Form W-2 has to be submitted by an employer at the end of each fiscal year in order to report the amount paid to his/her employees as well as taxes deducted from such payments. It vital to file a form with IRS on time to avoid additional fines or penalties. According to the regulations of the IRS, 2016 W-2 form has to be submitted along with W-3 not later than January 31, 2017 that is a month earlier than previous filing date. These changes were implemented due to avoidance of tax fraud.
Form W-2 is prepared separately for each employee and it is submitted to Social Security Administration along with W-3 that is a summary form. It should be prepared for all employees and it has to be filed at the end of a calendar year. These two forms have to be filed at the end of February for each previous year. Note that W-2 together with W-3 is forwarded to employees at the end January in order there is time to review them and correct mistakes if any. You have an ability to submit documents online on the SSA`s website. It is possible to create fillable versions as well as print them out and submit to the local governmental institutions.
According to the regulations of SSA, if number of W-2 forms exceeds 250, you have to submit them online unless the IRS releases you from this obligation. In case of failure to submit documents when required, you can be imposed penalties and fines.
The main advantage of filing a form online is that the due date is the end of March. It is a month later than if you submit them by regular mail. Moreover, you have no need to calculate your W-3 forms, since the SSA generates them automatically. One more advantage is that if you have mistakes in one or more filed W-2 forms, you can file W-2c form to correct them. Business Services Online website offers you a service that helps to verify SSNs for wage reporting services. What is more, on this website users can find multiple guidebooks, tutorials and checklists that can help them to file forms correctly. In addition, filing forms electronically helps you to save time and efforts.
Before you start submitting your files, you have to register with BSO section. After that download your file in a specific format and submit them to BSO. Once documents are submitted, you can view them and check for mistakes in names and SSNs. Moreover, you can track the status of your forms submitted and check if they were accepted.