Filing a W-2
If you think that hiring employees is the right choice for your company, it’s time to learn how to fill out a W-2. According to the IRS, the due date to file these forms is January 31 of the following tax year. So, for instance, for tax year 2019, you need to submit all tax information by the end of January 2020. You must file with the Social Security Administration (SSA).
You can file via online e-File or hard copy. If you do decide to submit a hard copy, you can order the forms from the IRS website, IRS.gov. You’ll receive multiple copies of the form and a set of instructions. Copy A is supposed to go to the SSA. Make sure that you complete Copy A in red ink so that the SSA can scan it. You’ll keep Copy D for your employment records.
You must file W-2 forms if you “withheld any income, social security, or Medicare tax from wages regardless of the amount of wages.” You also must file if your employee claims more than one withholding allowance.
A withholding allowance is a type of exemption that employees indicate when submitting their IRS Form W-4. Employers use the information on the W-4 Form to determine the amount of taxes they need to withhold from an employee’s paycheck.
To file a Form W-2, you’ll need a few things. You’ll need to know the employee’s name and address. Additionally, you’ll need the employee’s social security number (SSN). You should have had all of this information from the Form W-4 that you collected upon hiring.
You’ll need to know the total amount of income that the employee earned throughout the year. You’ll also need to know how much you withheld in social security wages and Medicare wages. And you should know how much you potentially paid on behalf of the employee into things like union dues, health savings accounts, compensation plans, or retirement plans.
Businesses also need to know their employer identification number and state ID number to submit these forms. The employer identification number is a federal nine-digit number assigned by the IRS. The state ID number is similar, although the employer’s state assigns it.