IRS Letter 3064C about deferred Social Security taxes - am I responsible for paying employer's share?

This is likely related to the CARES Act from a few years back. During the pandemic, employers were allowed to defer paying their portion of Social Security taxes to help with cash flow issues. They were supposed to pay 50% by the end of 2021 and the remaining 50% by the end of 2022. The key question is: are you self-employed or do you have any 1099 income? If you're just a W-2 employee with no other income sources, this letter is probably a mistake. However, if you have any self-employment income or filed a Schedule C, you might have deferred your own "employer portion" (the self-employment tax includes both employee and employer portions). The letter is specifically about the employer share, so if you're just an employee, you should contact the IRS to clarify the situation. Have your tax returns from the relevant years ready when you call.

I dealt with something similar last year and ended up using taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) to help me understand what was happening. I had received a similar IRS notice that made no sense to me, and I was totally confused about whether I actually owed money. I uploaded the letter to their system and got an explanation in plain English about what the notice meant and what my options were. In my case, I had done some freelance work during the pandemic and had unknowingly deferred some self-employment taxes. The tool helped me understand exactly what I owed and why, saving me hours of stress and confusion.

I was wrong about taxr.ai - I decided to try it after getting a CP2000 notice I couldn't make sense of. Uploaded my letter and got an explanation that actually made sense in minutes. The breakdown of what I needed to do saved me from making an expensive mistake. What surprised me most was how much better it was than calling the IRS helpline, which I had tried first but got nowhere with. The tool explained why I received the notice and exactly how to respond. I ended up owing much less than what the notice initially claimed because I learned which documentation to submit.

If you're still struggling with this 3064C letter, you might want to try using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to get through to an actual IRS agent. I was in a similar situation last year with a different tax notice and spent DAYS trying to reach someone at the IRS with no luck. Claimyr basically holds your place in the IRS phone queue and calls you when an agent is about to answer. Saved me hours of hold time. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I finally got through to someone who confirmed I wasn't responsible for the employer taxes on my W-2 income, but I did owe for some freelance work I had done. The agent walked me through exactly what I needed to do to resolve it.

I feel like an idiot for my skeptical comment earlier. After waiting on hold with the IRS for 3 hours and getting disconnected TWICE, I broke down and tried Claimyr. Got a call back in about 45 minutes with an actual IRS agent on the line. The agent explained that my 3064C letter was sent because I had checked a box on my Schedule C indicating I wanted to defer the employer portion of self-employment tax (something my tax software apparently did automatically). The amount was based on my self-employment income, and I did legitimately owe it. She helped me set up a payment plan since I couldn't pay the full amount at once. If you're getting nowhere with the IRS phone lines, this service is worth it just for your sanity.

Have you checked your tax returns from the pandemic years? Look specifically at Form 1040 Schedule SE (Self-Employment Tax) if you filed one. There should be a line about deferring the employer portion of SE tax. If you or your tax preparer checked that box, that's likely why you're getting this letter.

Has anyone actually called the business where you work to see if there's an issue with their tax payments? It seems weird the IRS would come after an employee for the employer's share unless you're somehow classified as self-employed or a contractor.

Romeo, based on what you've found in your 2020 tax return with the Schedule SE deferral, this makes perfect sense now. The confusing "employer's share" language in the 3064C letter is referring to the employer portion of self-employment tax, not your W-2 employer's obligations. When you're self-employed, you pay both the employee AND employer portions of Social Security and Medicare taxes (that's why self-employment tax is 15.3% instead of the 7.65% taken from your paycheck). The CARES Act allowed you to defer paying half of that self-employment tax - specifically the "employer" half. Since you used TaxSlayer and it automatically selected the deferral option, you legitimately owe this money. The $2,700 seems high though - double-check that amount against what you actually deferred. You should be able to find the exact deferred amount on your 2020 Schedule SE. Don't stress too much about this being a "mistake" on your part. The tax software recommended it because it was financially beneficial at the time. Now you just need to pay what you deferred. If you can't pay it all at once, definitely set up a payment plan with the IRS - they're usually very reasonable about installment agreements for deferred pandemic taxes.