Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Publication 15
Cat. No. 10000W
(Circular E),
Employer's
Tax Guide
For use in 2021
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Contents
What's New
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Reminders
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Introduction
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1. Employer Identification Number (EIN)
. . . . . . . 12
2. Who Are Employees? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3. Family Employees
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4. Employee's Social Security Number (SSN)
. . . 15
5. Wages and Other Compensation
. . . . . . . . . . . 16
6. Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
7. Supplemental Wages
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
8. Payroll Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
9. Withholding From Employees' Wages
. . . . . . . 22
10. Required Notice to Employees About the
Earned Income Credit (EIC)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
11. Depositing Taxes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
12. Filing Form 941 or Form 944 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
13. Reporting Adjustments to Form 941 or
Form 944
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
14. Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax
. . . . . . . . 38
15. Special Rules for Various Types of
Services and Payments
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
16. Third-Party Payer Arrangements
. . . . . . . . . . 46
How To Get Tax Help
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Index
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Future Developments
For the latest information about developments related to
Pub. 15, such as legislation enacted after i