Form 8919

What is Form 8919?

Form 8919 is the US Government Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service (IRS) official form used to report your share of Uncollected Social Security and Medicare Taxes on Wages.

When an employee works or performs any services for a firm but is treated as an independent contractor, hence no Social Security or Medicare deductions are made by the employer at the time of paying compensation to the employee, in this case, an employee is required to fill out the Form 8919 and submit that with the IRS.

This is the way to file your tax return for a particular tax year when you are to perform services for a firm.

What is the purpose of filing Form 8919?

The purpose of filing Form 8919 (to be filed by a worker) is to report a worker’s earnings made as compensation by providing services to the organization (either you work for it regularly or otherwise) but the organization treated you as an independent contractor!

Through such reporting by filing Form 8919, the worker’s social security earnings amount is credited to the social security record for a worker’s benefit. 

Who must file IRS Form 8919?

IRS Form 8919 is a must to file in case of meeting the below-mentioned criteria:

• When a person performs services for a firm 
• You were not treated by the firm, which paid you against your services, as an independent contractor 
• Social Security and Medicare were not withheld from within your payment made by the firm 
• Any of the reasons that apply to you mentioned under the reasons codes

Whereas the reason codes are, the applicant must write the reasons that apply to her or him from the reasons mentioned here, only reason code G is to be mentioned in column (C) of Form 8919 if the applicant believes that it should have been treated as an employee, for reason code “G”, file Form SS-8 with IRS for filing your tax return. The reason codes are as mentioned:

• A: Filled out Form SS-8, and received a determination letter for the applicant being an employee of the firm
• C: Received correspondence from the IRS stating the applicant is an employee
• G: Filled Form SS-8 with the IRS but the response still awaited
• H: Received Form W-2, Form 1099-MISC, and/or Form 1099-NEC from the firm for 2021. The amount mentioned in Form 1099-MISC and/or Form 1099-NEC were not mentioned as Wages on Form W-2. [Important: If an applicant selects the option of “H” as a reason code; hence there is no need to file a Form SS-8].

What does a firm mean as per the IRS?

Here it is necessary to know what a “Firm” meant to be by the Government. As per the IRS, a firm can be:

• A person's individual
• Non-profit organization
• Business concern
• An entity
• A Company
• Or even the State  

The firm may or may not have compensated the worker or employee directly, but paid the wage without deduction of Medicare and Social Security giving the treatment the same which is given to an individual contractor.

Be cautious while filing Form 8919!

An employee, being a service provider, must be cautious and take due care of the below-mentioned things:

• An employee is NOT required to file Form 8919 if she or he is an independent contractor
• If a person is an independent contractor, then she or he has to file Form 1040 Schedule C for profit or loss of the business and reporting of the income
• If a person is self-employed, then she or he has to file Form 1040 Schedule SE for reporting self-employment tax out of self-employment earnings
• For unreported tips or allocated tips mentioned in an employee’s Form W-2, then she or he has to file Form 4137 to report tax in terms of Social Security and Medicare taxes due against the unreported tips earning

Summarizing Form 8919

Form 8919 is the official tax reporting Form issued by the Department of the Treasury the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This form is for individual workers and employees who provide or perform services to a firm and when paid compensation, the firm did not cut the Medicare and Social Security Tax from the Wage provided. In other words, your employer treats you as an independent contractor.

Hence such an employee reports her or his earnings to the IRS. Such reporting is both mandatory and beneficial for an employee to credit the social security earnings into the concerned employee’s accounts. Moreover, the HR professionals need to check before sending any correct information and if there is received a reply from the IRS or otherwise. 

Important Note: This write-up is a helpful tool for HR professional readers, clientele, and to-be customers working in HR dominion with active payroll activities. Thereupon, this is the crux of the idea. Hence, employees working in HR are advised to actively check the IRS official website.