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Pub. 15-A, Employer's Supplemental Tax Guide 2005 Tax Year

Publication 15-A - Introductory Material

Table of Contents

What's New

New forms in Spanish. Your Spanish-speaking employees may claim withholding allowances using 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. Instructions, in Spanish, for completing Form W-4 or Forma W-4(SP) are available in Publication 579SP, Cómo Preparar la Declaración de Impuesto Federal. For nonemployees, new Forma W-9(SP), Solicitad y Certificación del Número de Identificación del Contribuyente, may be used in place of Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification.

New IRS procedure for review of Forms W-4. Employers no longer have to routinely send copies of Forms W-4 claiming more than 10 allowances and certain “exempt” Forms W-4 to the IRS. However, Forms W-4 are still subject to review by the IRS. See Publication 15 (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide, for details.

New procedure for withholding income taxes on the wages of nonresident alien employees. For wages paid on or after January 1, 2006, employers are required to apply a new procedure in calculating the amount of federal income tax withholding on the wages of nonresident alien employees. For more information, see Publication 15.

Nonqualified deferred compensation plans. The employer and payer reporting and wage withholding requirements provided for amounts deferred under nonqualified deferred compensation plans, described in Notice 2005-1, have been suspended for calendar year 2005 by Notice 2005-94. You can find Notice 2005-94 by accessing the IRS website at www.irs.gov and typing “Notice 2005-94” in the search box.

Payments in the nature of workers' compensation—public employees. Effective December 15, 2005, payments to state and local government employees, under a statute in the nature of a workers' compensation law, are not sick pay and are not subject to employment taxes. See section 6 for more information.

Reminders

Additional employment tax information. Visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov and type “Employment Tax” in the search box for a list of employment tax topics.

Furnishing Form W-2 to employees electronically. You may set up a system to furnish Forms W-2 electronically to employees who choose to receive them in that format. Each employee participating must consent (or receive confirmation of any consent made using a paper document) electronically, and you must notify the employees of all hardware and software requirements to receive the forms. You may not send a Form W-2 electronically to any employee who does not consent or who has revoked consent previously provided. To furnish Forms W-2 electronically, you must meet the following disclosure requirements and provide a clear and conspicuous statement of each of them to your employees.

  • The employee must be informed that he or she may receive a paper Form W-2 if consent is not given to receive it electronically.

  • The employee must be informed of the scope and duration of the consent.

  • The employee must be informed of any procedure for obtaining a paper copy of any Form W-2 (and whether or not the request for a paper statement is treated as a withdrawal of his or her consent) after giving consent.

  • The employee must be notified about how to withdraw a consent and the effective date and manner by which the employer will confirm the withdrawn consent. The employee must also be notified that the withdrawn consent does not apply to the previously issued Forms W-2.

  • The employee must be informed about any conditions under which electronic Forms W-2 will no longer be furnished (for example, termination of employment).

  • The employee must be informed of any procedures for updating his or her contact information that enables the employer to provide electronic Forms W-2.

  • The employer must notify the employee of any changes to the employer's contact information.

You must furnish electronic Forms W-2 by the due date of the paper forms. For more information, see Regulations section 31.6051-1(j).

Electronic filing and payment. 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, IRS offers you convenient programs to make it easier. Spend less time and worry on taxes and more time running your business. Use e-file and Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) to your benefit.

  • For e-file, visit www.irs.gov for additional information.

  • For EFTPS, visit www.eftps.gov or call EFTPS Customer Service at 1-800-555-4477.

Electronic submission of Forms W-4, W-4P, W-4S, W-4V, and W-5. You may set up a system to electronically receive any or all of the following forms (and their Spanish versions, if available) from an employee or payee.

  • Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate.

  • Form W-4P, Withholding Certificate for Pension or Annuity Payments.

  • Form W-4S, Request for Federal Income Tax Withholding From Sick Pay.

  • Form W-4V, Voluntary Withholding Request.

  • Form W-5, Earned Income Credit Advance Payment Certificate.

If you establish an electronic system to receive any of these forms, you do not need to process that form in a paper version. For each form that you establish an electronic submission system for, you must meet each of the following five requirements.

  1. The electronic system must ensure that the information received by the payer is the information sent by the payee. The system must document all occasions of user access that result in a submission. In addition, the design and operation of the electronic system, including access procedures, must make it reasonably certain that the person accessing the system and submitting the form is the person identified on the form.

  2. The electronic system must provide exactly the same information as the paper form.

  3. The electronic submission must be signed with an electronic signature by the payee whose name is on the form. The electronic signature must be the final entry in the submission.

  4. Upon request, you must furnish a hard copy of any completed electronic form to the IRS and a statement that, to the best of the payer's knowledge, the electronic form was submitted by the named payee. The hard copy of the electronic form must provide exactly the same information as, but need not be a facsimile of, the paper form. For Forms W-4 and W-5, the signature must be under penalty of perjury, and must contain the same language that appears on the paper version of the form. The electronic system must inform the employee that he or she must make a declaration contained in the perjury statement and that the declaration is made by signing the Form W-4 or W-5.

  5. You must also meet all recordkeeping requirements that apply to the paper forms.

For more information, see:

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 this booklet 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.

Introduction

This publication supplements Publication 15 (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide. It contains specialized and detailed employment tax information supplementing the basic information provided in Publication 15 (Circular E). This publication also contains:

  • Alternative methods and tables for figuring income tax withholding,

  • Combined income tax, employee social security tax, and employee Medicare tax withholding tables, and

  • Tables for withholding on distributions of Indian gaming profits to tribal members.

Publication 15-B, Employer's Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits, contains information about the employment tax treatment of various types of noncash compensation.

Telephone help.   You can call the IRS with your employment tax questions at 1-800-829-4933.

Help for people with disabilities.   Telephone help is available using TTY/TDD equipment. You can call 1-800-829-4059 with your tax question or to order forms and publications. You may also use this number for problem resolution assistance.

Ordering publications and forms.   See page 59 for information on how to obtain forms and publications.

Useful Items - You may want to see:

Publication

  • 15 Employer's Tax Guide (Circular E)

  • 15-B Employer's Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits

  • 51 Agricultural Employer's Tax Guide (Circular A)

  • 509 Tax Calendars for 2006

  • 225 Farmer's Tax Guide

  • 515 Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Entities

  • 535 Business Expenses

  • 553 Highlights of 2005 Tax Changes

  • 583 Starting a Business and Keeping Records

  • 1635 Understanding Your EIN

Comments and Suggestions.   We welcome your comments about this publication and your suggestions for future editions. You can email us at *taxforms@irs.gov. Please put “Publications Comment” on the subject line.

  You can write to us at the following address:

Internal Revenue Service
Tax Products Coordinating Committee
SE:W:CAR:MP:T:T:SP
1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6406
Washington, DC 20224

  We respond to many letters by telephone. Therefore, it would be helpful if you would include your daytime phone number, including the area code, in your correspondence.

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