Form 944 (2022) Filing Checklist & Sick Leave Credits Checklist

Form 944 (2022) Year-Specific Filing Checklist

Form 944 is an annual employer federal tax return filed only by employers notified by the IRS in writing to file annually instead of quarterly Form 941s. For 2022, this form uniquely captures qualified sick and family leave wage credits for leave taken after March 31, 2020, and before October 1, 2021—covering both the FFCRA and ARPA periods—alongside standard employment tax reconciliation and allocations of nonrefundable and refundable credits.

Steps

1. Confirm IRS written notification to file Form 944 for 2022. Only employers receiving explicit IRS notification are permitted to file annually; all others must file quarterly Form 941. Verify the notification letter or prior correspondence before proceeding. The IRS notifies eligible employers whose annual liability for social security, Medicare, and withheld federal income taxes is $1,000 or less.
2. Complete entity information, including name, EIN, and address. Enter your legal business name in the name field and your Employer Identification Number using the proper format with a hyphen. Include foreign address fields only if applicable. Trade name, if used, must be entered separately from the legal business name per the 2022 instructions. Ensure the EIN on Form 944 exactly matches the EIN assigned by the IRS to avoid processing delays and penalties.
3. Report line 1 for wages, tips, and other compensation for the full 2022 calendar year. This includes all compensation paid to employees during the year. Employers in American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico with no employees subject to U.S. income tax withholding may skip lines 1 and 2.
4. Enter line 2 for federal income tax withheld and calculate Part 1 tax liability. Report the total federal income tax withheld from employee wages throughout 2022. If no salaries are subject to Social Security or Medicare tax, check the box on line 3 and proceed directly to line 5. Otherwise, complete all applicable components of line 4.
5. On line 4a, report taxable Social Security wages and multiply by 0.124 (the combined employer and employee rate of 12.4%). The social security wage base limit for 2022 is $147,000 per employee. Lines 4a(i) and 4a(ii) apply to qualified sick and family leave wages paid in 2022 for leave taken after March 31, 2020, and before April 1, 2021. This period was established under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, not ARPA. These wages are subject only to the employee share of social security tax at 6.2%, not the employer share. Report line 4b for taxable social security tips at the 12.4% rate. Report line 4c for taxable Medicare wages and tips at 2.9% (1.45% each for employer and employee). Report line 4d for wages subject to Additional Medicare Tax withholding at 0.9%.
6. On lines 19 through 24 in Part 3, separately report and allocate qualified sick and family leave wages and health plan expenses for leave taken after March 31, 2021, and before October 1, 2021. This is the ARPA paid leave credit window exclusive to the 2022 reconciliation. Line 19 reports qualified sick leave wages for this ARPA period. Line 20 reports qualified health plan expenses allocable to those sick leave wages. Line 21 reports amounts under certain collectively bargained agreements allocable to qualified sick leave wages. Line 22 reports qualified family leave wages for the ARPA period. Line 23 reports qualified health plan expenses allocable to those family leave wages. Line 24 reports collectively bargained amounts allocable to qualified family leave wages.
7. Complete lines 8b and 8d for nonrefundable portions of sick and family leave credits, and lines 10d and 10f for refundable portions. The 2022 form splits nonrefundable credits and refundable credits by leave period. Line 8b reports the nonrefundable portion of credit for qualified sick and family leave wages for leave taken before April 1, 2021. Line 8d reports the nonrefundable portion for leave taken after March 31, 2021, and before October 1, 2021. Line 10d reports the refundable portion for leave taken before April 1, 2021. Line 10f reports the refundable portion for leave taken after March 31, 2021, and before October 1, 2021. Lines 8c, 10b, 10c, 10e, 10i, and 10j are reserved for future use and must be left blank.
8. Calculate line 9 for total taxes after adjustments and nonrefundable credits, then compare to line 10h for total deposits and refundable credits. If line 9 is $2,500 or more, complete Part 2 by entering monthly tax liabilities on lines 13a through 13l, or use Form 945-A if you are a semiweekly schedule depositor. Ensure line 13m, the total liability for the year, equals line 9 exactly. Monthly schedule depositors enter their tax liability for each month of 2022. Semiweekly schedule depositors must complete Form 945-A and attach it to Form 944 instead of completing lines 13a through 13l.
9. Determine whether there is an overpayment or balance due on lines 11 and 12. If paying with Form 944, apply one of the three exceptions listed on Form 944-V. Exception one: your net taxes for the year on line 9 are less than $2,500, and you are paying in full with a timely filed return. Exception two: your net taxes for the year on line 9 are $2,500 or more, you already deposited the taxes owed for the first, second, and third quarters of 2022, your net taxes for the fourth quarter are less than $2,500, and you are paying in full the tax you owe for the fourth quarter with a timely filed return. Exception three: you are a monthly schedule depositor making a payment in accordance with the Accuracy of Deposits Rule, in which case the amount of your payment may be $2,500 or more. Otherwise, you must make deposits by electronic funds transfer using the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System.
10. Attach Form 944-V if making a payment with Form 944. Do not staple the voucher or payment to the form. Enter your EIN, payment amount, and business name and address on the voucher exactly as they appear on Form 944. Make your check or money order payable to “United States Treasury” and include your EIN, “Form 944,” and “2022” on your check or money order. Do not send cash. Detach Form 944-V and send it with your payment and Form 944 to the appropriate IRS address.
11. Complete all three pages of Form 944. Sign Part 5 under penalties of perjury with your signature, date, printed name, and title. Include your best daytime phone number. If using a paid preparer, the preparer must sign Part 5, provide their Preparer Tax Identification Number, and include their firm’s name, address, phone number, and EIN. The paid preparer section is mandatory if you use professional tax preparation services.
12. Designate a third-party representative in Part 4 if authorizing an employee, tax preparer, or other person to discuss the return with the IRS. Provide the designee’s name, phone number, and a five-digit personal identification number. This authorization allows the IRS to contact your designee to answer questions about the processing of your return. Leave Part 4 blank if no designee is authorized.

Year-Specific IRS Updates for 2022

Form 944 for 2022 includes two separate qualified sick and family leave credit windows covering both FFCRA and ARPA legislation. Lines 4a(i) and 4a(ii) apply to leave taken after March 31, 2020, and before April 1, 2021, under FFCRA. Lines 19 through 24 apply to leave taken after March 31, 2021, and before October 1, 2021, under ARPA. The 2022 form uniquely reconciles both periods with distinct line allocations for nonrefundable portions on lines 8b and 8d, and refundable portions on lines 10d and 10f.

Lines 8c, 10b, 10c, 10e, 10i, and 10j are marked “reserved for future use” on the 2022 form, indicating structural redesign from prior years and signaling potential expansion of credits in future years. Leave these lines blank when completing your return.

Form 944 for 2022 does not address Economic Impact Payment reconciliation. The three rounds of stimulus payments issued to individuals in 2020 and 2021 are reconciled on individual tax returns using Form 1040 and the Recovery Rebate Credit worksheet. Employers do not claim or adjust for stimulus payments on employment tax forms.

The $2,500 tax liability threshold in Part 2 determines whether an employer must report monthly liabilities on line 13 or use Form 945-A for semiweekly schedule depositors. This threshold remains unchanged from prior years but is still material for the 2022 filing classification and deposit schedule determination.

Form 944-V payment rules specify three exceptions that permit check or money order payment with the 2022 return, rather than electronic deposit. Payments outside these three specific scenarios are subject to failure-to-deposit penalties. Employers must verify their deposit schedule classification and review the three exceptions carefully before choosing a payment method to avoid penalties.

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This checklist is for educational purposes only and does not constitute tax or legal advice. Always review official IRS instructions and consult a qualified professional for guidance.