| Instructions for Form 940-EZ |
2003 Tax Year |
General Instructions
This is archived information that pertains only to the 2003 Tax Year. If you
are looking for information for the current tax year, go to the Tax Prep Help Area.
*Do not file Form 940-EZ if —
- You owe FUTA tax only for household work in a private home. See Household employers on page 2.
- You are a successor employer claiming a credit for state unemployment contributions paid by a prior employer. File Form 940.
**If you deposited all FUTA tax when due, you may answer “ Yes” if you paid all state unemployment contributions by February 10, 2004.
You can get Form 940 and the Instructions for Form 940 by calling the IRS at 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676) or by
visiting the IRS website at
www.irs.gov.
Electronic deposit requirement.
You may be required to deposit Federal taxes, such as employment tax, excise tax, and corporate income tax, using
the Electronic Federal Tax
Payment System (EFTPS). See Electronic deposit requirement on page 3.
Electronic filing option.
File electronically using Form 940 and receive proof of filing acknowledgement. Electronic payment options may also
be available. Visit the IRS
website at www.irs.gov/efile for details.
Enhanced Third Party Designee authority.
The authority given to a representative when a filer completes the Third Party Designee section of Form 940-EZ has been enhanced
and is now revocable. Third-party designees will now be able to exchange information with the IRS concerning Form 940-EZ. They may
also request and receive written tax information relating to Form 940-EZ including copies of specific notices, correspondence,
and account
transcripts. The named third-party designee may now be any individual, corporation, firm, organization, or partnership. As
a result, the enhanced
Third Party Designee authorization will be substantially equivalent to Form 8821, Tax Information Authorization. See Third Party
Designee on page 5 for details.
FUTA rate.
The (net) FUTA rate of .8% (FUTA tax rate of 6.2% less state credit of 5.4%) is shown as .008 on line 6 of Form 940-EZ.
If you qualify to file Form
940-EZ, you are entitled to the full 5.4% state credit regardless of your actual experience rate.
Mailing address change.
You may need to mail the return to a different address than in previous years because the IRS has changed the filing
location for several areas. If
an envelope was received with the tax package, please use it. Otherwise, see Where To File on page 2.
Signature on Form 940-EZ.
Only an authorized individual may sign Form 940-EZ. See Signature on page 5.
State unemployment information.
You must contact your state unemployment tax office to receive your state reporting number, state experience rate,
and details about your state
unemployment tax obligations.
Web-based application for an EIN.
You may now apply for an employer identification number (EIN) online by visiting the IRS website at www.irs.gov/smallbiz. See also
Employer identification number (EIN) on page 4.
Photographs of Missing Children
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 instructions 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.
Use Form 940-EZ (or Form 940) to report your annual Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) tax. FUTA tax, together with state
unemployment systems,
provides for payments of unemployment compensation to workers who have lost their jobs. Most employers pay both Federal and
state unemployment
taxes. Only the employer pays this tax. Do not collect or deduct it from your employees' wages. The tax applies to the first $7,000 you pay
each employee in a year after subtracting any exempt payments. The $7,000 amount is the Federal wage base. Your state wage
base may be different.
File Form 940-EZ for 2003 by February 2, 2004. However, if you deposited all FUTA tax when due, you may file on or before
February 10, 2004. Your
return will be considered timely filed if it is properly addressed and mailed First Class or sent by an IRS designated delivery
service by the due
date. See Circular E (Pub. 15), Employer's Tax Guide, for a list of designated delivery services. Also see Where To File below.
Private delivery services cannot deliver items to P.O. boxes.
Except as noted below, you must file if Test 1 or Test 2 below applies.
Test 1. You paid wages of $1,500 or more in any calendar quarter in 2002 or 2003.
Test 2. You had one or more employees for at least some part of a day in any 20 or more different weeks in 2002 or 20 or more different
weeks in 2003.
Count all regular, temporary, and part-time employees. A partnership should not count its partners. If a business changes
hands during the year,
each employer who meets Test 1 or 2 must file. For purposes of Test 1 or Test 2 only, do not include wages paid by the prior (or
subsequent) employer.
Household employers.
File a FUTA tax return only if you paid total cash wages of $1,000 or more (for all household employees) in any calendar quarter in 2002
or 2003 for household work in a private home, local college club, or local chapter of a college fraternity or sorority. Individuals,
estates, and
trusts that owe FUTA tax for household work in a private home, in most cases, must file Schedule H (Form 1040), Household
Employment Taxes, instead of Form 940 or Form 940-EZ. See the Instructions for Schedule H (Form 1040), Household Employers.
In some cases, such as when you employ both household employees and other employees, you may choose to report social
security, Medicare, and
withheld Federal income taxes for your household employee(s) on Form 941, Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return, or Form 943,
Employer's Annual Federal Tax Return for Agricultural Employees, instead of on Schedule H. If you choose to report on Form
941 or Form 943, you must
use Form 940 or Form 940-EZ to report FUTA tax.
Agricultural employers.
File a FUTA tax return if either 1 or 2 below applies:
- You paid cash wages of $20,000 or more to farmworkers during any calendar quarter in 2002 or 2003 or
- You employed 10 or more farmworkers during some part of a day (whether or not at the same time) during any 20 or more different
weeks in
2002 or 20 or more different weeks in 2003.
Count wages paid to aliens admitted on a temporary basis to the United States to perform farmwork, also known as workers
with “ H-2(A)” visas,
to see if you meet either 1 or 2 above. However, wages paid to “ H-2(A)” visa workers are not subject to FUTA tax.
Indian tribal governments.
Services rendered to a Federally-recognized Indian tribal government (including any subdivision, subsidiary, or wholly-owned
business enterprise)
after December 20, 2000 are exempt from FUTA tax (and no Form 940 or Form 940-EZ for 2003 is required), subject to the tribe's
compliance with
applicable state law. For procedures on amending a 2000 Form 940 or Form 940-EZ, see Announcement 2001-16, I.R.B. 2001-8,
February 20, 2001. You can
find Announcement 2001-16 on page 715 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 2001-8 at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb01-08.pdf. Also see section
3309(d).
Nonprofit organizations.
Religious, educational, charitable, etc., organizations described in section 501(c)(3) and exempt from tax under section
501(a) are not subject to
FUTA tax and are not required to file.
State and local government employers.
State or local government employers are not subject to FUTA tax and are not required to file.
In the list below, find the location where your legal residence, principal place of business, office, or agency is located.
Send your return to
the Internal Revenue Service at the address listed for your location. No street address is needed.
Note:
Where you file depends on whether or not you are including a payment.
| Exception for exempt organizations and government entities. If you are filing Form 940-EZ
for an exempt organization or government entity (Federal, state, local, or Indian tribal), use the following addresses, regardless
of location:
|
Return without payment:
Ogden, UT 84201-0047
|
Return with payment:
P.O. Box 660351
Dallas, TX 75266-0351
|
| Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky,
Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
South Carolina,
Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin
|
Return without payment:
Cincinnati, OH 45999-0047
|
Return with payment:
P.O. Box 105659
Atlanta, GA 30348-5659
|
| Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia,
Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota,
Oklahoma, Oregon, South
Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
|
Return without payment:
Ogden, UT 84201-0047
|
Return with payment:
P.O. Box 660351
Dallas, TX 75266-0351
|
| Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands |
|
Return without payment:
Philadelphia, PA 19255-0047
|
Return with payment:
P.O. Box 80105
Cincinnati, OH 45280-0005
|
| If the location of your legal residence, principal place of business, office,
or agency is not listed above—
|
| |
All Returns:
Philadelphia, PA 19255-0047
|
Use a new Form 940-EZ to amend a previously filed Form 940-EZ. Check the “Amended Return” box above Part I. Enter all amounts that
should have been on the original return, and sign the form. Attach an explanation of the reasons for the amended return. File
the amended return with
the Internal Revenue Service Center where you filed the original return. Do not mail an amended Form 940-EZ (even if it includes a payment)
to a P.O. box location.
If you were required to file Form 940 but filed Form 940-EZ instead and you must correct an error, file the amended return
on Form 940. See
the Instructions for Form 940.
Credit for Contributions Paid
to a State Fund
You get a credit for amounts you pay to a state (including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands)
unemployment fund by
February 2, 2004 (or February 10, 2004, if that is your Form 940-EZ due date). This credit is reflected in the FUTA tax rate
of .008 shown on line 6.
See FUTA rate on page 1.
“Contributions” are payments that a state requires an employer to make to its unemployment fund for the payment of unemployment benefits.
However, contributions do not include:
- Any payments deducted or deductible from your employees' pay.
- Penalties, interest, or special administrative taxes not included in the contribution rate the state assigned to you.
- Voluntary contributions you paid to get a lower assigned rate.
Be sure to enter your state reporting number on line B(2) at the top of the form. The IRS needs this to verify your state
contributions.
When to deposit.
Although Form 940-EZ covers a calendar year, you may have to make deposits of the tax before filing the return. Generally,
deposit FUTA tax
quarterly if your FUTA tax exceeds $100. Determine your FUTA tax for each of the first three quarters by multiplying by .008
that part of the first
$7,000 of each employee's annual wages you paid during the quarter.
If your FUTA tax for any of the first three quarters of 2003 (plus any undeposited amount of $100 or less from any
earlier quarter) is over $100,
deposit it by the last day of the first month after the end of the quarter. If it is $100 or less, carry it to the next quarter;
a deposit is not
required. If your FUTA tax for the fourth quarter (plus any undeposited amount from any earlier quarter) is over $100, deposit
the entire amount by
February 2, 2004. If it is $100 or less, you can either make a deposit or pay it with your Form 940-EZ by February 2, 2004.
(If you deposit it by
February 2, 2004, you may file Form 940-EZ by February 10, 2004.)
The deposit due dates are shown in the following chart:
| If undeposited FUTA tax is over $100 on— |
Deposit it by— |
| March 31 |
April 30 |
| June 30 |
July 31 |
| September 30 |
October 31 |
| December 31 |
January 31 |
If any deposit due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, you may deposit on the next business day.
How to deposit.
If you choose not to enroll in EFTPS and are not required to use the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS)
(see Electronic deposit
requirement below), you may use Form 8109, Federal Tax Deposit Coupon, when you make each tax deposit. The IRS will pre-enroll you in
EFTPS when you apply for an employer identification number (EIN). Follow the instructions in your EIN Package to activate
your enrollment and begin
making your tax deposits.
For new employers, if you would like to receive a Federal Tax Deposit (FTD) coupon booklet call 1-800-829-4933. Allow
5 to 6 weeks for delivery.
You must make your deposits with an authorized financial institution (e.g., a commercial bank that is qualified to
accept Federal tax deposits). To
avoid a possible penalty, do not mail deposits directly to the IRS. Records of your deposits will be sent to the IRS for crediting
to your business
accounts.
Electronic deposit requirement.
You must make electronic deposits of all depository taxes (such as employment tax, excise tax, and corporate income tax) using EFTPS in
2004 if:
- The total deposits of such taxes in 2002 were more than $200,000 or
- You were required to use EFTPS in 2003.
If you are required to use EFTPS and use Form 8109 instead, you may be subject to a 10% penalty. If you are not required
to use EFTPS, you may
participate voluntarily. To enroll in or get more information about EFTPS, call 1-800-555-4477 or 1-800-945-8400; or to enroll
online, visit the EFTPS
website at www.eftps.gov.
For deposits made by EFTPS to be on time, you must initiate the transaction at least one business day before the date
the deposit is due.
If you receive Form 940-EZ and are not liable for FUTA tax for 2003, write “Not Liable” across the front of the form, sign the form,
and return it to the IRS.
Avoid penalties and interest by making tax deposits when due, filing a correct return, and paying all taxes when due. There
are penalties for late
deposits, insufficient deposits, failure to deposit using EFTPS (when required), and late filing unless you can show reasonable
cause. If you file
late, attach an explanation to the return. There are also penalties for willful failure to pay tax, make returns, and for
filing false or fraudulent
returns.
How To Get Forms and Publications
You can get most IRS forms and publications by accessing the IRS website at www.irs.gov or by calling the IRS at 1-800-TAX-FORM
(1-800-829-3676). See the Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 for details and other options.
First | Next Instructions Index | 2003 Tax Help Archives | Tax Help Archives | Home
|
