SECTION 4. FILING OF RETURNS

BY AGENT WITH APPROVED FORM 2678

.01 The agent with an approved Form 2678 is required to file one return for each tax-return period reporting the wages and employment taxes on the wages paid to its employees, and the wages and employment taxes on the wages paid by the agent to the employees of each employer for whom the agent is authorized to act (“aggregate return”).

.02 The agent’s name and EIN are entered in the spaces provided for the em

Bulletin No. 2013–52 831 December 23, 2013

ployer on the returns, and the returns are to be executed in accordance with the form instructions.

.03 The agent must complete an allocation schedule and attach it to each aggregate return as described in the form instructions. On the allocation schedule, the agent lists the name and EIN of each employer for whom the agent is authorized to act and allocates the wages, taxes, and payments reported on the aggregate return to each employer. For example, the IRS has designated Schedule R (Form 941), Allocation Schedule for Aggregate Return Filers, as the allocation schedule to attach to an aggregate Form 941. The agent is responsible for maintaining records that show the wages paid by the agent to each employee on behalf of, and identified by, each employer for whom the agent is authorized to act. The employer is responsible for maintaining records that show the wages paid by the agent to its employees. See §§31.6001–1 through 31.6001–5. .04 The wages paid to an employee are considered with respect to each employer separately, and not in conjunction with the wages paid to the employee by the agent as employer or by the agent on behalf of any other employer, for purposes of any dollar threshold or wage base applicable in determining the employment tax liability.

.05 Generally, the agent furnishes and files one Form W-2, Wage and Tax State- ment, for each employee. The agent’s EIN is entered in the spaces provided for the employer. The name of the agent, followed by “Agent for (name of employer),” is entered in the space provided for the employer. If the agent (a) is acting as an agent for two or more employers or is an employer and is acting as an agent for another employer, (b) pays social security wages to an individual on behalf of more than one employer, and (c) the total of the individual’s social security wages from these employers is greater than the social security wage base, the agent furnishes and files separate Forms W-2 for the affected employee reflecting the wages paid by each employer.