Saturday, December 8, 2018

Basic Facts About the Form W-2 Filing

Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement


As the name implies, Form W-2 is a return filed by the employers to report the annual
information on wages and taxes withheld from each employee. It is mandatory for filing with
the federal, the state and the local agencies.

It primarily reports the wages, tips and other compensation paid to an employee along with
the income, social security and Medicare tax withheld. It also includes the adjustments to
the withheld tax as well as the codes for various kinds of detections for benefits.


Copies of Form W-2



The Form W-2 has 6 copies each for the employer and the employee.

  • Employers must file Copy A with Social security administration
  • Employers must furnish Copies B, C, and 2 of Form W-2 to your employees.
  • Employers should keep Copy D (Employer Copy) of Form W-2s with your records for 4 years.
  • Send Copy 1, to your state, city, or local agencies if required.
2018 Form W-2

Form W-3, Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statement


Anyone required to file Form W-2 must file Form W-3 to transmit Copy A of Forms W-2 with the SSA.

Form W-3 is a transmittal form that shows the wages, tips, compensation, social security and Medicare wages, and taxes withholding for all employees. And you need to keep Form W-3 copy with your records for 4 years.


Due Date for Form W-2


An employer must file Form W-2 with the federal, and provide the copies to the employees by January 31st, 2019.

If the due date falls on a legal holiday, the deadline will be the next business day.


The Filing Methods


The filing with the federal agency can be through electronic or paper filing. You have to
e-file if you are having 250 or more W-2 forms. Though e-filing is preferred by SSA/IRS
even if you have very less number of forms to report.

Avoid the bunch of paper works and the printing & postal mailing cost. And It has more chances for typo errors, calculative errors. As the e-filing method has the primary advantage of ensuring with transmitting the error-free Form, receiving the acknowledgements, the status of your return. You don’t need to wait in long queue for filing the W2 returns.

In the case of paper-filing, you must attach a transmittal Form W-3 along with the W-2s filed.

Form W-2 Corrections


If the details of the employer, employee or the amounts are not filed accurately, you need to file a correction return through the form W-2c. In the case of paper-filing, you need to attach a transmittal form W-3c along with the W-2c filed.

Penalties associated with Form W-2 Filing

  1. On filing the corrected return within 30 days of the due date, the penalty would be $50 per W-2 form with a maximum of $545,500 per year ($191,000 for small businesses).
  2. On filing the corrected return after 30 days of the due date up to August 1st, the penalty would be $100 per W-2 form with a maximum of $1,637,000 ($545,500 for small businesses).
  3. On not filing a corrected return or filing the wrong form after August 1st, the penalty would be $270 per W-2 form with a maximum of $3,275,500 ($1,091,500 for small businesses).

ExpressIRSForms, The IRS-Authorized E-file Provider


Explore ExpressIRSForms.com for the required features and accurate, comprehensive filing at an affordable pricing. To file on-time and transmit error-free forms before e-filing w-2, you need an IRS authorized e-file provider like ExpressIRSForms to file accurately.


Bulk uploading details for all the employees, along with state filing and printing and postal mailing copies to employees on behalf of you would make the filing comprehensive. Volume-based pricing would make the filing affordable. The US-Based Support team will guide you throughout the filing process and it makes you more comfortable and hassle FREE.

Transmittal Form W-3 will be generated automatically when filing W2 online with ExpressIRSForms. You can also file W2 forms and reconciliation forms directly with the required State.

You can also e-file other Federal Forms such as 940/941/944, 940/941 Schedule R, 1099, 1095 Forms with ExpressIRSForms in Minutes. You can manage all these returns in a single account.





Basic Facts About the Form W-2 Filing

Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement As the name implies, Form W-2 is a return filed by the employers to report the annual information ...