Enter amounts on line 1 that would also be included in box 1 of your employees' Forms W-2. See the Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 for details.

Enter the federal income tax that you withheld (or were required to withhold) from your employees on this year's wages, tips, taxable fringe benefits, and supplemental unemployment compensation benefits.

If no wages, tips, and compensation are subject to social security or Medicare taxes, check the box on line 3 and go to line 5. If this question does not apply to you, leave the box blank. For more information about exempt wages, see section 15 of Pub. 15 (Circular E) and section 4 of Pub. 15-A, Employer's Supplemental Tax Guide.

Add the total federal income tax withheld from wages, tips, and other compensation and total social security and Medicare taxes before adjustments.

Enter tax amounts on lines 6a-6e that result from current or prior period adjustments. Use parentheses (if possible) to show an adjustment that decreases the total taxes shown on line 5. Otherwise, use a minus sign. Do not enter an amount on line 6d or line 6e unless the IRS has sent you a notice instructing you to do so.

Combine the amounts shown on lines 5 and 6f and enter the result on line 7.

Enter the amount of the advance earned income credit (EIC) payments that you made to your employees. Eligible employees may choose to receive part of the EIC as an advance payment. Those who expect to have a qualifying child must give you a completed Form W-5 stating they expect to qualify for the EIC. Once the employee gives you a signed and completed Form W-5, you must make the advance EIC payments starting with the employee's next wage payment. Advance EIC payments are generally made from withheld federal income tax and employee and employer social security and Medicare taxes. See section 10 of Pub. 15 (Circular E) and Pub. 596, Earned Income Credit.

If line 8 is more than line 7, you may claim a refund of the overpayment or elect to have the credit applied to your return for the next year. Attach a statement to your Form 944 identifying the amount of excess payment and the pay periods in which you paid it.

Calculate your total taxes as shown below.

Enter your deposits for this year, including any deposits that you were required to make to cover prior period liabilities resulting from adjustments shown on lines 6a-6e. Also include in the amount shown any overpayment from a previous period that you applied to this return.

If line 9 is more than line 10, write the difference on line 11. Otherwise, see Overpayment below.

You do not have to pay if line 11 is less than $1. Generally, you should have a balance due only if your total taxes after adjustment for advance EIC (line 9) are less than $2,500. See If line 9 is $2,500 or more above for an exception.

If line 11 is:

You may pay the amount shown on line 11 using EFTPS or credit card. Do not use a credit card to pay taxes that were required to be deposited. For more information on paying your taxes with a credit card, visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov and type “e-pay” in the Search box.

If you pay by EFTPS or credit card, file your return using the “Without a payment” address on page 4 under Where Should You File? and do not file Form 944-V, Payment Voucher.

If line 10 is more than line 9, write the amount in line 12. Never make an entry in both lines 11 and 12.

If you deposited more than the correct amount for a year, you can choose to have us either refund the overpayment or apply it to your next return. Check the appropriate box in line 12. If you do not check either box, we will automatically refund the overpayment. We may apply your overpayment to any past due tax account that is shown in our records under your EIN.

If line 12 is less than $1, we will send a refund or apply it to your next return only if you ask us in writing to do so.

You must fill out both pages of Form 944 and sign it on the second page. Failure to do so may delay processing of your return.

If you accumulate $100,000 or more in tax liability at any time during the year, you must complete Form 945-A, Annual Record of Federal Tax Liability, and file it with your Form 944. See the Next Day Deposit Rule in section 11 of Pub. 15 (Circular E).

If you made deposits of taxes reported on Form 944, in the spaces provided, write the two-letter United States Postal Service abbreviation for the state where you deposit your taxes using Form 8109 or initiate EFTPS transfers. IRS uses the state shown to determine banking days for purposes of deposit due dates. Official state holidays for the state shown are not counted as banking days. If you deposit in multiple states, enter “MU” in the spaces provided.

When you deposit in multiple states, IRS cannot determine what portion of your liability was affected by a state holiday and may propose a deposit penalty for one or more of the states where you made deposits. If you receive a notice and your deposit due date was extended because of a state bank holiday, respond to the notice citing the state holiday and applicable deposit amount.

If you go out of business or stop paying wages, you must file a final return. To tell IRS that a particular Form 944 is your final return, check the box on line 15 and enter the date you last paid wages in the space provided.

Form 944 must be signed as follows.

If you have filed a valid power of attorney, your duly authorized agent may also sign your Form 944.