Form 943 is the annual federal employment tax return for agricultural employers. You file it instead of the quarterly Form 941 if you paid farmworkers wages subject to withholding or social security and Medicare tax, which happens when you pay any one worker $150 or more in cash in the year, or all farmworkers $2,500 or more in total. For 2025 it was due February 2, 2026, as of October 2026.
Farm payroll runs on its own calendar. Instead of four quarterly returns, a farm employer reports a full year of withholding and payroll taxes on one form, and the IRS encourages you to file it electronically. Everything here comes from the IRS Instructions for Form 943 for 2025.
The $150 test and the $2,500 test
All the cash wages you pay farmworkers become subject to federal income tax withholding and social security and Medicare taxes for any year you meet either test:
| Test | How it works |
|---|---|
| $150 test | You pay one employee cash wages of $150 or more in the year for farmwork, whether by time, piecework or otherwise. It applies to each worker separately, including each member of a family, and ignores wages paid by other employers. |
| $2,500 test | The total cash and noncash wages you pay all farmworkers is $2,500 or more. |
The tests work independently: if the group doesn't reach $2,500, the $150 test still applies to each individual, and vice versa. Certain hand-harvest laborers paid under $150 a year have special rules in section 9 of Pub. 15.
Who doesn't go on Form 943
- Household employees in your private home on a farm run for profit aren't farm employees. You can report them on Schedule H with your income tax return, or include them on Form 943.
- Other nonfarm workers go on Form 941 or Form 944, not Form 943.
- Compensation to H-2A visa farmworkers isn't subject to social security and Medicare taxes, so it's left off those lines, although $600 or more still goes in box 1 of their W-2.
Rates for 2025
| Tax | Employee | Employer | Wage limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social security | 6.2% | 6.2% | $176,100 |
| Medicare | 1.45% | 1.45% | None |
| Additional Medicare Tax | Withheld on wages over $200,000 | No employer share | None |
Stop social security tax for an employee once their taxable wages reach the wage base, but keep withholding income tax and Medicare on everything.
Deadlines
- File Form 943 for 2025 by February 2, 2026, or by February 10, 2026 if you deposited all the tax on time and in full.
- Give each employee a W-2 by February 2, 2026, and file Copy A with Form W-3 at the SSA by the same date.
- If someone leaves during the year and asks for their W-2, give it within 30 days of the request or the last wage payment, whichever is later.
- File only once per year: if you e-filed, don't also send a paper Form 943.
A mailed return counts as on time if it's correctly addressed, has enough postage and is postmarked by the due date, or is sent by an IRS-designated private delivery service by then.
Deposit or pay with the return?
If your total tax after adjustments and nonrefundable credits (line 13) is under $2,500 for the year, you can pay with a timely filed return and don't need to make deposits. At $2,500 or more, you deposit by electronic funds transfer through the year on a monthly or semiweekly schedule, which you work out before the year starts using section 11 of Pub. 15.
- A monthly depositor who builds up a $100,000 liability on any day becomes a semiweekly depositor the next day, for the rest of that year and all of the next.
- Monthly depositors complete line 17 with their liability by month, and it must equal line 13. Semiweekly depositors use Form 943-A instead.
Filling in the main lines
- Lines 1 to 3: the number of employees, wages subject to social security tax and the social security tax on them.
- Lines 4 to 6: Medicare wages and tax, and wages subject to Additional Medicare Tax withholding.
- Line 8: federal income tax withheld from farmworkers' pay.
- Line 13: total taxes after adjustments and nonrefundable credits. This figure decides whether you deposit or pay with the return.
- Line 15 or 16: the balance due or the overpayment, which you can have refunded by direct deposit or applied to next year's return.
What's new for 2025 returns
- Aggregate filers, such as section 3504 agents and certified PEOs, must tick a new section identifying themselves and attach Schedule R.
- Refunds now come by direct deposit, and balances due should be paid electronically, following Executive Order 14247.
- Form 943 return transcripts for 2023 onwards are available in your IRS business tax account, and Form 943-X can now be e-filed.
- Overtime: P.L. 119-21 lets workers deduct up to $12,500 ($25,000 joint) of qualified overtime pay for 2025 to 2028, and employers must report it, with transition relief for 2025.
Once you've filed your first Form 943, you file every year, even with nothing to report, until you file a final return. If you stop paying wages, tick the final return box and attach a statement saying who keeps the payroll records and where. If the business was sold, include the buyer's name and address and the sale date.
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The verdict
If you pay farm labour, track each worker against the $150 test and the whole payroll against $2,500 from the first pay day. Once you're in, Form 943 is a once-a-year job, but the deposits aren't: get your deposit schedule right in January, and you'll have until February 10 to file.
Frequently asked questions
Who has to file Form 943?
Employers who paid farmworkers wages subject to withholding or social security and Medicare taxes under the $150 or $2,500 test.
When is Form 943 due?
For 2025, by February 2, 2026, or February 10, 2026 if all tax was deposited on time and in full.
Can I pay Form 943 tax with the return?
Yes, if your total tax for the year is under $2,500 and you file on time. Otherwise you make deposits through the year.
Do household employees on a farm go on Form 943?
They aren't farm employees, but you can either report them on Schedule H or include them on Form 943.
