Online W-2c Available on SSA and APA Web Sites

No matter how hard you worked on your payroll year-end, you may still have to make a correction to a few of your employees’ W-2 forms. The Social Security Administration (SSA) has a great way to prepare, print, and electronically file them, and the APA provides another electronic method for situations that can’t be addressed through SSA’s Web site. SSA’s W-2c Online allows you to create and electronically submit up to five Forms W-2c at a time, all from your personal computer. The SSA provides an acknowledgement of your submission and gives you a PDF file so you can print copies for your employees and any state or local tax agencies, and so you can store your employer’s copies. However, there are some situations for which SSA’s W-2c Online won’t work, including: corrections to previous Forms W-2c local wage/tax data territories, wages earned under a military employer identification number, or U.S. military wages. For these situations, you can use the online W-2c and W-3c on the APA’s Web site (except for wages earned in Puerto Rico, which must be corrected using Form 499R-2c/W-2cPR). The SSA has approved APA’s forms. Just like the SSA form, the APA forms give you all the copies you need for filing with federal, state, and local tax agencies, for your employees and for yourself. The Web site also provides tips on preparing Forms W-2c and W-3c, information on the thresholds for magnetic or electronic filing, and links to IRS instructions for completing these forms. Either method is better than ordering the paper form and preparing it in a typewriter. Whichever method you choose, if your wage and tax data are filed by a payroll service provider, be sure to let them know you prepared and filed Forms W-2c on your own.

1. National APA