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Publication 926
Household Employer's Tax Guide
(Revised: 11/2002)

For Wages Paid in 2003

What Records Must You Keep?

FILES: Keep your copies of Schedule H or other employment tax forms you file and related Forms W-2, W-3, W-4, and W-5. You must also keep records to support the information you enter on the forms you file. If you must file Form W-2, you will need to keep a record of your employee's name, address, and social security number.

Wage and tax records.   On each payday you should record the date and amounts of all the following items.

  • Your employee's cash and noncash wages.
  • Any employee social security tax you withhold or agree to pay for your employee.
  • Any employee Medicare tax you withhold or agree to pay for your employee.
  • Any federal income tax you withhold.
  • Any advance EIC payments you make.
  • Any state employment taxes you withhold.

Employee's social security number.   You must keep a record of your employee's name and social security number exactly as they appear on his or her social security card if you pay the employee either of the following.

  • Social security and Medicare wages of $1,400 or more.
  • Wages from which you withhold federal income tax.

You must ask for your employee's social security number no later than the first day on which you pay the wages. You may wish to ask for it when you hire your employee.

An employee who does not have a social security number must apply for one on Form SS-5, Application for a Social Security Card. An employee who has lost his or her social security card or whose name is not correctly shown on the card should apply for a new card.

PHONE: Employees can get Form SS-5 from any Social Security Administration office or by calling 1-800-772-1213.

COMPUTE: You also can download Form SS-5 from the Social Security Administration web site, www.ssa.gov.

How long to keep records.   Keep your employment tax records for at least 4 years after the due date of the return on which you report the taxes or the date the taxes were paid, whichever is later.

Can You Claim a Credit for Child and Dependent Care Expenses?

If your household employee cares for your dependent who is under age 13 or for your spouse or dependent who is not capable of self care, you may be able to take an income tax credit of up to 30% of your expenses. To qualify, you must pay these expenses so you can work or look for work. If you can take the credit, you can include in your qualifying expenses your share of the federal and state employment taxes you pay, as well as the employee's wages. For information about the credit, see Publication 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses.

How To Get Tax Help

You can get help with unresolved tax issues, order free publications and forms, ask tax questions, and get more information from the IRS in several ways. By selecting the method that is best for you, you will have quick and easy access to tax help.

Contacting your Taxpayer Advocate.   If you have attempted to deal with an IRS problem unsuccessfully, you should contact your Taxpayer Advocate.

The Taxpayer Advocate represents your interests and concerns within the IRS by protecting your rights and resolving problems that have not been fixed through normal channels. While Taxpayer Advocates cannot change the tax law or make a technical tax decision, they can clear up problems that resulted from previous contacts and ensure that your case is given a complete and impartial review.

To contact your Taxpayer Advocate:

  • Call the Taxpayer Advocate at
    1-877-777-4778.
  • Call, write, or fax the Taxpayer Advocate office in your area.
  • Call 1-800-829-4059 if you are a
    TTY/TDD user.

For more information, see Publication 1546, The Taxpayer Advocate Service of the IRS.

Free tax services.   To find out what services are available, get Publication 910, Guide to Free Tax Services. It contains a list of free tax publications and an index of tax topics. It also describes other free tax information services, including tax education and assistance programs and a list of TeleTax topics.

COMPUTE: Personal computer. With your personal computer and modem, you can access the IRS on the Internet at www.irs.gov. While visiting our web site, you can:

  • See answers to frequently asked tax questions or request help by e-mail.
  • Download forms and publications or search for forms and publications by topic or keyword.
  • Order IRS products on-line.
  • View forms that may be filled in electronically, print the completed form, and then save the form for recordkeeping.
  • View Internal Revenue Bulletins published in the last few years.
  • Search regulations and the Internal Revenue Code.
  • Receive our electronic newsletters on hot tax issues and news.
  • Learn about the benefits of filing electronically (IRS e-file).
  • Get information on starting and operating a small business.

You can also reach us with your computer using File Transfer Protocol at ftp.irs.gov.

FAX: TaxFax Service. Using the phone attached to your fax machine, you can receive forms and instructions by calling 703-368-9694. Follow the directions from the prompts. When you order forms, enter the catalog number for the form you need. The items you request will be faxed to you.

For help with transmission problems, call the FedWorld Help Desk at 703-487-4608.

PHONE: Phone. Many services are available by phone.
 

  • Ordering forms, instructions, and publications. Call 1-800-829-3676 to order current and prior year forms, instructions, and publications.
  • Asking tax questions. Call the IRS with your tax questions at 1-800-829-1040.
  • Solving problems. Take advantage of Everyday Tax Solutions service by calling your local IRS office to set up an in-person appointment at your convenience. Check your local directory assistance or www.irs.gov for the numbers.
  • TTY/TDD equipment. If you have access to TTY/TDD equipment, call 1-800-829-4059 to ask tax questions or to order forms and publications.
  • TeleTax topics. Call 1-800-829-4477 to listen to pre-recorded messages covering various tax topics.


Evaluating the quality of our telephone services. To ensure that IRS representatives give accurate, courteous, and professional answers, we use several methods to evaluate the quality of our telephone services. One method is for a second IRS representative to sometimes listen in on or record telephone calls. Another is to ask some callers to complete a short survey at the end of the call.

WALKIN: Walk-in. Many products and services are available on a walk-in basis.
 

  • Products. You can walk in to many post offices, libraries, and IRS offices to pick up certain forms, instructions, and publications. Some IRS offices, libraries, grocery stores, copy centers, city and county governments, credit unions, and office supply stores have an extensive collection of products available to print from a CD-ROM or photocopy from reproducible proofs. Also, some IRS offices and libraries have the Internal Revenue Code, regulations, Internal Revenue Bulletins, and Cumulative Bulletins available for research purposes.
  • Services. You can walk in to your local IRS office to ask tax questions or get help with a tax problem. Now you can set up an appointment by calling your local IRS office number and, at the prompt, leaving a message requesting Everyday Tax Solutions help. A representative will call you back within 2 business days to schedule an in-person appointment at your convenience.

ENVELOPE: Mail. You can send your order for forms, instructions, and publications to the Distribution Center nearest to you and receive a response within 10 workdays after your request is received. Find the address that applies to your part of the country.

  • Western part of U.S.:
    Western Area Distribution Center
    Rancho Cordova, CA 95743-0001
  • Central part of U.S.:
    Central Area Distribution Center
    P.O. Box 8903
    Bloomington, IL 61702-8903
  • Eastern part of U.S. and foreign addresses:
    Eastern Area Distribution Center
    P.O. Box 85074
    Richmond, VA 23261-5074

CDROM: CD-ROM for tax products. You can order IRS Publication 1796, Federal Tax Products on CD-ROM, and obtain:

  • Current tax forms, instructions, and publications.
  • Prior-year tax forms and instructions.
  • Popular tax forms that may be filled in electronically, printed out for submission, and saved for recordkeeping.
  • Internal Revenue Bulletins.

The CD-ROM can be purchased from National Technical Information Service (NTIS) by calling 1-877-233-6767 or on the Internet at http://www.irs.gov/cdorders. The first release is available in early January and the final release is available in late February.

CDROM: CD-ROM for small businesses. IRS Publication 3207, Small Business Resource Guide, is a must for every small business owner or any taxpayer about to start a business. This handy, interactive CD contains all the business tax forms, instructions, and publications needed to successfully manage a business. In addition, the CD provides an abundance of other helpful information, such as how to prepare a business plan, finding financing for your business, and much more. The design of the CD makes finding information easy and quick and incorporates file formats and browsers that can be run on virtually any desktop or laptop computer.

It is available in March. You can get a free copy by calling 1-800-829-3676 or by visiting the website at www.irs.gov/smallbiz.

Appendix: State Unemployment Tax Agencies

PHONE: The following list of state unemployment tax agencies was provided to the IRS by the U.S. Department of Labor. If the telephone number listed for your state would be a long distance call from your area, you can use the name of the agency to look for a local number in your telephone book. The addresses and telephone numbers of the agencies, which were current at the time this publication was prepared for print, are subject to change.

COMPUTE: For the most up-to-date addresses and telephone numbers for these agencies, you can download this publication from the IRS web site. You can access the IRS web site at www.irs.gov.

  • Alabama

    Department of Industrial
    Relations
    649 Monroe Street
    Montgomery, AL 36131
    (334) 242-8467
    www.dir.state.al.us
  •  
  • Alaska

    Department of Labor
    Employment Security
    Division
    P O Box 25509
    Juneau, AK 99802-5509
    (907) 465-5912
    www.state.ak.us
  •  
  • Arizona

    Department of Economic
    Security
    3225 N. Central Avenue
    Suite 1411
    Phoenix, AZ 85012
    (602) 248-9396
    www.de.state.az.us
  •  
  • Arkansas

    Employment Security
    Department
    P O Box 2981
    Little Rock, AR 72203
    (501) 682-3253
    www.state.ar.us/esd
  •  
  • California

    Employment Development
    Department
    3321 Power Inn Road, Suite 220
    Sacramento, CA 95826-6110
    (916) 464-3502
    www.edd.cahwnet.gov
  •  
  • Colorado

    Department of Labor and
    Employment
    1515 Arapahoe Street
    Tower 2, Suite 200
    Denver, CO 80202-2117
    (800) 480-8299
    www.coworkforce.com
  •  
  • Connecticut

    Department of Labor
    200 Folly Brook Blvd.
    Wethersfield, CT 06109-1114
    (860) 263-6550
    www.ctdol.state.ct.us
  •  
  • Delaware

    Department of Labor
    4425 North Market Street
    Wilmington, DE 19802
    (302) 761-8484
    www.delawareworks.com
  •  
  • District of Columbia

    Department of Employment
    Services
    609 H Street, NE, Room 354
    Washington, DC 20002
    (202) 727-1000
    http://does.ci.washington.dc.us
  •  
  • Florida

    Florida Department of Revenue
    5050 West Tennessee Street
    Tallahassee, FL 32399-0100
    (800) 482-8293
    www.myflorida.com/dor
  •  
  • Georgia

    Department of Labor
    148 International Blvd.
    Suite 800
    Atlanta, GA 30303
    (404) 656-3122
    www.dol.state.ga.us
  •  
  • Hawaii

    Department of Labor and
    Industrial Relations
    830 Punchbowl Street
    Room 437
    Honolulu, HI 96813
    (808) 586-8913
    www.state.hi.us/dlir
  •  
  • Idaho

    Department of Labor
    317 Main Street
    Boise, ID 83735-0760
    (208) 332-3576
    www.labor.state.id.us
  •  
  • Illinois

    Department of Employment
    Security
    401 South State Street
    Chicago, IL 60605
    (312) 793-4880
    www.ides.state.il.us
  •  
  • Indiana

    Department of Workforce
    Development
    10 North Senate Avenue
    Indianapolis, IN 46204
    (317) 232-7436
    www.IN.gov/dwd/
  •  
  • Iowa

    Workforce Development
    1000 East Grand Avenue
    Des Moines, IA 50319
    (515) 281-8200
    http://www.state.ia.us/government/des
  •  
  • Kansas

    Department of Human
    Resources
    401 SW Topeka Blvd.
    Topeka, KS 66603
    (785) 296-5025
    www.2.hr.state.ks.us
  •  
  • Kentucky

    Division of Employment
    Services
    P O Box 948
    Frankfort, KY 40602
    (502) 564-6838
    www.kycwd.org/des/ui
  •  
  • Louisiana

    Department of Labor
    P O Box 98146
    Baton Rouge, LA 70804
    (225) 342-2944
    www.ldol.state.la.us
  •  
  • Maine

    Department of Labor
    P O Box 259
    Augusta, ME 04332-0259
    (207) 287-3176
    www.state.me.us/labor/uibennys
  •  
  • Maryland

    Department of Labor,
    Licensing & Regulation
    1100 North Eutaw Street,
    Room 414
    Baltimore, MD 21201
    (410) 767-2414
    www.dllr.state.md.us
  •  
  • Massachusetts

    Division of Employment and
    Training
    19 Staniford Street
    Boston, MA 02114
    (617) 626-5050
    www.detma.org
  •  
  • Michigan

    Bureau of Workers' and Unemployment Compensation
    3024 West Grand Blvd.
    Detroit, MI 48202
    (313) 456-2180
    www.michigan.gov/bwuc
  •  
  • Minnesota

    Department of Economic
    Security
    390 North Robert Street
    St. Paul, MN 55101
    (651) 296-6141
    www.mnwfc.org
  •  
  • Mississippi

    Employment Security
    Commission
    P O Box 22781
    Jackson, MS 39225-2781
    (601) 961-7755
    www.mesc.state.ms.us
  •  
  • Missouri

    Division of Employment Security
    P O Box 59
    Jefferson City, MO 65104
    (573) 751-3215
    www.dolir.state.mo.us
  •  
  • Montana

    Department of Labor and
    Industry
    P O Box 1728
    Helena, MT 59624
    (406) 444-6900
    http://dli.state.mt.us
  •  
  • Nebraska

    Department of Labor
    Box 94600
    State House Station
    Lincoln, NE 68509
    (402) 471-9835
    www.dol.state.ne.us
  •  
  • Nevada

    Department of Employment
    Training and Rehabilitation
    500 East Third Street
    Carson City, NV 89713
    (775) 687-4545
    http://detr.state.nv.us/uicont
  •  
  • New Hampshire

    Department of Employment
    Security
    32 South Main Street
    Concord, NH 03301
    (603) 228-4045
    www.nhworks.state.nh.us
  •  
  • New Jersey

    Department of Labor
    P O Box 947
    Trenton, NJ 08625-0947
    (609) 292-6400
    www.nj.gov/labor/ea
  •  
  • New Mexico

    Department of Labor
    P O Box 2281
    Albuquerque, NM 87103
    (505) 841-2000
    www.dol.state.nm.us
  •  
  • New York

    Department of Labor
    State Campus, Building 12,
    Room 542
    Albany, NY 12240
    (800) 225-5829
    www.labor.state.ny.us
  •  
  • North Carolina

    Employment Security
    Commission
    P O Box 26504
    Raleigh, NC 27611
    (919) 733-7395
    www.ncesc.com
  •  
  • North Dakota

    Job Service of North Dakota
    P O Box 5507
    Bismarck, ND 58506-5507
    (800) 472-2952
    www.state.nd.us/jsnd
  •  
  • Ohio

    Department of Job and
    Family Services
    P O Box 182404
    Columbus, OH 43218-2404
    (614) 466-2319
    http://www.state.oh.us/odjfs
  •  
  • Oklahoma

    Employment Security
    Commission
    Will Rogers Memorial
    Office Building
    2401 North Lincoln
    Oklahoma City, OK 73105
    (405) 557-7226
    www.oesc.state.ok.us
  •  
  • Oregon

    Employment Department
    875 Union Street NE
    Salem, OR 97311
    (503) 947-1488
    www.emp.state.or.us
  •  
  • Pennsylvania

    Department of Labor and
    Industry
    7th and Forster Street
    Harrisburg, PA 17121
    (717) 787-7679
    www.dli.state.pa.us
  •  
  • Puerto Rico

    Department of Labor and
    Human Resources
    P O Box 1020
    San Juan, PR 00919
    (787) 754-5262
    www.interempleo.org
  •  
  • Rhode Island

    Department of Labor and
    Training
    One Capitol Hill
    Providence, RI 02908-5829
    (401) 222-3696
    www.det.state.ri.us
  •  
  • South Carolina

    Employment Security
    Commission
    P O Box 995
    Columbia, SC 29202
    (803) 737-3070
    www.sces.org
  •  
  • South Dakota

    Department of Labor
    P O Box 4730
    Aberdeen, SD 57402
    (605) 626-2312
    www.state.sd.us/dol
  •  
  • Tennessee

    Department of Employment
    Security
    500 James Robertson Parkway
    Davy Crocket Tower, 8th Floor
    Nashville, TN 37245-3500
    (615) 741-2486
    www.state.tn.us/labor-wfd
  •  
  • Texas

    Workforce Commission
    101 East 15th Street
    Austin, TX 78778
    (512) 463-2700
    www.twc.state.tx.us
  •  
  • Utah

    Department of Workforce
    Services
    P O Box 45249
    Salt Lake City, UT 84145-0249
    (801) 526-9400
    http://jobs.utah.gov
  •  
  • Vermont

    Department of Employment
    and Training
    P O Box 488
    Montpelier, VT 05601-0488
    (802) 828-4152
    www.det.state.vt.us
  •  
  • Virginia

    Employment Commission
    P O Box 1358
    Richmond, VA 23218-1358
    (804) 371-6325
    www.vec.state.va.us
  •  
  • Virgin Islands

    Employment Security Agency
    P O Box 3159
    St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
    00803-3159
    (340) 776-3700
    www.vidol.org
  •  
  • Washington

    Employment Security
    Department
    P O Box 9046
    Olympia, WA 98507-9046
    (360) 902-9360
    www.wa.gov/esd
  •  
  • West Virginia

    Bureau of Employment
    Programs
    112 California Avenue
    Charleston, WV 25305-0112
    (304) 558-2675
    www.state.wv.us/bep
  •  
  • Wisconsin

    Department of Workforce
    Development
    P O Box 7942, GEF 1
    Madison, WI 53702
    (608) 261-6700
    www.dwd.state.wi.us
  •  
  • Wyoming

    Department of Employment
    P O Box 2760
    Casper, WY 82602
    (307) 235-3217
    www.wyjobs.state.wy.us
  •  

(See Circular E for income tax withholding tables.) 

Table 3. Employee Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) Tax Withholding Table
Use this table to figure the amount of social security and Medicare taxes to withhold from each wage payment. For example, on a wage payment of $180, the employee social security tax is $11.16 ($6.20 tax on $100 plus $4.96 on $80 wages). The employee Medicare tax is $2.61 ($1.45 tax on $100 plus $1.16 on $80 wages).
If wage payment is: The social security tax to be withheld is: The Medicare tax to be withheld is: If wage payment is: The social security tax to be withheld is: The Medicare tax to be withheld is:
$ 1.00 . $ .06 $ .01 $ 51.00 . $ 3.16 $ .74
2.00 . .12 .03 52.00 . 3.22 .75
3.00 . .19 .04 53.00 . 3.29 .77
4.00 . .25 .06 54.00 . 3.35 .78
5.00 . .31 .07 55.00 . 3.41 .80
6.00 . .37 .09 56.00 . 3.47 .81
7.00 . .43 .10 57.00 . 3.53 .83
8.00 . .50 .12 58.00 . 3.60 .84
9.00 . .56 .13 59.00 . 3.66 .86
10.00 . .62 .15 60.00 . 3.72 .87
11.00 . .68 .16 61.00 . 3.78 .88
12.00 . .74 .17 62.00 . 3.84 .90
13.00 . .81 .19 63.00 . 3.91 .91
14.00 . .87 .20 64.00 . 3.97 .93
15.00 . .93 .22 65.00 . 4.03 .94
16.00 . .99 .23 66.00 . 4.09 .96
17.00 . 1.05 .25 67.00 . 4.15 .97
18.00 . 1.12 .26 68.00 . 4.22 .99
19.00 . 1.18 .28 69.00 . 4.28 1.00
20.00 . 1.24 .29 70.00 . 4.34 1.02
21.00 . 1.30 .30 71.00 . 4.40 1.03
22.00 . 1.36 .32 72.00 . 4.46 1.04
23.00 . 1.43 .33 73.00 . 4.53 1.06
24.00 . 1.49 .35 74.00 . 4.59 1.07
25.00 . 1.55 .36 75.00 . 4.65 1.09
26.00 . 1.61 .38 76.00 . 4.71 1.10
27.00 . 1.67 .39 77.00 . 4.77 1.12
28.00 . 1.74 .41 78.00 . 4.84 1.13
29.00 . 1.80 .42 79.00 . 4.90 1.15
30.00 . 1.86 .44 80.00 . 4.96 1.16
31.00 . 1.92 .45 81.00 . 5.02 1.17
32.00 . 1.98 .46 82.00 . 5.08 1.19
33.00 . 2.05 .48 83.00 . 5.15 1.20
34.00 . 2.11 .49 84.00 . 5.21 1.22
35.00 . 2.17 .51 85.00 . 5.27 1.23
36.00 . 2.23 .52 86.00 . 5.33 1.25
37.00 . 2.29 .54 87.00 . 5.39 1.26
38.00 . 2.36 .55 88.00 . 5.46 1.28
39.00 . 2.42 .57 89.00 . 5.52 1.29
40.00 . 2.48 .58 90.00 . 5.58 1.31
41.00 . 2.54 .59 91.00 . 5.64 1.32
42.00 . 2.60 .61 92.00 . 5.70 1.33
43.00 . 2.67 .62 93.00 . 5.77 1.35
44.00 . 2.73 .64 94.00 . 5.83 1.36
45.00 . 2.79 .65 95.00 . 5.89 1.38
46.00 . 2.85 .67 96.00 . 5.95 1.39
47.00 . 2.91 .68 97.00 . 6.01 1.41
48.00 . 2.98 .70 98.00 . 6.08 1.42
49.00 . 3.04 .71 99.00 . 6.14 1.44
50.00 . 3.10 .73 100.00 . 6.20 1.45

Tax Publications and Commonly Used Forms for Individual Taxpayers