Form 945-A Annual Record of Federal Tax Liability OMB No. 1545-1430 (Rev. August 2003)

Name (as shown on Form 945 or CT-1) Employer identification number

Cat. No. 14733M Form 945-A (Rev. 8-2003)

January tax liability

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A Total for month 

15

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15

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15 31

February tax liability March tax liability

B Total for month  C Total for month 

April tax liability

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D Total for month 

15

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15

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15

May tax liability June tax liability

E Total for month  F Total for month 

30

 File with Form 945 or CT-1.

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Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

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Form 945-A (Rev. 8-2003) Page 2

Form 945-A (Rev. 8-2003)

July tax liability

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G Total for month 

15

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15

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15

August tax liability September tax liability

H Total for month  I Total for month 

October tax liability

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30

J Total for month 

15

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15

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15

November tax liability December tax liability

K Total for month  L Total for month 

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M Total tax liability for year (add lines A through L). This should equal line 4 on Form 945 (or line 13

on Form CT-1) 

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Form 945-A (Rev. 8-2003) Page 3

General Instructions

Purpose of form. Use this form to report nonpayroll income tax

withholding on Form 945, Annual Return of Withheld Federal

Income Tax, based on the dates the amounts were withheld.

Who must file. Semiweekly schedule depositors are required to

complete and file Form 945-A with Form 945 or CT-1. Do not

complete this form if you are a monthly schedule depositor,

unless you accumulate a tax liability of $100,000 during any

month of the year. Monthly schedule depositors who accumulate

$100,000 become semiweekly schedule depositors for the

remainder of the year and must complete Form 945-A for the

entire year. The deposit rules, including the $100,000 next-day

deposit rule, are explained in section 11 of Circular E (Pub. 15),

Employer’s Tax Guide, the Instructions for Form 945, and the

Instructions for Form CT-1.

Specific Instructions

If you are required to report your tax liabilities on Form 945-A as

discussed above, file it with Form 945 or CT-1. Do not complete

entries A through M of the Monthly Summary of Federal Tax

Liability (line 8 on Form 945) or the Monthly Summary of Railroad

Retirement Tax Liability (page 2 of Form CT-1). However, be sure

to mark the semiweekly schedule depositor checkbox above line

8 of Form 945.

Recordkeeping 6 hr., 27 min.

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We ask for the information

on this form to carry out the Internal Revenue laws of the United

States. You are required to give us the information. We need it

to ensure that you are complying with these laws and to allow

us to figure and collect the right amount of tax.

Preparing and sending

the form to the IRS 12 min.

If you have comments concerning the accuracy of these time

estimates or suggestions for making this form simpler, we would

be happy to hear from you. You can write to the IRS at the

address listed in the Instructions for Form 945.

The time needed to complete and file this form will vary

depending on individual circumstances. The estimated average

time is:

Important. Form 945-A is used by the IRS to match your tax

liability reported on this form with your deposits and to

determine if you have deposited your withholding tax liabilities

on time. Unless Form 945-A is properly completed and filed with

Form 945 or CT-1, the IRS will not be able to process your

return and will have to contact you for the missing information.

Example 1. Cedar Co., which has a semiweekly deposit

schedule, makes periodic payments on gambling winnings on

the 15th day of each month. On December 24, 2003, in addition

to its periodic payments, it withheld from a payment on

gambling winnings under the backup withholding rules. Since

Cedar Co. is a semiweekly schedule depositor, it must record

these nonpayroll withholding liabilities on Form 945-A. It must

report tax liabilities on line 15 for each month and line 24 for

December. Cedar Co. enters the monthly totals on lines A

through L. It adds these monthly subtotals and enters the total

tax liability for the year on line M. The amount on line M should

equal line 4 of Form 945.

Example 2. Fir Co. is a semiweekly schedule depositor. During

January, it withheld income tax on pension distributions as

follows: $52,000 on January 10; $35,000 on January 24. Since

Fir Co. is a semiweekly schedule depositor, it must record its

income tax withholding liabilities on Form 945-A. It must record

$52,000 on line 10 and $35,000 on line 24 for January.

Example 3. Because Elm Co. is a new business, it is a monthly

schedule depositor for 2003. During January, it withheld income

tax on nonpayroll payments as follows: $2,000 on January 10;

$99,000 on January 24. The deposit rules require that a monthly

schedule depositor begin depositing on a semiweekly deposit

schedule when a $100,000 or more tax liability is accumulated

on any day within a month (see section 11 of Circular E (Pub.

15) for details). Since Elm Co. accumulated $101,000 ($2,000 +

$99,000) on January 24, 2003, it became a semiweekly schedule

depositor. Elm Co. must complete Form 945-A and file it with

Form 945. It must record $2,000 on line 10 and $99,000 on line

24 for January. No entries should be made on line 8 of Form

945 although Elm Co. was a monthly schedule depositor until

January 24.

Adjustments. Semiweekly schedule depositors must report

adjustments on Form 945-A to correct administrative errors on

prior Forms 945 and errors on prior Forms CT-1. (Reminder:

You will not be allowed a refund or credit for any prior year

overpayment of income tax that you withheld or deducted from

a payee.) For information on correcting administrative errors, see

the Instructions for Form 945, the Instructions for Form CT-1,

and section 13 of Circular E (Pub. 15). (The Circular E (Pub. 15)

instructions for making adjustments refer to Form 941, but they

also apply to Form 945 adjustments.) If the adjustment increases

your current liability, report the adjustment on the entry space

corresponding to the date the error was discovered.

If the adjustment decreases your current liability, use the

adjustment amount as a credit to offset subsequent liabilities on

Form 945-A until it is used up. For example, on January 8, 2003,

Oak Rail Co. discovered that a mathematical error was made on

a prior year return, resulting in a $10,000 overstatement of

nonpayroll income tax withholding. Since the correct amounts

were withheld and reported on Forms 1099-R, this is an

administrative error that can be corrected on Form 945. Oak Rail

Co. made payments subject to nonpayroll income tax

withholding on January 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31 and had a $5,000

tax liability for each of those pay dates. On Form 945-A, it must

report $5,000 on line 3 for January. The adjustment for the

$10,000 overstatement is used to offset the January 10 and 17

liabilities, so these two $5,000 liabilities are not deposited or

reported on Form 945-A. The $5,000 liabilities for January 24

and 31 must be reported on lines 24 and 31 for January.

Note: Form 945-A is a summary of your tax liability, not a

summary of deposits made. (The IRS gets deposit data from FTD

coupons or EFTPS.)

Each numbered space on Form 945-A corresponds to dates

during the year. Report your tax liabilities corresponding to the

dates payments were made, not when the liabilities accrued. For

example, if you became liable for a pension distribution on

December 31, 2002, but did not make the distribution until

January 3, 2003, the income tax withholding liability for the

distribution must be reported on Form 945-A for 2003, on line 3

for January. You are not required to provide the information requested on a

form that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act unless the

form displays a valid OMB control number. Books or records

relating to a form or its instructions must be retained as long as

their contents may become material in the administration of any

Internal Revenue law. Generally, tax returns and return

information are confidential, as required by Code section 6103.

These nonpayroll items include backup withholding and

withholding on pensions, annuities, IRAs, Indian gaming profits,

gambling winnings, and military retirement. Also use Form 945-A

to report tax liabilities reported on Form CT-1, Employer’s

Annual Railroad Retirement Tax Return.

Learning 6 min.