Overview — Instruction 944-X — Instructions for Form

To correct a previously filed Form 944, use Form 944-X to file either an adjusted employment tax return or a claim for refund or abatement. The adjustment process and the claim process are outlined below.

If you underreported the tax. If you underreported the tax on a previously filed Form 944, check the box on line 1 and pay any additional amount you owe by the time you file Form 944-X. For details on how to make a payment, see the instructions for line 27, later.

Example—You underreported employment taxes. On June 18, 2026, you discovered an error that results in additional tax on your 2025 Form 944. File Form 944-X by February 1, 2027 (January 31, 2027, is a Sunday), and pay the amount you owe by the time you file. See When Should You File Form 944-X , earlier. Don’t attach Form 944-X to your 2026 Form 944. If you overreported the tax. If you overreported the tax on a previously filed Form 944, choose one of the following options.

Use the adjustment process. Check the box on line 1 to apply any credit (negative amount) from line 27 to Form 944 for the year during which you file Form 944-X.
Use the claim process. Check the box on line 2 to file a claim on Form 944-X requesting a refund or abatement of the amount shown on line 27.

To ensure the IRS has enough time to process a credit for an overreporting tax adjustment in the year in which you file Form 944-X, you’re encouraged to file Form 944-X correcting the overreported tax amount in the first 11 months of a year. For example, if you discover an overreported tax amount in December, you may want to file Form 944-X during the first 11 months of the next year. However, there must be 90 days remaining on the period of limitations when you file Form 944-X. See the Caution under Is There a Deadline for Filing Form 944-X, earlier. This should ensure the IRS will have enough time to process the Form 944-X so the credit will be posted before you file Form 944, thus avoiding an erroneous balance due notice from the IRS. See the example next.

If you currently file Form 941 instead of Form 944 and will claim a credit on Form 941, file Form 944-X in the first 2 months of a quarter in any quarter before the expiration of the period of limitations on Form 944. In the year of the expiration of the period of limitations on Form 944, file Form 944-X at least 90 days before the expiration date.

Pay the amount shown on line 27 by the time you file Form 944-X,
Enter the date you discovered the error, and
Explain in detail the grounds and facts relied on to support the correction.

Instructions for Form 944-X (Rev. 2-2026) 7

Example—You want your overreported tax applied as a credit on Form 944. On December 19, 2025, you discovered you overreported your tax on your 2024 Form 944 and wanted to choose the adjustment process. To allow the IRS enough time to process the credit, you filed Form 944-X on January 5, 2026, and take the credit on your 2026 Form 944.