Form 943 (2019) Compliance Checklist
Corrected and Verified Edition
Form 943 reports agricultural employee payroll taxes for the 2019 calendar year. This form is used exclusively by employers who paid wages to farmworkers subject to federal income tax withholding, Social Security tax, or Medicare tax. Key 2019-specific elements include: Additional
Medicare Tax withholding on wages exceeding $200,000 per employee; the Qualified Small
Business Payroll Tax Credit for Research Activities, which requires Form 8974 attachment; and a $2,500 annual tax liability threshold determining whether Form 943-A completion and payment voucher use are necessary. Monthly liability reconciliation is required only for monthly schedule depositors whose total taxes after adjustments and credits equal or exceed $2,500.
Filing Requirements and Deposit Steps
Step 1: Verify Eligibility and Employee Count
Confirm that your business is subject to Form 943 filing requirements. Form 943 applies exclusively to agricultural payroll—not household employees or other non-farm employee categories. Household employees working in your private home on your farm may be reported on either Schedule H (Form 1040/1040-SR) or included with agricultural employees on Form
943, but wages paid to non-farm workers must be reported on Form 941 or Form 944 instead.
Enter on line 1 the total number of agricultural employees on your payroll during the pay period that included March 12, 2019. Do not include household employees working in your private home, persons who received no pay during that pay period, pensioners, or members of the
Armed Forces. If you report 250 or more employees on line 1, you are required to file all Forms
W-2 electronically with the Social Security Administration.
You must file Form 943 if you paid wages to one or more farmworkers and those wages were subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes or federal income tax withholding under either the
$150 test or the $2,500 test. The $150 test applies separately to each farmworker: if you pay any employee $150 or more in cash wages during the calendar year for farmwork, those wages are subject to employment taxes. The $2,500 test applies to the group: if the total cash and non-cash wages paid to all farmworkers equal $2,500 or more during the year, employment taxes apply, even if no individual worker received $150 or more.
Step 2: Calculate Social Security Tax (Lines 2–3)
Line 2: Total Wages Subject to Social Security Tax
Enter the total cash wages subject to Social Security tax that you paid to your employees for farmwork during the 2019 calendar year. Report the gross amount before any deductions. Cash
wages include payments by check and money order. Do not include the value of non-cash items, such as food or lodging, or payments for services other than farm work.
For 2019, the Social Security wage base limit is $132,900 per employee. Do not report an employee’s Social Security wages over $132,900 for the year. This wage base limit applies to agricultural employees in the same manner as it does to all other employees. The wage base adjusts annually based on the national average wage index; for 2019, any individual employee’s wages exceeding $132,900 are not subject to Social Security tax and should not be included in the line 2 calculation.
Line 3: Social Security Tax
Multiply line 2 by 12.4% (0.124) and enter the result on line 3. The 12.4% rate represents the combined employer and employee share: 6.2% withheld from the employee plus 6.2% paid by the employer. If you received an approved Form 4029 (exemption from Social Security and
Medicare taxes) from one or more qualifying employees, enter “Form 4029” on the dotted line next to the entry space.
Step 3: Calculate Medicare Tax (Lines 4–5)
Line 4: Total Wages Subject to Medicare Tax
Enter the total cash wages subject to Medicare tax that you paid to your employees for farmwork during the calendar year. Report the gross amount before deductions. Unlike the
Social Security tax, there is no wage base limit for the Medicare tax. All cash wages paid for farm work are subject to Medicare tax, regardless of the amount. Do not include non-cash items, such as food or lodging, or pay for services other than farm work.
Line 5: Medicare Tax
Multiply line 4 by 2.9% (0.029) and enter the result on line 5. The 2.9% rate represents the combined employer and employee share: 1.45% withheld from the employee plus 1.45% paid by the employer. If you received an approved Form 4029 from one or more qualifying employees, enter “Form 4029” on the dotted line next to the entry space.
Step 4: Calculate Additional Medicare Tax Withholding (Lines 6–7)
Line 6: Total Wages Subject to Additional Medicare Tax Withholding
Enter all wages that are subject to Additional Medicare Tax withholding. You are required to begin withholding Additional Medicare Tax in the pay period in which you pay wages in excess of $200,000 to an employee and must continue withholding each pay period until the end of the calendar year.
The $200,000 threshold is the employer withholding threshold and applies regardless of the employee’s filing status. This is a fixed statutory amount, not based on prior-year thresholds. All wages subject to Medicare tax are also subject to Additional Medicare Tax withholding once the
$200,000 threshold is exceeded. Additional Medicare Tax is imposed only on the employee; there is no employer share of this tax.
Line 7: Additional Medicare Tax Withholding
Multiply the wages reported on line 6 by 0.9% (0.009) and enter the withholding amount on line
7. This represents the actual Additional Medicare Tax withheld from employees’ wages. The
0.9% rate applies only to wages exceeding $200,000 paid to each employee during the calendar year.
Step 5: Report Federal Income Tax Withheld (Line 8)
Enter on line 8 the total federal income tax withheld from wages paid to your agricultural employees during 2019. Generally, you must withhold federal income tax from employees from whom you withhold Social Security and Medicare taxes. Agricultural employers follow the standard federal income tax withholding rules; no special override or unique 2019 guidance applies to Form 943 income tax withholding.
Step 6: Calculate Total Taxes and Apply Adjustments (Lines 9–11)
Line 9: Total Taxes Before Adjustments
Add lines 3, 5, 7, and 8. Enter the sum on line 9.
Line 10: Current Year’s Adjustments to Taxes
Use line 10 to report adjustments for rounding of fractions of cents, or to adjust for uncollected employee share of Social Security and Medicare taxes on third-party sick pay or group-term life insurance premiums paid for former employees. If adjustments relate to corrections of prior-year deposits or amendments made via previously filed Form 943-X returns, those adjustments should also be reported here. Use a minus sign (if possible) or parentheses to show decreases.
If the only adjustment is for fractions of cents, write “Fractions Only” on the dotted line to the left of the entry space.
Line 11: Total Taxes After Adjustments
Combine lines 9 and 10; enter the result on line 11.
Step 7: Claim Qualified Small Business Payroll Tax Credit (Line 12)
If you are eligible to claim the Qualified Small Business Payroll Tax Credit for Research
Activities, complete Form 8974 and attach it to Form 943. Enter the credit amount from Form
8974, line 12, on Form 943, line 12. This credit is available for qualified small businesses electing to use up to $250,000 of their research credit against the employer’s share of Social
Security tax. The credit election must be made on the timely filed income tax return (including extensions), and the credit applies beginning in the first calendar quarter after the income tax
return on which the election was filed. You must attach Form 8974 to Form 943 if you enter any amount on line 12.
Step 8: Calculate Total Taxes After Credits and Report Deposits (Lines 13–14)
Line 13: Total Taxes After Adjustments and Credits
Subtract line 12 from line 11; enter the result on line 13. This amount determines your deposit obligations and whether you must complete Form 943-A or line 17 of the return.
Line 14: Total Deposits
Enter your total Form 943 deposits for 2019, including any overpayment applied from a 2018 return or from Form 943-X filings during 2019. Your total tax liability determines your deposit schedule (monthly or semiweekly) during the lookback period (the second calendar year preceding the current year—for 2019, the lookback period is 2017). Deposits must be made by electronic funds transfer (EFT) using the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) or through your financial institution or payroll service provider.
- Semiweekly schedule depositors: Do not complete line 17. Instead, complete Form
- Monthly schedule depositors: Complete line 17 (Monthly Summary of Federal Tax
Step 9: Determine Form 943-A Requirement and Complete Monthly Liability Reporting (Line 17)
Critical $2,500 Threshold Rule:
If line 13 is less than $2,500, you are not required to complete line 17 or Form 943-A. You may pay the full tax liability with your timely filed Form 943.
If line 13 is $2,500 or more, your reporting requirement depends on your depositor status:
943-A (Agricultural Employer’s Record of Federal Tax Liability) and attach it to Form 943.
Check the box on the form indicating you are a semiweekly schedule depositor.
Liability) and check the box indicating you are a monthly schedule depositor. Do not complete Form 943-A. Report your tax liability (not your deposits) for each month. The total reported on line 17M must equal the amount on line 13.
You are a monthly schedule depositor if your total taxes reported during the lookback period
(calendar year 2017 for 2019 filers) were $50,000 or less. You are a semiweekly schedule depositor if your lookback period taxes exceeded $50,000.
Step 10: Calculate Balance Due or Overpayment (Lines 15–16)
Line 15: Balance Due
If line 13 is more than line 14, enter the difference on line 15. Pay the balance due by the return due date. If you were required to make federal tax deposits during the year, you must pay any balance owing by EFT. If you were not required to make deposits, or if you are a monthly schedule depositor making a payment under the accuracy of deposits rule, you may pay by
EFT, credit card, debit card, check, or money order. If paying by check or money order, make it payable to “United States Treasury,” write your EIN, “Form 943,” and “2019” on the payment, complete Form 943-V (Payment Voucher), and mail it with Form 943. Do not staple the voucher to the form.
Line 16: Overpayment
If line 14 is more than line 13, enter the difference on line 16. Check the box to request a refund or to apply the overpayment to your next return. Check only one box. If neither box is checked or both are checked, the IRS will generally apply the overpayment to your next return.
- Full IRS transcript retrieval (Wage & Income + Account)
- Professional tax form review
- Preparation & filing support
- Tax relief options if you owe the IRS
Step 11: Sign, Date, and File Form 943
Sign and date Form 943 under penalties of perjury. If you use a paid preparer to complete the return, the preparer must complete and sign the paid preparer section, enter their Preparer Tax
Identification Number (PTIN), and provide firm information. You may authorize a third-party designee to discuss the return with the IRS by completing the optional third-party designee section.
File Form 943 by January 31, 2020. If you made timely deposits in full payment of all taxes due for the year, you may file by February 10, 2020. Mail your return to the appropriate IRS address based on your location and whether you are including a payment. The filing addresses are listed in the Form 943 instructions.
Key 2019-Specific Updates
Qualified Small Business Payroll Tax Credit for Research Activities
The Qualified Small Business Payroll Tax Credit for Research Activities, claimed using Form
8974, is available for tax years beginning after 2015. For 2019, qualified small businesses may elect to claim up to $250,000 of research credit against the employer share of Social Security tax. Attachment of Form 8974 and the line 12 calculation are mandatory if the credit is claimed.
Additional Medicare Tax Withholding Requirements
Additional Medicare Tax withholding at the 0.9% rate is a permanent withholding obligation codified in the 2019 instructions. Employers must withhold from wages exceeding $200,000 paid to each employee during the calendar year. The $200,000 threshold is the employer withholding trigger and applies uniformly, regardless of the employee's filing status.
$2,500 Tax Liability Threshold Determines Reporting Requirements
The $2,500 threshold on line 13 governs Form 943-A completion and payment-with-return eligibility for the 2019 tax year. Filers with total taxes after adjustments and credits below $2,500 are exempt from the monthly reconciliation reporting requirement and may pay tax liability with a timely filed return.
Monthly Summary Exclusion for Semiweekly Depositors
The Monthly Summary of Federal Tax Liability (line 17) explicitly excludes semiweekly schedule depositors in the 2019 instructions. Only monthly schedule depositors whose line 13 equals or exceeds $2,500 complete line 17. Semiweekly depositors must complete Form 943-A instead, regardless of tax liability amount.
If you’re missing tax documents or want to ensure the numbers you enter match IRS records, we can help.
