49
|
.35
|
74.00
|
.
|
4.59
|
1.07
|
25.00
|
.
|
1.55
|
.36
|
75.00
|
.
|
4.65
|
1.09
|
26.00
|
.
|
1.61
|
.38
|
76.00
|
.
|
4.71
|
1.10
|
27.00
|
.
|
1.67
|
.39
|
77.00
|
.
|
4.77
|
1.12
|
28.00
|
.
|
1.74
|
.41
|
78.00
|
.
|
4.84
|
1.13
|
29.00
|
.
|
1.80
|
.42
|
79.00
|
.
|
4.90
|
1.15
|
30.00
|
.
|
1.86
|
.44
|
80.00
|
.
|
4.96
|
1.16
|
31.00
|
.
|
1.92
|
.45
|
81.00
|
.
|
5.02
|
1.17
|
32.00
|
.
|
1.98
|
.46
|
82.00
|
.
|
5.08
|
1.19
|
33.00
|
.
|
2.05
|
.48
|
83.00
|
.
|
5.15
|
1.20
|
34.00
|
.
|
2.11
|
.49
|
84.00
|
.
|
5.21
|
1.22
|
35.00
|
.
|
2.17
|
.51
|
85.00
|
.
|
5.27
|
1.23
|
36.00
|
.
|
2.23
|
.52
|
86.00
|
.
|
5.33
|
1.25
|
37.00
|
.
|
2.29
|
.54
|
87.00
|
.
|
5.39
|
1.26
|
38.00
|
.
|
2.36
|
.55
|
88.00
|
.
|
5.46
|
1.28
|
39.00
|
.
|
2.42
|
.57
|
89.00
|
.
|
5.52
|
1.29
|
40.00
|
.
|
2.48
|
.58
|
90.00
|
.
|
5.58
|
1.31
|
41.00
|
.
|
2.54
|
.59
|
91.00
|
.
|
5.64
|
1.32
|
42.00
|
.
|
2.60
|
.61
|
92.00
|
.
|
5.70
|
1.33
|
43.00
|
.
|
2.67
|
.62
|
93.00
|
.
|
5.77
|
1.35
|
44.00
|
.
|
2.73
|
.64
|
94.00
|
.
|
5.83
|
1.36
|
45.00
|
.
|
2.79
|
.65
|
95.00
|
.
|
5.89
|
1.38
|
46.00
|
.
|
2.85
|
.67
|
96.00
|
.
|
5.95
|
1.39
|
47.00
|
.
|
2.91
|
.68
|
97.00
|
.
|
6.01
|
1.41
|
48.00
|
.
|
2.98
|
.70
|
98.00
|
.
|
6.08
|
1.42
|
49.00
|
.
|
3.04
|
.71
|
99.00
|
.
|
6.14
|
1.44
|
50.00
|
.
|
3.10
|
.73
|
100.00
|
.
|
6.20
|
1.45
|
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