Why is the IRS telling me to file a 944?

There are very few circumstances when you should be filing a 944

Who is a 944 filer?

  • A business that only files employee taxes 1x per year
  • With less than $1,000 in employer tax liability for the year (Withheld income tax and FICA (Social Security + Medicare))

Who is a 941 filer?

  • A business that files their tax liability quarterly
  • Everyone else (you)

So, if you do not fall into that category, why is the IRS telling you to file 944? 

  1. You received your EIN in the last quarter of the calendar year
  2. When applying for your EIN, you indicated that you would not have more than 1 or 2 employees
  3. Your previous year's employer tax liability was below $1,000
  4. The IRS made a mistake

What do I do? 

  • Make sure your payroll company has you filed as a 941 and filed the document correctly
  • Call the IRS to let them know that you are supposed to file the 941 for the reason that you pay more than $1,000 in annual employer taxes and ask them to accept the 941
  • Let us know if you have any problems - make sure we have a Power of Attorney on file or else we cannot legally do anything on your behalf