Most types of businesses with employees must withhold employment taxes
from their workers and send this tax to the IRS. Check the chart to
see which forms your type of business (sole proprietor, partnership,
corporation, etc.) must file.
Steps:
(1) Have New Employees Fill Out Necessary Forms
(2) Withhold Tax from Employees and Send it to the IRS
(3) Pay Federal and State Unemployment Tax
(1) When you hire employees, they must fill
out several forms:
I-9,
Employment Eligibility Verification, to verify your employee
is eligible to work in the US. This form must be filled out by both
you and your employee and retained by you, the employer, as a record
of your employee's legal status.
Form W-4, Employee's
Withholding Allowance Certificate, to figure the amount of
income tax to withhold from your employee's wages
Eligible employees with qualifying children should fill out Form
W-5, the
Earned Income Credit Advance Payment Certificate, so they
may receive EIC (earned income credit) payments with their wages during
the year.
(2) Taxes the Employer Must Withhold from
Employees' Paychecks:
Federal income tax - based on the amount reported on the employee's
W-4 form.
Use this form to figure the amount of income tax to withhold from each
employee's paycheck (described in Publication
15, Circular E, Employer's Tax Guide)
Social Security and Medicare Taxes (also known as "FICA"):
these taxes pay into each employee's federal benefits after they retire
or if they get sick.
Form to Use: Form
941, Employer's Federal Tax Return (instructions),
or Form 943 for
Farm Employers (instructions)
State Income Tax - Florida has no state income tax, only Unemployment
tax. See below. It is therefore
not necessary to withhold state income tax in Florida. This does not
hold true in most other US states.
(3) Taxes the Employer Must Pay:
(A) Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA) - this tax is used to provide
employees with unemployment compensation in the case they are laid off
through no fault of their own. This tax is not withheld from employee's
paycheck but paid by the employer himself.
Form to Use: Form 940, Employer's
Annual Federal Unemployment Tax Return
(B) State Unemployment Tax
First file an Application to Collect and/or Report Tax in Florida (Form
DR-1) to determine if the employer is liable for the payment
of this tax.
Once you file this report you should receive an Employer's Quarterly
Report (UCT-6) form from the Florida Department of Revenue at the
end of each quarter, which you must fill out and send to the state,
along with your tax payment. The deadline for each quarter is as follows:
| Calendar
Quarter |
Report
must be postmarked by: |
| Jan
1-Mar 31 |
April
30 |
| Apr
1-Jun 30 |
July
31 |
| July
1-Sept 30 |
Oct
31 |
| Oct
1-Dec 31 |
Jan
31 |
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