Short guides to the terms and forms that come up when you run payroll or pay contractors, with links to the primary sources.
Form 941 is the IRS Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, reporting wages paid and federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare withheld each quarter. Ideal Workforce prepares the figures for this form every quarter; you review and file it yourself. See the form on IRS.gov →
Publication 15-T is the IRS guide employers use to calculate federal income tax withholding from an employee’s paycheck based on their Form W-4. Ideal Workforce applies the current version of this method automatically on every run. Read Publication 15-T →
A W-2 employee has taxes withheld from every paycheck by the employer. A 1099 contractor is paid in full and handles their own self-employment taxes. Misclassifying one as the other carries real IRS risk, which is why Ideal Workforce keeps their records and workflows fully separate.
Form 8655 authorizes a reporting agent to prepare and, where enabled, file certain returns on an employer’s behalf. You sign this electronically during Ideal Workforce signup, and can see exactly which forms and time period it covers.
New Jersey withholding uses its own rate tables, separate from federal withholding, based on the employee’s NJ-W4. Ideal Workforce calculates this automatically for New Jersey employers today. See New Jersey payroll on Ideal Workforce →
EFTPS (Electronic Federal Tax Payment System) is the free system the U.S. Treasury runs for employers to make federal tax deposits. Ideal Workforce prepares your deposit figures; you make the deposit through your own EFTPS account. Visit EFTPS.gov →
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