The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released a new form that will help employers claim the special payroll tax exemption for new hires created by the recently-enacted Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act.

The bill, signed by the president March 17, includes a $13 billion payroll tax exemption for corporate and nonprofit employers that hire workers who have previously been unemployed for at least 60 days. Companies and nonprofits also get an additional general business tax credit of up to $1,000 for every new worker retained on the payroll for at least a year.

The new Form W-11, the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act Employee Affidavit, is posted on the IRS website, along with answers to frequently asked questions.

Employers should use this form to secure a statement from each eligible new hire, certifying that he or she was unemployed during the 60 days before beginning work. A qualified employee is a new hire who starts work after Feb. 3, 2010 and before Jan. 1, 2011. Although the certification is required to claim both the payroll tax exemption and the new hire retention credit, employers do not file this form with the IRS. Instead, they must retain them along with other payroll and income tax records.

Eligible employers then use Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, to claim the payroll tax exemption. This form, revised for use beginning with the second calendar quarter of 2010, is currently posted in draft form at the same page of the IRS site.