Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return

Instructions for Schedule R
(Form 943)
(Rev. December 2025)

Allocation Schedule for Aggregate Form 943 Filers
Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code
unless otherwise noted.

Future Developments
For the latest information about developments related to
Schedule R and its instructions, such as legislation
enacted after they were published, go to IRS.gov/
Form943.

What’s New
The calendar year field on Schedule R is no longer
prepopulated. Enter the calendar year of the Form 943 or
943-X to which you attached Schedule R.

Reminders
Claiming the credit for qualified sick and family leave
wages. If you’re eligible to claim the credit for qualified
sick and family leave wages because you paid the wages
after 2023, for an earlier applicable leave period, file Form
943-X, Adjusted Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return for
Agricultural Employees or Claim for Refund, after filing
Form 943, Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return for
Agricultural Employees, to claim the credit for qualified
sick and family leave wages paid after 2023. Filing a Form
943-X before filing a Form 943 for the year may result in
errors or delays in processing your Form 943-X. For more
information, see the Instructions for Form 943 and the
Instructions for Form 943-X. The Schedule R columns for
reporting amounts related to the credit for qualified sick
and family leave wages from Form 943 have been
repurposed with the lines related to the credit for qualified
sick and family leave wages from Form 943-X. Columns e,
f, k, l, n, and p through y are now used only when
Schedule R is attached to Form 943-X. Don’t file an earlier
revision of Schedule R with Form 943 for any year
beginning after 2024.
Under some rare circumstances, it may be possible for
a premium payee to become entitled to the COBRA
premium assistance credit after the first quarter of 2022.
However, in those cases, the credit must be claimed on a
Form 943-X. We have repurposed column n on the
Schedule R to report the lines related to the COBRA
premium assistance credit on Form 943-X. For more
information, see the Instructions for Form 943 and the
Instructions for Form 943-X. If you’re filing Form 943-X to
claim the COBRA premium assistance credit on behalf of
any clients, you must file the 2024 or 2025 revision of
Schedule R with Form 943-X. Prior revisions of
Schedule R are available at IRS.gov/Form943 (select the
link for “All revisions for Form 943” under “Other items you
may find useful”).
Oct 14, 2025

Electronically filing an amended Form 943. The IRS
now offers filing an amended Form 943 and Schedule R
as part of Modernized e-File (MeF). For more information
on electronic filing, go to IRS.gov/EmploymentEfile.

General Instructions
Purpose of Schedule R

Use Schedule R to allocate certain aggregate information
reported on Form 943 or 943-X to each client. For
purposes of Schedule R, the term “client” means (a) an
“employer or payer” identified on the Form 2678,
Employer/Payer Appointment of Agent; (b) a customer
who enters into a contract that meets the requirements
under section 7705(e)(2); (c) a client who enters into a
service agreement described under Regulations section
31.3504-2(b)(2) with a certified professional employer
organization (CPEO); (d) a client who enters into a service
agreement described under Regulations section
31.3504-2(b)(2) with a non-certified professional employer
organization (PEO); or (e) a third party paying qualified
sick leave wages as an agent for the employer under
Regulations section 32.1(e)(3). If you have more than five
clients, complete as many Continuation Sheets as
necessary. Attach Schedule R, including any Continuation
Sheets, to your aggregate Form 943.

Who Must File?

Agents approved by the IRS under section 3504 and
CPEOs must complete Schedule R each time they file an
aggregate Form 943. To request approval to act as an
agent for an employer under section 3504, the agent must
file Form 2678 with the IRS. Form 2678 must be previously
filed and approved by the IRS before filing Schedule R. To
become a CPEO, the organization must apply through the
IRS Online Registration System. Go to IRS.gov/CPEO for
more information. Other third-party payers that file
aggregate Forms 943, such as non-certified PEOs, must
complete and file Schedule R if they have clients that are
claiming the qualified small business payroll tax credit for
increasing research activities. Third-party payers other
than agents approved by the IRS under section 3504 and
CPEOs need to include client-by-client amounts only for
those clients claiming the qualified small business payroll
tax credit for increasing research activities. Amounts for
clients not claiming the qualified small business payroll tax
credit for increasing research activities are included on
Schedule R, page 1, line 8. Schedule R must also be
completed if any clients are claiming credits on Form
943-X.

Instructions for Schedule R (Form 943) (Rev. 12-2025) Catalog Number 74489F
Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service www.irs.gov

When Must You File?

If you’re an aggregate Form 943 filer, file Schedule R with
your aggregate Form 943 every year. Agents and
non-certified PEOs may file Form 943 and Schedule R
electronically or by paper submission. CPEOs must
generally file Form 943 and Schedule R electronically. For
more information about a CPEO’s requirement to file
electronically, see Rev. Proc. 2023-18, 2023-13 I.R.B.
605, available at IRS.gov/irb/2023-13_IRB#REVPROC-2023-18.

Specific Instructions
Completing Schedule R
Enter Your Business Information

Carefully enter your employer identification number (EIN)
and the name of your business at the top of the schedule.
Make sure they exactly match the EIN and name shown
on the attached Form 943 or 943-X. Check one of the
“Type of filer” boxes to tell us if you’re a section 3504
agent, a CPEO, or any other type of third party (for
example, a non-certified PEO).

Calendar Year

Enter the calendar year of the Form 943 or 943-X to which
you attached Schedule R.

Form Checkbox

Under Report for calendar year at the top of Schedule R,
check a box to tell us if Schedule R is attached to Form
943 or 943-X.

Client and Employee Information

On Schedule R, including any Continuation Sheets, you
must report the following for each client.
Note. When entering amounts over 999.99 on
Schedule R, don’t enter commas.
Column a. The client’s EIN.
Column b (CPEO Use Only). Enter a code to report the
type of wages and other compensation paid to the
individual(s) performing services for the client. If you paid
more than one type of wages or other compensation, you
must use more than one line to report for that client and
enter the applicable code for each line. The following four
codes are the only entries that can be made in column b.
• A: Wages and other compensation paid under section
3511(a).
• B: Wages and other compensation paid under section
3511(c).
• C: Wages and other compensation not reported under
code A or code B paid as a payor under a service
agreement described in Regulations section 31.3504-2(b)
(2).
• D: Wages and other compensation paid as an agent
under Regulations section 31.3504-1.
Column c. Number of agricultural employees employed
in the pay period that includes March 12 for the listed
client EIN from Form 943, line 1 (no Form 943-X
equivalent line).
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Column d. Wages subject to social security tax allocated
to the listed client EIN from Form 943, line 2 (Form 943-X,
line 6, column 1).
Column e. Qualified sick leave wages paid during the
calendar year listed on Schedule R for leave taken after
March 31, 2020, and before April 1, 2021, allocated to the
listed client EIN from Form 943-X, line 7, column 1.
Column f. Qualified family leave wages paid during the
calendar year listed on Schedule R for leave taken after
March 31, 2020, and before April 1, 2021, allocated to the
listed client EIN from Form 943-X, line 8, column 1.
Column g. Wages subject to Medicare tax allocated to
the listed client EIN from Form 943, line 4 (Form 943-X,
line 9, column 1).
Column h. Wages subject to Additional Medicare Tax
withholding allocated to the listed client EIN from Form
943, line 6 (Form 943-X, line 10, column 1).
Column i. Federal income tax withheld allocated to the
listed client EIN from Form 943, line 8 (Form 943-X,
line 11, column 1).
Column j. Qualified small business payroll tax credit for
increasing research activities allocated to the listed client
EIN from Form 943, line 12 (Form 943-X, line 13, column
1). You must attach a separate Form 8974 for each client
claiming this credit.
Column k. Nonrefundable portion of credit for qualified
sick and family leave wages paid during the calendar year
listed on Schedule R for leave taken after March 31, 2020,
and before April 1, 2021, allocated to the listed client EIN
from Form 943-X, line 14, column 1.
Column l. Nonrefundable portion of credit for qualified
sick and family leave wages paid during the calendar year
listed on Schedule R for leave taken after March 31, 2021,
and before October 1, 2021, allocated to the listed client
EIN from Form 943-X, line 15b, column 1.
Column m. Total taxes after adjustments and
nonrefundable credits allocated to the listed client EIN
from Form 943, line 13 (no Form 943-X equivalent line).
Column n. Total COBRA premium assistance credit,
nonrefundable and refundable portions paid during the
calendar year listed on Schedule R, allocated to the listed
client EIN from Form 943-X, lines 15c and 24c, column 1.
Column o. Total deposits for the year, including
overpayment applied from a prior year and overpayments
applied from Form 943-X or Form 943-X (sp) filed in the
current year, allocated to the listed client EIN from Form
943, line 14. Include any payment made with the return
allocated to the listed client EIN (no Form 943-X
equivalent line).
Column p. Refundable portion of credit for qualified sick
and family leave wages paid during the calendar year
listed on Schedule R for leave taken after March 31, 2020,
and before April 1, 2021, allocated to the listed client EIN
from Form 943-X, line 23, column 1.
Column q. Refundable portion of credit for qualified sick
and family leave wages paid during the calendar year
listed on Schedule R for leave taken after March 31, 2021,
Instructions for Schedule R (Form 943) (Rev. 12-2025)

and before October 1, 2021, allocated to the listed client
EIN from Form 943-X, line 24b, column 1.
Column r. Qualified health plan expenses allocable to
qualified sick leave wages paid during the calendar year
listed on Schedule R for leave taken after March 31, 2020,
and before April 1, 2021, allocated to the listed client EIN
from Form 943-X, line 26, column 1.
Column s. Qualified health plan expenses allocable to
qualified family leave wages paid during the calendar year
listed on Schedule R for leave taken after March 31, 2020,
and before April 1, 2021, allocated to the listed client EIN
from Form 943-X, line 27, column 1.
Column t. Qualified sick leave wages paid during the
calendar year listed on Schedule R for leave taken after
March 31, 2021, and before October 1, 2021, allocated to
the listed client EIN from Form 943-X, line 31, column 1.
Column u. Qualified health plan expenses allocable to
qualified sick leave wages paid during the calendar year
listed on Schedule R for leave taken after March 31, 2021,
and before October 1, 2021, allocated to the listed client
EIN from Form 943-X, line 32, column 1.
Column v. Amounts under certain collectively bargained
agreements allocable to qualified sick leave wages paid
during the calendar year listed on Schedule R for leave
taken after March 31, 2021, and before October 1, 2021,
allocated to the listed client EIN from Form 943-X, line 33,
column 1.
Column w. Qualified family leave wages paid during the
calendar year listed on Schedule R for leave taken after
March 31, 2021, and before October 1, 2021, allocated to
the listed client EIN from Form 943-X, line 34, column 1.

listed on Schedule R for leave taken after March 31, 2021,
and before October 1, 2021, allocated to the listed client
EIN from Form 943-X, line 35, column 1.
Column y. Amounts under certain collectively bargained
agreements allocable to qualified family leave wages paid
during the calendar year listed on Schedule R for leave
taken after March 31, 2021, and before October 1, 2021,
allocated to the listed client EIN from Form 943-X, line 36,
column 1.
Line 6. Enter the subtotals for clients for column c
through column y.
Line 7. Enter the combined subtotal from line 9 of all
Continuation Sheets for Schedule R for column c through
column y.
Line 8. Enter Form 943 amounts for your employees for
column c through column y. Non-certified PEOs and
third-party payers of sick pay as agents for the employer
must consolidate and include on line 8 any amounts for
clients that aren’t reported individually on Schedule R.
Line 9. Enter the totals of lines 6, 7, and 8 for column c
through column y. The totals on line 9 must match the
totals on the aggregate Form 943. If the totals don’t
match, there is an error that must be corrected before
filing Form 943 and Schedule R.

Continuation Sheet for Schedule R (Form 943)
Columns a through y. See the instructions under
Completing Schedule R, earlier.
Line 9. Enter the subtotals for clients from lines 1 through
8 for column c through column y.

Column x. Qualified health plan expenses allocable to
qualified family leave wages paid during the calendar year

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice
We ask for the information on Schedule R to carry out the
Internal Revenue laws of the United States. You’re
required to give us this information. We need it to ensure
that you’re complying with these laws and to allow us to
figure and collect the right amount of tax.
You’re not required to provide the information requested
on a form that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act
unless the form displays a valid OMB control number.
Books or records relating to a form or its instructions must
be retained as long as their contents may become

Instructions for Schedule R (Form 943) (Rev. 12-2025)

material in the administration of any Internal Revenue law.
Generally, tax returns and return information are
confidential, as required by Code section 6103.
The time needed to complete and file Schedule R will
vary depending on individual circumstances. The
estimated burden for filers filing Schedule R is approved
under OMB control number 1545-0029 and is included in
the estimates shown in the Instructions for Form 943.

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