Deadline for filing forms W-2 and W-3 – February 29, 2012
Deadlines:
January 31, 2012 – Deadline for supplying W-2s to employees.
February 29, 2012 – Deadline for filing paper W-2s.
March 31, 2012 -Deadline for filing electronic W-2s.
Employer W-2 Filing Instructions & Information
Employers must complete, file with the Social Security Administration (SSA) and furnish to their employees Form W-2 (PDF), Wage and Tax Statement, showing the wages paid and taxes withheld for the year for each employee. Because Form W-2 is the only document used to transmit information regarding employees’ social security and Medicare wages for the year, it is very important to prepare Form W-2 correctly and timely.
The official Form W-2 is available as a multi-copy form packet. The form packet provides all six copies that the user may need for each Form W-2 (Copy A, Copy 1, Copy B, Copy C, Copy 2, and Copy D). Copy A of Form(s) W-2 must be sent to the SSA with the transmittal Form W-3 by the last day of February of the succeeding year. Special due dates apply if you have terminated your business or you are filing electronically. The Form W-3 and Copy A of each Form W-2 that is sent to SSA must be a scannable-form version and can be ordered on line through the IRS.gov web site at www.irs.gov, or by calling 800-829-3676. Refer to the Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 for additional information. Send Copy 1, if applicable, to your state, city or local tax department. Contact that state, city or local tax department for requirements and transmittal information. The employer copy, Copy D, should be retained for four years.
You must give Copies B, C and 2 of Form W-2 to the employee by January 31st of the succeeding year. If an employee stops working for you before the end of the year, you may give your former employee Form W-2 anytime prior to January 31, but no later than January 31. If the employee asks for the Form W-2, you must give Copies B, C, and 2 to the employee within 30 days of the request, or within 30 days of the final wage payment, whichever is later.
Anyone required to file Form W-2 must also file Form W-3 (PDF), Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements, to transmit Copy A of Form W-2 to the SSA. The totals for amounts reported on related employment tax forms (Form 941, Form 943, Form 944 or Form 1040,Schedule H, for the year) should agree with the amounts reported on Form W-3. There are separate sets of instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3. If you have questions about a particular box on Forms W-2 or W-3, refer to the instructions, which give a detailed explanation of each box. The address for mailing Copy A of the Form W-2 and Form W-3 is listed in the FormW-2 Instructions and the Form W-3 Instructions. Be sure to order Form W-3 when you order Forms W-2. Read more
Use W2Online for up to 50 W-2s
If you use W-2 Online, you can now submit up to 50 W-2s per report instead of 20. All W-2s in a report must be for employees under the same Employer Identification Number. The limit for corrections using W-2C Online remains at 5 W-2Cs. www.ssa.gov/employer
If you have any W-2s to submit for tax year 2010, you can now submit them electronically through W-2 Online. Social Security will add an additional year, over the next several years. Eventually, you will be able to use W-2 Online to prepare and submit the current years plus three prior years. You can already use W-2C Online to submit corrections for the current year plus three prior years. www.ssa.gov/employer