IRS Form 945 is an Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax form. Businesses need to file this form to report the nonpayroll payments made by the employer during the tax year and the tax withheld from these nonpayroll payments.
Who must file Form 945?
Businesses withholding taxes from the nonpayroll payment should file form 945 to the Internal Revenue Service. You may need to file Form 945-A if you are a semiweekly depositor of the taxes.
New announcement :
IRS is now supporting the electronic filing of Form 945-X, the adjusted annual return of Form 945, and also facilitating electronic claims for refund.
Important dates
The deadline for filing Form 945 is January 31st of every year. If the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, it is extended to the following working day. If you paid the full taxes for the year on time, you can file the return by February 10, 2025, for the tax year 2024.
Filing methods supported by Form 945
E-Filing: The IRS recommends Employers file form 945, Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax to file using the Electronic filing method.
Paper filing: The Employer can file form 945 using the paper filing method by completing the form and mailing it to the respective address based on the state from where you are filing.
TaxZerone recommends E-filing of Form 945 for easy filing and faster processing of your employment forms
To file Form 945, below is the information typically required:
Business information such as Name, EIN, and Address
Federal income tax withheld
Backup withholding
Total taxes
Total deposits
Balance due
Overpayment
Step-by-step instructions to file form 945
Step 1: Enter the employer details
Name: Provide the legal Business name
Employer identification number (EIN): Enter the Unique EIN number for your Business
Address: Fill in your Business address, street name, city or Town name, State or Province name, and Zipcode
Step 2: Enter tax withheld
Line 1: Enter the total amount of tax withheld from pensions, annuities, IRAs, Military retirement, Gambling winnings, Indian gaming profits, etc., during the tax year.
Line 2: Enter the backup withholding amount for a full year.
Line 3: Add the amount that you entered on Line 1 and Line 2. Now, on Line 3, enter the total amount.
Line 4: Enter the total deposit amount for 2024, including overpayments from Form 945-X and overpayments from a previous year.
Line 5: There is a balance due if Line 3 exceeds Line 4.
Line 6: There is an Overpayment if Line 4 exceeds Line 3.
Step 3: Select the Depositor Category
Select the first check box, if you are a semi-weekly depositor and enter details in form 945-A
Select the second check box, if you are a monthly scheduled depositor and enter details in 7
If your Line 3 is less than $2500, there is no need to fill up the Line 7 or Form 945-A.
Step 4: Enter the details in line 7 if you are a monthly Depositor
Enter the total tax withheld for the month of January(A),February(B), March(C), April(D), May(E), June(F), July(G), August(H), September(I), October(J), November(K), and December(L)
(M) Add the amount you entered from Line 7(A) to 7(L). You can now put the total amount of taxes withheld for the year in Line (M). Verify that the total amounts on Lines 3 and 7 (M) are equal.
Step 5: Enter the details in form 945-A if you are a semi-weekly Depositor
Enter the total tax withheld from the employee's wages for each day of the month from January to June.
Enter the total tax withheld in each month in the respective fields
Enter the total tax withheld from the employee's wages for each day of the month from July to December.
Enter the total tax withheld in each month in the respective fields
Add the taxes mentioned from line A to L and enter the total taxes in line M. The Tax amount should be equal to the taxes mentioned in M and should be equal to line 3 of Form 945
Step 6: Sign the form
The authorized person to file the return should sign the form along with their name and title and mention the signing date.