The Internal Revenue Service has released Publication 15 (a/k/a Circular E) Employer’s Tax Guide for use in 2023. Publication 15 explains an employer’s tax responsibilities, important updates for 2023, and employer instructions for payroll and non-payroll tax withholding.
Some of the highlights of “What's New” in the 2023 Publication 15 are as follows:
Social security and Medicare tax for 2023. The rate of social security tax on taxable wages, including qualified sick leave wages and qualified family leave wages paid in 2023 for leave taken after March 31, 2021, and before October 1, 2021, is 6.2% each for the employer and employee or 12.4% for both. Qualified sick leave wages and qualified family leave wages paid in 2023 for leave taken after March 31, 2020, and before April 1, 2021, aren't subject to the employer share of social security tax; therefore, the tax rate on these wages is 6.2%. The social security wage base limit is $160,200.
The Medicare tax rate is 1.45% each for the employee and employer, unchanged from 2022. There is no wage base limit for Medicare tax.
Social security and Medicare taxes apply to the wages of household workers you pay $2,600 or more in cash wages in 2023. Social security and Medicare taxes apply to election workers who are paid $2,200 or more in cash or an equivalent form of compensation in 2023.
Forms 941-SS and 941-PR discontinued after 2023. Form 941-SS, Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return—American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Form 941-PR, Planilla para la Declaración Federal TRIMESTRAL del Patrono, will no longer be available after the fourth quarter of 2023. Instead, employers in the U.S. territories will file Form 941, Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return, or, if you prefer your form and instructions in Spanish, you can file new Form 941 (sp), Declaración del Impuesto Federal TRIMESTRAL del Empleador.
For a copy of the 2023 Publication 15 please click on the link provided below:
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15.pdf
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