Purpose of form.   Use Form 943 to report federal income tax withheld and employer and employee social security and Medicare taxes on wages paid to farmworkers.

  If you have household employees working in your private home on your farm operated for a profit, they are not considered to be farm employees. To report social security, Medicare, and federal income tax withholding on the wages of household employees, you may either:

  If you paid wages to a household employee in a home that is not on a for-profit farm, you must report the taxes on Schedule H (Form 1040). If you paid wages to other nonfarm workers, do not report these on Form 943. Taxes on wages paid to nonfarm workers are reported on
Form 941/941-SS, Employer's QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return, or Form 944/944-SS, Employer's ANNUAL Federal Tax Return. See Pub. 926, Household Employer's Tax Guide, for more information about household employees.

Who must file.   File Form 943 if you paid wages to one or more farmworkers and the wages were subject to social security and Medicare taxes or federal income tax withholding under the tests discussed below. For definitions of farmworkers and wages, see Pub. 51 (Circular A), Agricultural Employer's Tax Guide.

The $150 test or the $2,500 test.   All cash wages that you pay to farmworkers are subject to social security and Medicare taxes and federal income tax withholding for any calendar year that you meet either of these tests:

  If the $2,500-or-more test for the group is not met, the $150-or-more test for an individual still applies.

When to file.   For 2006, file Form 943 by January 31, 2007. However, if you made deposits on time in full payment of the taxes due for the year, you may file the return as late as February 12, 2007.

Forms W-2 and W-3.   By January 31, 2007, give Form W-2 to each employee who was working for you at the end of 2006. If an employee stops working for you before the end of the year, give him or her Form W-2 any time after employment ends but no later than January 31 of the following year. If the employee asks you for Form W-2, give him or her the completed form within 30 days of the request or the last wage payment, whichever is later.

Where to file.   Find the state of your legal residence, principal place of business, office, or agency in the table that follows. Send your return to the “Internal Revenue Service” at the address listed for your location. No street address is needed.

  

Exception for exempt organizations and government entities.    If you are filing Form 943 for an exempt organization or government entity (federal, state, local, or Indian tribal government), use the following addresses regardless of your location:

Reconciliation of Form 943 to Forms W-2 and W-3.   Certain amounts reported on Form 943 for 2006 should agree with the Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, totals reported on the 2006 Form W-3, Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements. The amounts from Form 943 that should agree with the related boxes on Form W-3 are: federal income tax withheld (line 6 versus box 2), social security wages (line 2 versus box 3), Medicare wages and tips (line 4 versus box 5), and advance earned income credit payments (line 10 versus box 9). If the totals do not agree, the IRS or SSA may require you to explain any differences and correct any errors. Keep all records that show why the totals do not match. For more information, see section 12 of Pub. 51 (Circular A).

Depositing taxes.   If your net taxes (line 11) are less than $2,500 for the year, you can pay the tax due with your return if you file on time. If your net taxes are $2,500 or more for the year, you must deposit your tax liabilities throughout the year in accordance with your deposit schedule by using the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) or by making a deposit at an authorized financial institution using Form 8109, Federal Tax Deposit Coupon. There are two deposit schedules—monthly or semiweekly—for determining when you must deposit. Before the beginning of each calendar year, you must determine which of the two deposit schedules you must use. See section 7 of Pub. 51 (Circular A) for information and rules concerning federal tax deposits and to determine your status as a monthly or semiweekly schedule depositor.

Penalties and interest.   There are penalties for filing a return late and for paying or depositing taxes late, unless there is reasonable cause. There are also penalties for failure to (a) furnish Forms W-2 to employees and file copies with the SSA and (b) deposit taxes when required. See
Pub. 51 (Circular A) for more information. In addition, there are penalties for willful failure to file returns and pay taxes when due, for filing false returns, and submitting bad checks. Interest is charged on taxes paid late at the rate set by law.

  

If federal income, social security, and Medicare taxes that must be withheld (that is, trust fund taxes) are not withheld or are not paid to the United States Treasury, the trust fund recovery penalty may apply. The penalty is 100% of the unpaid trust fund tax. This penalty may apply to you if these unpaid taxes cannot be immediately collected from the employer or business. The trust fund recovery penalty may be imposed on all persons who are determined by the IRS to be responsible for collecting, accounting for, and paying over these taxes, and who acted willfully in not doing so. See section 7 of Pub. 51 (Circular A) for more information.

Preprinted name, EIN, and address.   If your preprinted name, EIN, or address on Form 943 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 943-V, Payment Voucher.

Zero Wage return.    If you received a preprinted Form 943 in the mail from the IRS and are not required to file because you paid no wages subject to social security or Medicare tax and withheld no federal income tax, write “NONE” on
line 11, sign the return, and file it with the IRS. If you will not have to file Form 943 in the future, also check the box above line 1 at the left of your name and address.