| Instructions for Form 941-SS |
2006 Tax Year |
General Instructions: Understanding Form 941-SS
This is archived information that pertains only to the 2006 Tax Year. If you
are looking for information for the current tax year, go to the Tax Prep Help Area.
Use Form 941-SS, Employer's QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return, to report social security and Medicare taxes for workers in American
Samoa, Guam, the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Pub. 80 (Circular SS), Federal Tax Guide for Employers in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth
of the Northern
Mariana Islands, explains the requirements for withholding, depositing, and paying social security and Medicare taxes. It
explains the forms you must
give your employees, those your employees must give you, and those you must send to the IRS. See Pub. 15-A, Employer's Supplemental
Tax Guide, for
specialized employment tax information supplementing the basic information provided in Pub. 80 (Circular SS).
Who Must File Form 941-SS?
Generally, you must file a return for the first quarter in which you pay wages subject to social security and Medicare taxes,
and for each quarter
thereafter until you file a final return. Use Form 941-SS if your principal place of business is in American Samoa, Guam,
the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, or the U.S. Virgin Islands, or if you have employees who are subject to income tax withholding for
these jurisdictions.
Once you have filed a return, a preaddressed Form 941-SS will be sent to you every 3 months. You must file a return each quarter,
even if you have
no tax liability to report unless you file a final return. However, see Seasonal Employers and Agricultural and Household
Employers below. If the form fails to reach you, request one in time to file. See Where Can You Obtain Forms? on page 2.
Seasonal employers are not required to file for quarters when they regularly have no tax liability because they have paid
no wages. To alert the
IRS that you will not have to file a return for one or more quarters during the year, check the box in line 17 on Form 941-SS.
The IRS will mail you
two Forms 941-SS once a year after March 1. The preprinted information will not include the date the quarter ended. You must
enter the date the
quarter ended when you file the return. The IRS generally will not inquire about unfiled returns if at least one taxable return
is filed each year.
However, you must check the box in line 17 on every quarterly return you file. Otherwise, the IRS will expect a return to
be filed for each quarter.
If you go out of business or stop paying wages, file a final return. Be sure to check the box in line 16 and enter the date
that you last paid
wages. See Terminating a business in the Form W-3SS instructions for information on the earlier due dates for the expedited furnishing and
filing of Forms W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or Form W-2VI when a final Form 941-SS is filed.
Agricultural and Household Employers
Agricultural employers.
Agricultural wages must be reported on Form 943, Employer's Annual Federal Tax Return for Agricultural Employees,
not on Form 941-SS.
Household employers.
Employers who report wages for household employees should see Pub. 80 (Circular SS) and Pub. 926, Household Employer's
Tax Guide.
File Form 941-SS for each quarter of the calendar year, as follows:
If you made deposits on time in full payment of the taxes for a quarter, you have 10 more calendar days after the above due
dates to file your
return for that quarter. If the due date for filing a return falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, you may file the
return on the next
business day.
Where Can You Obtain Forms?
See Pub. 80 (Circular SS) for information on ordering IRS forms by telephone, mail, or online. You may also be able to get
some IRS forms at the
addresses listed below.
American Samoa.
Department of Treasury, Income Tax Division, Government of American Samoa, Executive Office Bldg., First Floor, Pago
Pago, AS 96799.
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Administrator, CNMI Social Security System, Saipan,
MP 96960.
Guam.
Department of Revenue and Taxation, Government of Guam, Building 13-1 Mariner Avenue, Tiyjan Barrigada, GU 96913.
U.S. Virgin Islands.
V.I. Bureau of Internal Revenue, 9601 Estate Thomas, Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, VI 00802.
How Should You Complete Form 941-SS?
Preprinted Name and Address Information
If your preprinted name, EIN, or address information on Form 941-SS is not correct, cross it out and type or print the correct
information.
However, do not change any of the preprinted information on your Form 941-V(SS), Payment Voucher.
Employer Identification Number (EIN)
To make sure that businesses comply with federal tax laws, the IRS monitors tax filings and payments by using a numerical
system to identify
taxpayers. A unique 9-digit employer identification number (EIN) is assigned to all corporations, partnerships, and some sole
proprietors. Businesses
needing an EIN must apply for a number and use it throughout the life of the business on all tax returns, payments, and reports.
Your business should have only one EIN. If you have more than one and are not sure which one to use, write to the IRS office
where you file your
returns (using the “without payment” address above) or call the IRS Business & Specialty Tax Line at 1-800-829-4933 (U.S. Virgin Islands
only) or 215-516-6999 (toll call). TTY/TDD users in the U.S. Virgin Islands can call 1-800-829-4059.
If you do not have an EIN, apply for one from the IRS by mail, by telephone, by fax, or by visiting the IRS website at
www.irs.gov/smallbiz. Request Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number. If you do not have an EIN by the time a return
is due, write “Applied For” and the date you applied in the space shown for the number.
Always make certain that the EIN on the form you file matches the EIN assigned to your business by the IRS. Filing a Form
941-SS with an incorrect
EIN or using the EIN of another business may result in penalties and delays in processing your return.
Check the Box for the Quarter
Under Report for this Quarter of 2007 at the top of the form, check the appropriate box of the quarter for which you are filing. Make
sure that the quarter checked is the same as shown on any attached Schedule B (Form 941), Report of Tax Liability for Semiweekly
Schedule Depositors.
Completing and Filing the Form
Make entries on Form 941-SS as follows to enable accurate scanning and processing.
-
Use 12-point Courier font (if possible) for all entries if you are typing or using a computer to fill out your form.
-
Omit dollar signs and decimal points. Commas are optional. (Report dollars to the left of the preprinted decimal point and
cents to the
right of it.)
-
Leave blank any data field (except lines 1 or 8) with a value of zero.
-
Enter negative amounts using a minus sign (if possible). Otherwise, use parentheses.
-
Enter your name and EIN on all pages and attachments. (Filers using the IRS-preaddressed Form 941-SS are not required to enter
their name and EIN on page 2.)
What About Penalties and Interest?
Avoiding penalties and interest
You can avoid paying penalties and interest if you:
-
deposit your taxes when they are due using EFTPS if required,
-
file your fully completed Form 941-SS on time,
-
report your tax liability accurately,
-
submit valid checks to the IRS,
-
furnish accurate Forms W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or W-2VI to employees, and
-
file Copies A of Form W-2AS, W-2CM,W-2GU, or W-2VI with the Social Security Administration (SSA) on time and accurately.
Penalties and interest are charged on taxes paid late and returns filed late at a rate set by law. See section 8 of Pub.
80(Circular SS) for
details.
A trust fund recovery penalty may apply if social security and Medicare taxes that must be withheld are not withheld or are not paid.
Under this penalty, certain officers or employees of a corporation, employees of a sole proprietorship, or certain members
or employees of a
partnership become personally liable for payment of the taxes and are penalized an amount equal to the unpaid taxes. See section
8 of Pub. 80
(Circular SS) for details.
Reconciling Forms 941-SS and W-3SS
The IRS matches amounts reported on your four quarterly Forms 941-SS with Form W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or W-2VI amounts totaled
on your yearly Form
W-3SS, Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements. If the amounts do not agree, the IRS or SSA may contact you. The reconciled
amounts are for all the
following items.
-
Social security wages.
-
Social security tips.
-
Medicare wages and tips.
Use Schedule D (Form 941), Report of Discrepancies Caused by Acquisitions, Statutory Mergers, or Consolidations, to explain
certain wage, tax, and
payment discrepancies between Forms 941-SS and Forms W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, W-2VI, W-3SS, and W-2c that were caused by acquisitions,
statutory mergers,
or consolidations. For more information, get the instructions for Schedule D (Form 941). Also see Rev. Proc. 2004-53 for more
information. You can
find Rev. Proc. 2004-53 on page 320 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 2004-34 at
Internal Revenue Bulletin 2004-34.
Adjustment of Tax on Tips
If, by the 10th of the month after the month you received an employee's report on tips, you do not have enough employee funds
available to withhold
the employee's share of social security and Medicare taxes, you no longer have to collect it. Report the entire amount of
these tips on lines 5b
(Taxable social security tips) and 5c (Taxable Medicare wages and tips). Include as an adjustment on line 7c the total uncollected
employee share of
the social security and Medicare taxes.
When and How Must You Deposit Your Taxes?
You may pay the taxes with Form 941-SS instead of depositing if your total taxes after adjustments for the quarter (line 8)
are less than $2,500
and you pay in full with a timely filed return.
If your total taxes after adjustments (line 8) are $2,500 or more for the quarter, you must deposit your tax liabilities at
an authorized financial
institution with Form 8109, Federal Tax Deposit Coupon, or by using the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS).
To get more information or to enroll in EFTPS, you may call 1-800-555-4477 (or 720-332-3780 for territories unable to use
the toll-free numbers) or
visit the EFTPS website at
www.eftps.gov.
If you are required to deposit your tax liabilities (see above), you must deposit either once a month (monthly schedule depositor)
or up to twice a
week (semiweekly schedule depositor) depending on how often you pay your employees and whether your taxes during the lookback
period exceeded $50,000.
Generally, you will be notified by the IRS in November of your depositor status for the next year.
See section 8 of Pub. 80 (Circular SS) for detailed information and rules concerning federal tax deposits and to determine
your status as a monthly
or semiweekly depositor.
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