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Processing Resumes for Payroll Tax Returns

Processing Resumes for Payroll Tax Returns

In an eNews for Payroll Professionals, the IRS announced that it has resumed processing paper payroll withholding tax returns. In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, in March 2020 the IRS closed its return processing centers and suspended processing paper tax returns.

The income tax withheld on wages, and social security and Medicare tax withheld ("withholding taxes"), are reported on Form 941, Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return, which is filed quarterly. Employers with annual employment tax liability of $1,000 or less report their withholding taxes on Form 944, Employer's Annual Federal Tax Return, annually. (IRS Publication 15, Employer's Tax Guide)

Employers reporting withholding taxes for agricultural employees' wages report these taxes on Form 943, Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return for Agricultural Employees. (IRS Publication 51, Agricultural Employer's Tax Guide)

Taxpayers who withhold income tax from nonpayroll payments (such as pension payments, gambling winnings, and backup withholding, report the withheld amounts annually on Form 945, Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax. (Form 945, Instructions)

IRS resumes processing paper employment tax returns. The IRS announced, in an eNews for Payroll Professionals, that it has resumed processing paper withholding tax returns, including:

  • Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return;
  • Form 943, Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return for Agricultural Employees;
  • Form 944, Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return; and
  • Form 945, Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax.

According to the eNews, the IRS has reopened its Ogden and Kansas City campuses that process paper withholding tax returns and employees at those campuses are working on processing backlogs and new submissions of the above tax forms.