Now, more than ever before, 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.

Spend less time and worry on taxes and more time running your business. Use e-file and the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) to your benefit.

You can use your American Express® Card, Discover® Card, MasterCard® card, or Visa® card to pay the balance due shown on Form 940, Form 941, Form 944, or Form 944(SP). To pay by credit card, call toll-free or visit the website of either service provider listed below and follow the instructions. A convenience fee will be charged by the service provider based on the amount you are paying. Fees vary between the providers. You will be told what the fee is during the transaction and you will have the option to either continue or cancel the transaction. You can also find out what the fee will be by calling the provider's toll-free automated customer service number or by visiting the provider's website shown below. If you pay by credit card before filing your return, enter the confirmation number you were given at the end of the transaction and the amount you charged (not including the convenience fee) in the upper-left corner margin on page 1 of the form. You may not use a credit card to pay taxes that are required to be deposited.

You can provide Forma W-4(SP), Certificado de Exención de la Retención del(la) Empleado(a), in place of Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate, to your Spanish-speaking employees. For more information, see Publication 579SP, Cómo Preparar la Declaración de Impuesto Federal. You can also provide Forma W-5(SP), Certificado del Pago por Adelantado del Crédito por Ingreso del Trabajo, in place of Form W-5, Earned Income Credit Advance Payment Certificate. For nonemployees, new Forma 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.

You may be required to file information returns to report certain types of payments made during the year. For example, you must file Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income, 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 or magnetic media filing, see the 2007 General Instructions for Forms 1099, 1098, 5498, and W-2G for general information and the separate, specific instructions for each information return that you file (for example, 2007 Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC). Do not use Forms 1099 to report wages and other compensation that you paid to employees; report these on Form W-2. See the separate Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 for details about filing Form W-2 and for information about required electronic filing. If you file 250 or more Forms 1099, you must file them electronically or on magnetic media. If you file 250 or more Forms W-2, you must file them electronically. SSA will not accept Forms W-2 and W-3 filed on tape or cartridge.

Nonpayroll federal income tax withholding must be reported on Form 945, Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax. Form 945 is an annual tax return and the return for 2006 is due January 31, 2007. Separate deposits are required for payroll (Form 941 or Form 944) and nonpayroll (Form 945) withholding. Nonpayroll items include:

For details on depositing and reporting nonpayroll income tax withholding, see the Instructions for Form 945.

All income tax withholding reported on Forms 1099 or Form W-2G must also be reported on Form 945. All income tax withholding reported on Form W-2 must be reported on Form 941, Form 943, Form 944, or Schedule H (Form 1040).

Backup withholding.   You generally must withhold 28% of certain taxable payments if the payee fails to furnish you with his or her correct taxpayer identification number (TIN). This withholding is referred to as “backup withholding.”

  Payments subject to backup withholding include interest, dividends, patronage dividends, rents, royalties, commissions, nonemployee compensation, and certain other payments that 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 does not apply to wages, pensions, annuities, IRAs (including simplified employee pension (SEP) and SIMPLE retirement plans), section 404(k) distributions from an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), medical savings accounts, health savings accounts, long-term-care benefits, or real estate transactions.

  You can use Form W-9 or Forma W-9(SP) to request that payees furnish a TIN and to certify that the number furnished is correct. You can also use Form W-9 or Forma W-9(SP) to get certifications from payees that they are not subject to backup withholding or that they are exempt from backup withholding. The Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9 (also available in Spanish) includes a list of types of payees who are exempt from backup withholding. For more information, see Publication 1281, Backup Withholding for Missing and Incorrect Name/TIN(s).

Keep all records of employment taxes for at least 4 years. These should be available for IRS review. Your records should include:

To notify the IRS of a new business mailing address or business location, file Form 8822, Change of Address. For information on how to change your address for deposit coupons, see Making deposits with FTD coupons in section 11.

You can use certain private delivery services designated by the IRS to mail tax returns and payments. The list includes only the following:

Your private delivery service can tell you how to get written proof of the mailing date.

If you have attempted to deal with an IRS problem unsuccessfully, you should contact your Taxpayer Advocate. The Taxpayer Advocate independently 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:

For more information, see Publication 1546, The Taxpayer Advocate Service (now available in Chinese, Korean, Russian, and Vietnamese, in addition to English and Spanish).

Generally, your filing address for Forms 940, 941, 943, 944, and 945 depends on the location of your residence or principal place of business and whether or not you included a payment with your return. There are separate filing addresses for these returns if you are a tax-exempt organization or government entity. If you are located in the United States and do not include a payment with your return, you should file at either the Cincinnati or Ogden Service Centers. File Form CT-1 (for railroad retirement taxes) at the Cincinnati Service Center. See the separate instructions for Form 940, 941, 943, 944, 945, or CT-1 for details on where to file.

The Internal Revenue Service is a proud partner with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. 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.