Employees and Other Workers in the SS-4 Forecast: Confirm the Facts Before Entering a Number
· 6 min read
The answer for this situation
An owner planning a new business may have proposed hires, service providers and people already doing occasional work. Adding every name together does not necessarily answer the employee question on SS-4. Start with a forecast data request showing the relevant period and the facts that support each person's status. The useful output separates confirmed employee information from questions that still need worker-classification advice. It also distinguishes the forecast from the number working on the day the application is prepared. This gives the preparer a usable basis without inventing a rule that every paid person is an employee or that everyone called a contractor is excluded.[1, p.5] [1, p.6] [2, p.1]
Which facts change the answer?
Line 13 asks for the highest number of employees expected in the next 12 months in the stated categories, including zero where appropriate. The no-employee branch and the line 14 Form 944 choice have their own instructions. The Form 944 option requires its eligibility conditions; a headcount alone does not establish the expected tax-liability test. Line 15 also distinguishes the ordinary first-wage question from the separate withholding-agent instruction. These entries do not replace a substantive employee-versus-contractor analysis or provide payroll compliance through an EIN service. If a worker's status is unresolved, that issue must be identified rather than silently converted into a convenient number.[1, p.5] [1, p.6] [2, p.1]
The official requirements, compared
| Question or field | Official instruction | Conditions and limits | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| No employees skip14 | Line 13 asks for the highest expected number of employees in each category during the next 12 months, including zero. Skip line 14 if no employees are expected. | — | [1, p.5] |
| No employees line15 | For the ordinary employer branch, line 15 asks for the first date wages or annuities were paid, with N/A entered if no employees are planned. An applicant acting as a withholding agent follows the separate instruction for the date payments to nonresident aliens begin. | The ordinary employer and withholding-agent branches are separate; having no employees does not eliminate an applicable withholding-agent date requirement. | [1, p.6] |
| Official field SS-4 13: Highest number of employees expected in the next 12 months (enter -0- if none) | Enter the highest expected number separately for Agricultural, Household and Other employees. Enter 0 where none are expected and skip line 14 when no employees are expected. | — | [2, p.1] [1, p.5] |
| Official field SS-4 14: If you expect your employment tax liability to be $1,000 or less | If employees are expected, check this box only when eligible and electing annual Form 944 rather than quarterly Form 941 filing. It is not a general box for an applicant without employees. | — | [2, p.1] [1, p.5] |
| Official field SS-4 15: First date wages or annuities were paid (month, day, year) | Under the ordinary employer branch, enter the first wage or annuity payment date, or N/A if no employees are planned. An applicant acting as a withholding agent separately follows the instruction for when payments to nonresident aliens begin. | The ordinary employer and withholding-agent branches are distinct; having no employees does not remove an applicable withholding-agent date requirement. | [2, p.1] [1, p.6] |
| Form944 election | An applicant expecting annual employment-tax liability of no more than $1,000 may select annual Form 944 filing under the line 14 instructions. Once selected, that filing requirement continues until the IRS instructs the employer to file Form 941. | Employees are expected. The applicant meets Form 944 eligibility requirements and elects that filing method. | [1, p.5] |
Read the requirements in context
Activity specific
Choose the single category best describing the principal activity on line 16, then describe that activity more specifically on line 17.[1, p.6]
Reason required
Select one, and only one, reason for applying on line 10. Do not enter N/A.[1, p.5]
A worked preparation example
This example is hypothetical; it shows how to organize the facts, not an agency decision.
Consider a hypothetical owner, Noah, who expects to hire staff later in the year and also pays outside service providers. His first draft lists only the people working today, while a second draft counts every person whose name appears in the spending plan. Neither draft explains the employee forecast. Noah builds a schedule with the expected timing, the known employee facts, the relevant category and any status question still needing review. He keeps proposed staffing separate from confirmed arrangements so the person preparing the application knows what the forecast relies on. A service-provider label in an invoice is not used as a legal classification decision. Where advice is needed, Noah obtains it before treating the number as settled. He then considers the application's separate employee, filing-method and first-payment questions on their own terms, rather than assuming one answer fills all three. The schedule records the basis and date of the forecast so that a later reader can understand the application facts. The example does not decide whether any particular worker is an employee or predict the company's actual employment-tax liability. It demonstrates how to prepare a focused question and a supportable forecast instead of either ignoring future plans or counting people without context.[1, p.5] [1, p.6] [2, p.1]
Turn the records into a usable filing plan
Ask for the relevant worker and timing facts, and keep uncertain classifications visible for the appropriate adviser. Do not use the absence of current sales as an answer to an employee question or select Form 944 merely because the company is small. SpeedEIN's application assistance concerns accurately preparing the supported EIN request; it does not automatically include worker-status opinions or payroll returns. Explain which numbers are established and which still depend on a decision before approving the application. Retain the forecast record as preparation history without presenting it as an additional IRS certification or a guarantee that future staffing will occur exactly as anticipated.[1, p.5] [1, p.6] [2, p.1]
Three checks before you proceed
- Does the forecast address the highest expected employee count over the stated next-12-month period?
- Have uncertain worker classifications been resolved or clearly flagged rather than guessed?
- Are the employee count, Form 944 conditions and first-payment instruction being checked separately?
Related preparation guides
- One Disregarded LLC, Different Tax Accounts: Review EIN Use Before Hiring
- Choosing Self-Preparation or Paid EIN Help: Compare the Work and Responsibility
- SS-4 Lines 13–15 When the LLC Has No Employees
Official sources and document versions
Official source versions checked: 2026-11-10
- Instructions for Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2025) — Rev. December 2025
- Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2025) — Rev. December 2025
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