Employers should implement the 2013 withholding tables as soon as possible, but not later than February 15, 2013. Use the 2012 withholding tables until you implement the 2013 withholding tables.

The employee tax rate for social security is 6.2%. Previously, the employee tax rate for social security was 4.2%. The employer tax rate for social security remains unchanged at 6.2%. The social security wage base limit is $113,700. (Continued on page 2.)

Employers should implement the 6.2% employee social security tax rate as soon as possible, but not later than February 15, 2013. After implementing the new 6.2% rate, employers should make an adjustment in a subsequent pay period to correct any underwithholding of social security tax as soon as possible, but not later than March 31, 2013.

The Medicare tax rate is 1.45% each for the employee and employer for 2013, unchanged from 2012. There is no wage base limit for Medicare tax.

Social security and Medicare taxes apply to the wages of household workers you pay $1,800 or more in cash or an equivalent form of compensation. Social security and Medicare taxes apply to election workers who are paid $1,600 or more in cash or an equivalent form of compensation.

In addition to withholding Medicare tax at 1.45%, you must withhold a 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax from wages you pay to an employee in excess of $200,000 in a calendar year. 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 continue to withhold it each pay period until the end of the calendar year. Additional Medicare Tax is only imposed on the employee. There is no employer share of Additional Medicare Tax. All wages that are subject to Medicare tax are subject to Additional Medicare Tax withholding if paid in excess of the $200,000 withholding threshold. For more information on what wages are subject to Medicare tax, see the chart, Special Rules for Various Types of Services and Payments, in section 15 of Publication 15 (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide.

The 2013 amount for one withholding allowance on an annual basis is $3,900.

Under these programs, employees may donate their vacation, sick, or personal leave in exchange for employer cash payments made before January 1, 2014, to qualified tax-exempt organizations providing relief for the victims of Hurricane Sandy. The donated leave will not be included in the income or wages of the employee. The employer may deduct the cash payments as business expenses or charitable contributions. For more information, see Notice 2012-69, 2012-51 I.R.B. 712, available at www.irs.gov/irb/2012-51_IRB/ar09.html.

The work opportunity tax credit is now available for eligible unemployed veterans who begin work before January 1, 2014. Previously, the credit was available for unemployed veterans who began work on or after November 22, 2011, and before January 1, 2013. Qualified tax-exempt organizations that hire eligible unemployed veterans can claim the work opportunity tax credit against their payroll tax liability using Form 5884-C, Work Opportunity Credit for Qualified Tax-Exempt Organizations Hiring Qualified Veterans. For more information, visit IRS.gov and enter "work opportunity tax credit" in the search box.

The credit for COBRA premium assistance payments applies to premiums paid for employees involuntarily terminated between September 1, 2008, and May 31, 2010, and to premiums paid for up to 15 months. For more information, see COBRA premium assistance credit in Publication 15 (Circular E).

You must use electronic funds transfer to make all federal tax deposits. Generally, electronic fund transfers are made using the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS). If you do not want to use EFTPS, you can arrange for your tax professional, financial institution, payroll service, or other trusted third party to make electronic deposits on your behalf. Also, you may arrange for your financial institution to initiate a same-day wire payment on your behalf. EFTPS is a free service provided by the Department of Treasury. Services provided by your tax professional, financial institution, payroll service, or other third party may have a fee.

For more information on making federal tax deposits, see How To Deposit in Publication 15 (Circular E). To get more information about EFTPS or to enroll in EFTPS, visit www.eftps.gov or call 1-800-555-4477. Additional information about EFTPS is also available in Publication 966, Electronic Federal Tax Payment System: A Guide To Getting Started.

If you have been filing Forms 941, Employer's QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return (or Forms 941-SS, Employer's QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return—American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or Formularios 941-PR, Planilla para la Declaración Federal TRIMESTRAL del Patrono), and believe your employment taxes for the calendar year will be $1,000 or less, and you would like to file Form 944 instead of Forms 941, you must contact the IRS to request to file Form 944. You must receive written notice from the IRS to file Form 944 instead of Forms 941 before you may file this form. For more information on requesting to file Form 944, visit IRS.gov and enter "file employment taxes annually" in the search box.

If you received notice from the IRS and have been filing Form 944 but would like to file Forms 941 instead, you must contact the IRS to request to file Forms 941. You must receive written notice from the IRS to file Forms 941 instead of Form 944 before you may file these forms. For more information on requesting to file Form 944, visit IRS.gov and enter "file employment taxes annually" in the search box.

Form 944-SS, Employer's ANNUAL Federal Tax Return—American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Formulario 944-PR, Planilla para la Declaración Federal ANUAL del Patrono, will no longer be issued by the IRS after 2011. Beginning with tax year 2012, employers who previously filed Form 944-SS or Formulario 944-PR will continue to file annually on Form 944 (or Formulario 944-SP, Declaración Federal ANUAL de Impuestos del Patrono o Empleador, the Spanish language equivalent of Form 944). Alternatively, employers in American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands may request to file Forms 941-SS instead of Form 944. Employers in Puerto Rico may request to file Formularios 941-PR instead of Form 944. You must receive written notice from the IRS to file Forms 941-SS or Formularios 941-PR instead of Form 944 before you may file these forms.

Agents must complete Schedule R (Form 941), Allocation Schedule for Aggregate Form 941 filers, when filing an aggregate Form 941. Aggregate Forms 941 can only be filed by agents approved by the IRS under section 3504 of the Internal Revenue Code. To request approval to act as an agent for an employer, the agent files Form 2678, Employer/Payer Appointment of Agent, with the IRS.

Agents must complete Schedule R (Form 940), Allocation Schedule for Aggregate Form 940 Filers, when filing an aggregate Form 940, Employer's Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return. Aggregate Forms 940 may only be filed by agents acting on behalf of home care service recipients who receive home care services through a program administered by a federal, state, or local government. To request approval to act as an agent on behalf of home care service recipients, the agent files Form 2678 with the IRS.

Use Form 8822-B, Change of Address—Business, to notify the IRS of an address change. Do not mail Form 8822-B with your employment tax return.

Now, more than ever before, businesses can enjoy the benefits of filing and paying their federal taxes electronically. Whether you rely on a tax professional or handle your own taxes, the IRS offers you convenient programs to make filing and payment easier.

Spend less time and worry on taxes and more time running your business. Use e-file and the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) to your benefit.

• For e-file, visit www.irs.gov/efile for additional information.
• For EFTPS, visit www.eftps.gov or call EFTPS Customer Service at 1-800-555-4477.

You may set up a system to electronically receive any or all of the following forms (and their Spanish versions, if available) from an employee or payee.

• Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate.
• Form W-4P, Withholding Certificate for Pension or Annuity Payments.
• Form W-4S, Request for Federal Income Tax Withholding From Sick Pay.
• Form W-4V, Voluntary Withholding Request.

For each form that you establish an electronic submission system for, you must meet each of the following five requirements.

1. The electronic system must ensure that the information received by the payer is the information sent by the payee. The system must document all occasions of user access that result in a submission. In addition, the design and operation of the electronic system, including access procedures, must make it reasonably certain that the person accessing the system and submitting the form is the person identified on the form.
2. The electronic system must provide exactly the same information as the paper form.
3. The electronic submission must be signed with an electronic signature by the payee whose name is on the form. The electronic signature must be the final entry in the submission.
4. Upon request, you must furnish a hard copy of any completed electronic form to the IRS and a statement that, to the best of the payer's knowledge, the electronic form was submitted by the named payee. The hard copy of the electronic form must provide exactly the same information as, but need not be a facsimile of, the paper form. For Form W-4, the signature must be under penalty of perjury, and must contain the same language that appears on the paper version of the form. The electronic system must inform the employee that he or she must make a declaration contained in the perjury statement and that the declaration is made by signing the Form W-4.
5. You must also meet all recordkeeping requirements that apply to the paper forms.

For more information, see:

• Regulations sections 31.3402(f)(5)-1(c) (for Form W-4), and
• Announcement 99-6 (for Forms W-4P, W-4S, and W-4V). You can find Announcement 99-6 on page 24 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 1999-4 at
  www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb99-04.pdf.

Visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov/businesses and click on the
Employment Taxes link under Businesses Topics.

You can call the IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line with your employment tax questions at 1-800-829-4933.

You may call 1-800-829-4059 (TDD/TTY for persons who are deaf, heard of hearing, or have a speech disability) with any tax question or to order forms and publications. You may also use this number for assistance with unresolved tax problems.

You may set up a system to furnish Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, electronically. Each employee participating must consent (either electronically or by paper document) to receive his or her Form W-2 electronically, and you must notify the employee of all hardware and software requirements to receive the form. You may not send a Form W-2 electronically to any employee who does not consent or who has revoked consent previously provided.

To furnish Forms W-2 electronically, you must meet the following disclosure requirements and provide a clear and conspicuous statement of each requirement to your employees.

• The employee must be informed that he or she will receive a paper Form W-2 if consent is not given to receive it electronically.
• The employee must be informed of the scope and duration of the consent.
• The employee must be informed of any procedure for obtaining a paper copy of his or her Form W-2 and whether or not the request for a paper statement is treated as a withdrawal of his or her consent to receiving his or her Form W-2 electronically.
• The employee must be notified about how to withdraw a consent and the effective date and manner by which the employer will confirm the withdrawn consent. The employee must also be notified that the withdrawn consent does not apply to the previously issued Forms W-2.
• The employee must be informed about any conditions under which electronic Forms W-2 will no longer be furnished (for example, termination of employment).
• The employee must be informed of any procedures for updating his or her contact information that enables the employer to provide electronic Forms W-2.
• The employer must notify the employee of any changes to the employer's contact information.

You must furnish electronic Forms W-2 by the same due date as the paper Forms W-2. For more information on furnishing Form W-2 to employees electronically, see Regulations section 31.6051-1(j).

The Internal Revenue Service is a proud partner with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Photographs of missing children selected by the Center may appear in this publication on pages that would otherwise be blank. You can help bring these children home by looking at the photographs and calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) if you recognize a child.