November 29, 2023
ONLY DRAFT
AND OMB USE
TREASURY/IRS
Employer's Tax Guide; Pub. 80, Federal Tax Guide for
Employers in the U.S. Virgin islands, Guam, American
Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands; and Pub. 179, Guía Contributiva Federal para
Patronos Puertorriqueños, have been discontinued. If you
prefer Pub. 15 in Spanish, there is a new Pub. 15 (sp)
available for 2024.
Unless otherwise noted, references throughout this
publication to Form W-2 include Forms W-2AS, W-2CM,
W-2GU, W-2VI, and Form 499R-2/W-2PR; references to
Form W-2c include Form 499R-2c/W-2cPR; references to
Form W-3 include Form W-3SS and Form W-3PR; and
references to Form W-3c include Form W-3C (PR).
Social security and Medicare tax for 2024. The rate of
social security tax on taxable wages is 6.2% each for the
employer and employee. The social security wage base
limit is $168,600.
The Medicare tax rate is 1.45% each for the employee
and employer, unchanged from 2023. There is no wage
base limit for Medicare tax.
Social security and Medicare taxes apply to the wages
of household workers you pay $2,700 or more in cash
wages in 2024. Social security and Medicare taxes apply
to election workers who are paid $2,300 or more in cash
or an equivalent form of compensation in 2024.
The COVID-19 related credit for qualified sick and
family leave wages is limited to leave taken after
March 31, 2020, and before October 1, 2021, and may
no longer be claimed on Form 941. Generally, the
credit for qualified sick and family leave wages, as enac-
ted under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act
(FFCRA) and amended and extended by the COVID-rela-
ted Tax Relief Act of 2020, for leave taken after March 31,
2020, and before April 1, 2021, and the credit for qualified
sick and family leave wages under sections 3131, 3132,
and 3133 of the Internal Revenue Code, as enacted un-
der the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the ARP), for
leave taken after March 31, 2021, and before October 1,
2021, have expired. However, employers that pay quali-
fied sick and family leave wages in 2024 for leave taken
after March 31, 2020, and before October 1, 2021, are el-
igible to claim a credit for qualified sick and family leave
wages in 2024. Effective for tax periods beginning after
December 31, 2023, the lines used to claim the credit for
qualified sick and family leave wages have been removed
from Form 941, Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax
Return, because it would be extremely rare for an em-
ployer to pay wages in 2024 for qualified sick and family
leave taken after March 31, 2020, and before October 1,
2021. Instead, if you’re eligible to claim the credit for
qualified sick and family leave wages because you paid
the wages in 2024 for an earlier applicable leave period,
file Form 941-X, Adjusted Employer's QUARTERLY Fed-
eral Tax Return or Claim for Refund, after filing Form 941,
to claim the credit for qualified sick and family leave wa-
ges paid in 2024. Filing a Form 941-X before filing a
Form 941 for the quarter may result in errors or delays in
processing your Form 941-X.
New Forms 941 (sp), 943 (sp), and 944 (sp). If you pre-
fer your form and instructions in Spanish, you can file
new Form 941 (sp), Form 943 (sp), and Form 944 (sp).
Reminders
Qualified small business payroll tax credit for in-
creasing research activities. For tax years beginning
before January 1, 2023, a qualified small business may
elect to claim up to $250,000 of its credit for increasing
research activities as a payroll tax credit. The Inflation
Reduction Act of 2022 (the IRA) increases the election
amount to $500,000 for tax years beginning after Decem-
ber 31, 2022. The payroll tax credit election must be
made on or before the due date of the originally filed in-
come tax return (including extensions). The portion of the
credit used against payroll taxes is allowed in the first cal-
endar quarter beginning after the date that the qualified
small business filed its income tax return. The election
and determination of the credit amount that will be used
against the employer’s payroll taxes are made on Form
6765, Credit for Increasing Research Activities. The
amount from Form 6765, line 44, must then be reported
on Form 8974, Qualified Small Business Payroll Tax
Credit for Increasing Research Activities.
Starting in the first quarter of 2023, the payroll tax
credit is first used to reduce the employer share of social
security tax up to $250,000 per quarter and any remain-
ing credit reduces the employer share of Medicare tax for
the quarter. Any remaining credit, after reducing the em-
ployer share of social security tax and the employer share
of Medicare tax, is then carried forward to the next quar-
ter. Form 8974 is used to determine the amount of the
credit that can be used in the current quarter. The
amount from Form 8974, line 12 or, if applicable, line 17,
is reported on Form 941, Form 943, or Form 944. For
more information about the payroll tax credit, see
IRS.gov/ResearchPayrollTC. Also see the line 16 instruc-
tions in the Instructions for Form 941 (line 17 instructions
in the Instructions for Form 943 or line 13 instructions in
the Instructions for Form 944) for information on reducing
your record of tax liability for this credit.
Disaster tax relief. Disaster tax relief is available for
those impacted by disasters. For more information about
disaster relief, go to IRS.gov/DisasterTaxRelief.
Payroll tax credit for certain tax-exempt organizations
affected by qualified disasters. Section 303(d) of the
Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020
allows for a payroll tax credit for certain tax-exempt or-
ganizations affected by certain qualified disasters
not re-
lated to COVID-19. This credit is claimed on Form
5884-D (not on Form 941, Form 943, or Form 944). Form
5884-D is filed after the Form 941 for the quarter, Form
943 for the year, or Form 944 for the year for which the
credit is being claimed has been filed. For more informa-
tion about this credit, go to IRS.gov/Form5884D.
2024 withholding tables. The Percentage Method and
Wage Bracket Method withholding tables, the employer
instructions on how to figure employee withholding, and
the amount to add to a nonresident alien employee's wa-
ges for figuring income tax withholding are included in
Pub. 15-T, Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods,
available at IRS.gov/Pub15T.
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Publication 15 (2024)