Form 944 in QuickBooks: Annual Federal Payroll Return Reporting
QuickBooks users preparing IRS Form 944 need current tax rates, filing thresholds, and navigation steps to generate, summarize, and e-file the annual return correctly.
QuickBooks Desktop and Online users responsible for filing Form 944 — the Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return — periodically raise questions about how to generate the form, summarize payroll data for external use, and navigate the e-filing and e-payment workflow. The form consolidates federal payroll tax reporting into a single annual filing, but only certain employers are required to use it.
Who Must File Form 944
Employers file Form 944 instead of quarterly Form 941 only when the IRS has notified them in writing to do so. Generally, the IRS assigns Form 944 to smaller employers whose annual liability for social security, Medicare, and withheld federal income taxes is $1,000 or less. If you have been assigned Form 944, you must file it every year — even if you have no taxes to report — until the IRS notifies you that your filing requirement has changed or you file a final return.
The filing deadline is January 31 following the close of the calendar year. When that date falls on a weekend or legal holiday, the deadline shifts to the next business day.
Current Tax Rates and Thresholds
For the current tax year, the Social Security wage base limit is $168,600, up from the prior year’s threshold. The Social Security tax rate remains 6.2% for both the employer and employee portions. The Medicare tax rate holds steady at 1.45% each for employer and employee, with no wage base cap.
Employers must also withhold an Additional Medicare Tax of 0.9% on wages paid to an employee in excess of $200,000 in a calendar year. This is an employee-only withholding — there is no employer match.
Social Security and Medicare taxes apply to household workers paid $2,400 or more in cash during the tax year and to election workers paid $2,000 or more in cash compensation.
Generating Form 944 in QuickBooks Desktop
In QuickBooks Desktop, the Form 944 workflow lives in the payroll tax center. To access it, navigate to Employees, then select Payroll Center (or Payroll Tax Forms and W-2s in some versions). From there, click File Forms and locate Form 944 in the list of available forms. If it does not appear, verify that your filing frequency in QuickBooks is set to annual Form 944 rather than quarterly Form 941 — a mismatch here is a common source of confusion.
Select the form, choose the correct tax year, and click Review Order or Open Form. QuickBooks will populate the form fields based on your payroll data for the year. Review each line carefully before filing.
Summarizing Payroll Data in Excel
QuickBooks does not natively export a Form 944-specific summary to Excel, but you can generate a payroll summary report that covers the same data. In QuickBooks Desktop, go to Reports, select Employees & Payroll, then choose Payroll Summary. Set the date range to match the full calendar year (January 1 through December 31). Click Export and select To Excel.
This gives you a spreadsheet with gross wages, federal withholding, Social Security wages and tax, Medicare wages and tax, and other payroll details. You can use this as a cross-reference against the figures QuickBooks populates on Form 944.
In QuickBooks Online with payroll enabled, navigate to Reports, search for Payroll Summary, set the date range, and export to Excel or CSV.
Saving a Copy of the Form
After generating Form 944 in QuickBooks Desktop, you can save a PDF copy before or after filing. From the form preview screen, select Save as PDF or use the print dialog to choose a PDF printer. Keep this copy for your records — the IRS expects employers to retain payroll tax records for at least four years.
In QuickBooks Online, completed forms are typically archived within the payroll section under Documents or Filed Forms, depending on your subscription level.
E-Filing and E-Paying
QuickBooks Desktop supports e-filing and e-payment for Form 944 through the Enhanced Payroll or Assisted Payroll service. When you reach the filing step, the software will prompt you to submit electronically if your enrollment is active. You will need your IRS e-services PIN and the banking information on file for any balance due.
For QuickBooks Online Payroll, e-filing and e-payment are generally included with the payroll subscription. The system will display the due date and allow you to authorize the electronic payment and submission together.
Installment Agreements for Balances Due
If you owe a balance when filing Form 944 and cannot pay in full, the IRS offers an Online Payment Agreement application. Employers who owe $25,000 or less and can pay within 24 months may qualify for an installment plan. Fees and interest apply to unpaid balances. You can apply through the IRS website under the Tools section — this is separate from anything QuickBooks manages internally.