What is a Form W-2?
W-2 tax forms are filed once a year. An employer is required to mail or distribute form W-2s to its employees before the end of January (1/31). The W-2 tax information needs to be filed to the Social Security Administration (SSA, not IRS) before the end of February (2/28). If the W-2 is e-Filed, the filing deadline is extended to the end of March.
Many years ago, the paper copy A of tax form W-2 is red to facilitate SSA scanning and processing. With the advancement of scanning and OCR (Optical Character Recognition), laser printed, black & white forms are approved and acceptable by the SSA. You do not need to buy pre-printed, red W-2 forms for mailing to the SSA anymore.
We generally recommend to e-File W-2 for its error checking and receipt confirmation. If you choose to mail the paper W-2 tax forms, you need to make sure the forms are sent to the right place. Below is the latest (2016) address for mailing the forms, depending on the carrier you use.
| Forms | US postal service | Private (FedEx, UPS, etc.) |
|---|---|---|
| W-2 & W-3 | Social Security Administration Data Operations Center Wilkes-Barre, PA 18769 |
Social Security Administration Data Operations Center Attn: W-2 Process 1150 E. Mountain Drive Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702-7997 |
| W-2C & W-3C | Social Security Administration Data Operations Center P.O. Box 3333 Wilkes-Barre, PA 18767-3333 |
Social Security Administration Data Operations Center Attn: W-2 Process 1150 E. Mountain Drive Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702-7997 |
After the SSA processed the employee payroll W-2s forms, the information will be forwarded to the IRS for reconciliation with individual 1040 tax returns.
For more information visit our blog article, Basics For Filing Employee Payroll Form W-2 for Small Businesses.
What is a Form W-2C?
Form W-2C is used after W-2 forms have been filed to the SSA to correct any information on the wrong W-2. There is no deadline for W-2C form. W-2C is prepared and filed as needed.
For more information visit our blog article, Basics For Filing Employee Payroll Form W-2 for Small Businesses.
What is a Form W-3?
If your company has more than 250 forms of W-2, e-File is mandatory. Paper filing may result in penalties. If you have less than 250 W-2 forms and you want to file paper forms, you need to attach a W-3 form for the batch of W-2 forms you are filing. If you e-File W-2, you do not need to include W-3.
The W-3 form information needs to be filed to the Social Security Administration (SSA, not IRS) before the end of February (2/28). If the information is filed electronically, the filing deadline is extended to the end of March.
What is Form W-3C?
W-3C Form is a summary of the W-2C Forms that are filed in the batch. Similarly, W-3C Form is not required if W-2C Forms are filed electronically.
There are many online services that can help you prepare and file employee payroll W-2 & W3 tax forms. The SSA also offers an online employee payroll tax filling service for users to file the employee payroll tax forms electronically. Typically e-File is quick, accurate (SSA will reject for critical errors) and users can resubmit easily.
About Paycheck Manager
Every Business Needs to Process Payroll!
Every employer, when issuing paychecks, is required to maintain some form of payroll management. To successfully do so, an employer must consider these three tasks:
- Accurate calculation of payroll taxes
- Timely payroll tax payments
- Timely payroll filing and reporting
Paycheck Manager Makes Payroll Processing Easy!
Paycheck Manager is designed to make these tasks simple. With the online paycheck calculator software, you can:
- Calculate paychecks and prepare payroll any time
- Be reminded of pending payroll deposits or reports
- And print payment vouchers and reports.
With Paycheck Manager, you have full control over your payroll!