The credit for COBRA premium assistance payments has been extended. It now applies to premiums paid for employees terminated before March 1, 2010, and to premiums paid for 15 months. See COBRA premium assistance credit on page 7.

Beginning with tax year 2010, employers that would otherwise be required to file Form 944 can notify the IRS if they want to file quarterly Form 941 instead of annual Form 944. See Revenue Procedure 2009-51 for more information.

Starting in fall 2009, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will no longer manually verify Social Security numbers (SSNs) over the telephone. SSA now offers an automated telephone service, Telephone Number Employer Verification (TNEV), that lets employers and authorized reporting agents verify up to 10 employee names and SSNs. For more information, see Verification of social security numbers. in section 4.

A new procedure applies to figure the amount of income tax to withhold from the wages of nonresident alien employees for wages paid in 2010. See Withholding income taxes on the wages of nonresident alien employees in section 9.

An optional procedure and additional withholding tables are provided for figuring the amount of income tax to withhold from pension payments.

Do not withhold social security tax after an employee reaches $106,800 in social security wages, which remains unchanged from 2009. There is no limit on the amount of wages subject to Medicare tax. Social security and Medicare taxes apply to the wages of household workers you pay $1,700 or more in cash. Social security and Medicare taxes apply to election workers who are paid $1,500 or more.

The following is a list of important dates. Also see Publication 509, Tax Calendars.

Furnish each employee a completed Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement. Furnish each other payee a completed Form 1099 (for example, Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income).

File Form 941, Employer's QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return, for the fourth quarter of the previous calendar year and deposit any undeposited income, social security, and Medicare taxes. You may pay these taxes with Form 941 if your total tax liability for the quarter is less than $2,500. File Form 944, Employer's ANNUAL Federal Tax Return, for the previous calendar year instead of Form 941 if the IRS has notified you in writing to file Form 944 and pay any undeposited income, social security, and Medicare taxes. You may pay these taxes with Form 944 if your total tax liability for the year is less than $2,500. For additional rules on when you can pay your taxes with your return, see Payment with return on page 20. If you timely deposited all taxes when due, you have 10 additional calendar days from the due date above to file the appropriate return.

File Form 940, Employer's Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return. However, if you deposited all of the FUTA tax when due, you have 10 additional calendar days to file.

File Form 945, Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax, to report any nonpayroll income tax withheld in 2008. If you deposited all taxes when due, you have 10 additional calendar days to file. See Nonpayroll Income Tax Withholding on page 4 for more information.

Ask for a new Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate, from each employee who claimed exemption from income tax withholding last year.

Any Form W-4 previously given to you claiming exemption from withholding has expired. Begin withholding for any employee who previously claimed exemption from withholding, but has not given you a new Form W-4 for the current year. If the employee does not give you a new Form W-4, withhold tax as if he or she is single, with zero withholding allowances. See section 9 for more information. However, if you have an earlier Form W-4 for this employee that is valid, withhold based on the earlier Form W-4.

File Copy A of all paper Forms 1099 with Form 1096, Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns, with the IRS. For electronically filed returns, see By March 31 below.

File Copy A of all paper Forms W-2 with Form W-3, Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements, with the Social Security Administration (SSA). For electronically filed returns, see By March 31 below.

File paper Form 8027, Employer's Annual Information Return of Tip Income and Allocated Tips, with the IRS. See section 6. For electronically filed returns, see By March 31 next.

File electronic Forms 1099 and 8027 with the IRS. File electronic Forms W-2 with the SSA. For information on reporting Form W-2 information to the SSA electronically, visit the Social Security Administration's Employer W-2 Filing Instructions & Information webpage at  
www.socialsecurity.gov/employer. For information on filing information returns electronically with the IRS, see Publication 1220, Specifications for Filing Forms 1098, 1099, 5498, and W-2G Electronically, and Publication 1239, Specifications for Filing Form 8027, Employer's Annual Information Return of Tip Income and Allocated Tips Electronically.

Deposit federal unemployment (FUTA) tax due if it is more than $500.

File Form 941 and deposit any undeposited income, social security, and Medicare taxes. You may pay these taxes with Form 941 if your total tax liability for the quarter is less than $2,500. If you timely deposited all taxes when due, you have 10 additional calendar days from the due dates above to file the return.

Remind employees to submit a new Form W-4 if their withholding allowances have changed or will change for the next year.

Form W-5, Earned Income Credit Advance Payment Certificate, expires each year on December 31. Eligible employees who want to receive advance payments of the earned income credit next year must give you a new Form W-5.