SS-4 Lines 13–15 When the LLC Has No Employees

The practical answer

An LLC that has not hired employees can still encounter questions about employee counts and first wage payments. Treating every payroll-looking field as interchangeable can lead to unnecessary answers or an unsupported promise about future hiring. Three details shape the review: Are there employees under the relevant facts? What supports the expected employee counts? Does the first-wage-payment field apply to this applicant? Keep each answer tied to the document or confirmed fact that supports it.^{[1, p.5] [1, p.6] [2, p.1]}

Scope and the records behind the answer

The discussion follows the entity, form and transaction conditions identified below. The same label on a different form can have a different purpose. Keep the relevant entity and reporting period visible while you compare the requirements, and treat each stated exception as part of the rule rather than an optional footnote.

Official sources checked: 2026-11-09. Annual tax-year forms and continuously revised forms are identified separately in the references.

A side-by-side preparation table

Work through the official requirements

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]}

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.^{[1, p.5]}

This applies when: Employees are expected. The applicant meets Form 944 eligibility requirements and elects that filing method.

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.^{[1, p.6]}

This applies when: The ordinary employer and withholding-agent branches are separate; having no employees does not eliminate an applicable withholding-agent date requirement.

Field/section 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]}

Field/section 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]}

Field/section 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.^{[2, p.1] [1, p.6]}

This applies when: The ordinary employer and withholding-agent branches are distinct; having no employees does not remove an applicable withholding-agent date requirement.

Authorized signer

The authorized SS-4 signer depends on the type of applicant. A foreign applicant may use a person with appropriate authorization to sign.^{[1, p.6]}

Designee scope

The third-party designee may answer questions about the completed SS-4 and receive the new EIN. Signed authorization is required, and that authority ends when the EIN is assigned and released to the designee.^{[1, p.6]}

Id exception

Enter foreign or N/A on line 7b only when the responsible party neither has nor is eligible to obtain an SSN or ITIN. The line must contain an entry.^{[1, p.3]}

This applies when: The responsible party does not have an SSN or ITIN. The responsible party is not eligible to obtain an SSN or ITIN.

An illustrative preparation scenario

In this hypothetical preparation example, a founder has no employees but plans to speak with contractors later. The draft includes a wage-payment date copied from a planning note. The review separates the current employment facts from future possibilities and checks the instructions for each employee and wage-related field. The preparer checks three points: Are there employees under the relevant facts? What supports the expected employee counts? Does the first-wage-payment field apply to this applicant? The file remains a working comparison until the relevant facts and applicable instructions have been checked together. No agency outcome is assumed.^{[1, p.5] [1, p.6] [2, p.1]}

This is a planning illustration, not a statement that a particular filing has been accepted or that an entity qualifies for a tax result. Use the source-backed distinctions above to decide what information still needs to be established before a form is completed.

A review sequence you can actually use

1. Are there employees under the relevant facts?
2. What supports the expected employee counts?
3. Does the first-wage-payment field apply to this applicant?

Write down the answer and the record that supports it, rather than marking a question complete because a field contains text. When two records disagree, identify whether the difference concerns the entity, an individual, the reporting period or the type of change. That makes the remaining question specific enough to resolve against the relevant instruction.

Keep the scope of a preparation service separate from the government requirement. A service intake question may gather information for a workflow; it does not create an exception, extend a deadline or determine whether a transaction is reportable. The cited government material remains the basis for those conclusions.

Questions to settle before moving forward

How should I check 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]}

How should I check field/section 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]}

How should I check field/section 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]}

How should I check field/section 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]}

Official sources and versions

1. Instructions for Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2025) — Rev. December 2025
2. Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2025) — Rev. December 2025

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