IRS Announces Free Payroll Webinar on September 8, 2026: What International Employers Should Know
Updated: September 2, 2026
Topic: IRS payroll compliance, international employers, Form W-2, and U.S. tax administration
The IRS is hosting a free 90-minute webinar for payroll professionals on Tuesday, September 8, 2026. The event, titled “IRS and Payroll Professionals – Partners in Every Paycheck,” includes a live question-and-answer session and will cover federal employment-tax deposits, reconciliation and corrections, employer contributions to Trump Accounts, and 2026 Form W-2 reporting changes related to employer contributions, tips, and qualified overtime compensation. [1]
The webinar is primarily designed for payroll professionals, employers, software developers, and tax advisers. It may also be useful for international founders who operate a U.S. business with employees or contractors, particularly when their business is building a payroll process or working with a U.S. tax professional.
Webinar details
| Item | IRS-published information |
|---|---|
| Event | IRS and Payroll Professionals – Partners in Every Paycheck |
| Date | Tuesday, September 8, 2026 |
| Time | 2 p.m. Eastern; 1 p.m. Central; noon Mountain; 11 a.m. Pacific and Arizona |
| Length | 90 minutes, including live Q&A |
| Cost | Free |
| Registration | Official IRS webinar registration link |
The IRS payroll professionals page also lists a monthly IRS Payroll Industry Meeting for payroll professionals and software developers. Those virtual meetings are generally held on the first Thursday of each month at 1 p.m. Eastern time. [1]
Why this matters to international employers
A non-U.S. founder may create a U.S. company without immediately having U.S. employees. However, the compliance picture changes when the company hires workers, pays wages, provides benefits, or operates a payroll system in the United States.
Payroll obligations are separate from company formation and tax-identity setup. An EIN identifies a business for federal tax administration, but obtaining an EIN does not by itself complete payroll registration, determine worker classification, or satisfy employment-tax obligations. Similarly, an owner’s ITIN is an individual tax-processing number and does not replace an EIN or a payroll filing requirement.
International employers should identify who will handle payroll deposits, employment-tax returns, wage statements, corrections, and year-end reporting. That person may be an internal employee, a payroll provider, a CPA, an Enrolled Agent, or another qualified professional.
What the webinar will cover
Federal employment-tax deposits
The webinar will address federal employment-tax deposit requirements. Employers should understand when payroll taxes must be deposited, which payment channel applies, and how deposit records are reconciled with payroll reports.
A company that pays employees from outside the United States may still have U.S. payroll responsibilities if it has U.S. employees or otherwise falls within the applicable rules. The correct answer depends on the employer’s facts, including the worker’s status, where services are performed, the entity’s structure, and the applicable federal and state requirements.
Reconciliation and corrections
Payroll records sometimes need correction because of an incorrect taxpayer identification number, wage amount, withholding amount, worker classification, or reporting code. The IRS webinar is expected to address reconciliation and correction considerations.
International businesses should establish a process for comparing payroll records, tax deposits, employee statements, and filed returns. Correcting a problem quickly may be easier than discovering the issue after an employee receives a year-end form or after an agency notice arrives.
2026 Form W-2 changes
The IRS states that the webinar will cover 2026 Form W-2 reporting changes related to employer contributions to Trump Accounts, tips, and qualified overtime compensation. Employers should not rely on an old W-2 workflow if their payroll software, compensation structure, or reporting obligations have changed.
Before year-end reporting, payroll teams should confirm that their software supports the current reporting specifications and that the person responsible for filings has reviewed the applicable IRS instructions. A webinar can provide general education, but it does not replace the employer’s responsibility to apply the rules to its own facts.
IRS forms and resources
The session will also explain how to locate IRS forms, instructions, and resources that support federal payroll-tax compliance. This is especially relevant for international employers that may be working across multiple currencies, jurisdictions, payroll providers, or software systems.
What international founders should prepare before hiring
Obtain the correct business tax identity
A business may need an EIN for federal tax administration, payroll, banking, or other legitimate business purposes. The IRS issues EINs. ITIN.com can prepare and coordinate an EIN application for eligible applicants, including non-U.S. residents who do not have an SSN, but ITIN.com does not issue the EIN.
Confirm worker classification
A business should not assume that every person who performs work is an employee or that every overseas worker is an independent contractor. Worker classification can affect withholding, reporting, payroll-tax deposits, and state obligations. The facts and the applicable law control the result.
Set up recordkeeping before the first payment
Maintain contracts, invoices, payroll records, payment dates, withholding records, tax deposits, and worker information in an organized system. A clear recordkeeping process is particularly important when the owner, worker, payroll provider, and tax professional are located in different countries.
Coordinate federal and state responsibilities
Federal payroll compliance is only one part of the process. State registration, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, paid-leave programs, and local requirements may also apply. The IRS webinar will not determine every state obligation for every employer.
Does an ITIN make someone eligible to work in the United States?
No. The IRS explains that an ITIN is issued for federal tax purposes only. It does not authorize employment in the United States, establish immigration status, or provide Social Security benefits. [2]
An employer must evaluate work authorization and employment-law requirements separately from tax identification. An ITIN can help an eligible individual meet certain federal tax-identification needs, but it is not a work permit and should not be presented as one.
How ITIN, EIN, LLC formation, and payroll fit together
| Business need | Role in the process | Responsible authority |
|---|---|---|
| ITIN | Individual federal tax identification for an eligible person who cannot obtain an SSN | IRS |
| EIN | Federal business tax identification | IRS |
| LLC formation | Creation of a legal entity under state law | State authority |
| Payroll compliance | Wage payments, deposits, reporting, and employment-tax administration | Employer and relevant federal/state agencies |
| Banking assistance | Preparation and guidance for an account application | Banking partner decides approval |
These steps are related but not interchangeable. Forming an LLC does not automatically create an EIN, enrolling for payroll, or open a bank account. An ITIN does not replace an EIN or establish employment authorization.
How to attend the IRS webinar
Use the official registration link listed on the IRS payroll professionals page and confirm the event time in your local time zone. Participants should register early and prepare questions about payroll deposits, Form W-2 reporting, corrections, and IRS resources.
Tax professionals serving international clients may also want to share the event with clients that have U.S. employees or are preparing to launch payroll. The session is general education, so a business should still obtain advice appropriate to its entity, workers, locations, and reporting obligations.
How ITIN.com supports international business setup
ITIN.com provides preparation and coordination for ITIN, EIN, LLC formation, and U.S. banking-assistance services. These services can be used separately or as part of a broader U.S. market-entry process. ITIN.com prepares, verifies, files, coordinates, and guides; it does not issue ITINs or EINs, form LLCs, run payroll, or guarantee approval by a government agency or bank.
Bottom line
The IRS’s free September 8, 2026 payroll webinar is a timely educational resource for payroll professionals and international founders preparing to employ workers in the United States. Participants should use it to understand current IRS resources and reporting topics, then separately review their business’s EIN, worker classification, payroll, state registration, and employment-law responsibilities.
Important: This article is general information based on IRS materials available on September 2, 2026. It is not tax, legal, payroll, accounting, or immigration advice. Requirements may change, and each employer’s obligations depend on its specific facts.
