IRS TAX TIP 2006-07

Businesses with Employees - Employment Tax Recordkeeping

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

Keep all records of employment taxes for at least four years. These should be available for IRS review. Records should include:

• Your employer identification number.
  
  
• Amounts and dates of all wage, annuity, and pension payments.
  
  
• Amounts of tips reported.
  
  
• The fair market value of in-kind wages paid.
  
  
• Names, addresses, social security numbers, and occupations of employees and recipients.
  
  
• Any employee copies of Form W-2 that were returned to you as undeliverable.
  
  
• Dates of employment.
  
  
• Periods for which employees and recipients were paid while absent due to sickness or injury and the amount and weekly rate of payments you or third-party payers made to them.
  
  
• Copies of employees' and recipients' income tax withholding allowance certificates (Forms W-4, W-4P, W-4S, and W-4V).
  
  
• Dates and amounts of tax deposits you made.
  
  
• Copies of returns filed.
  
  
• Records of allocated tips.
  
  
• Records of fringe benefits provided, including substantiation.
  

IRS.GOV. "Keeping Good Records"
February 2, 2006