This is archived information that pertains only to the 2006 Tax Year. If you
are looking for information for the current tax year, go to the Tax Prep Help Area.
Purpose of forms.
Use Form W-2c to correct errors on Forms W-2, W-2AS, W-2GU, W-2CM, W-2VI, or Form W-2c filed with the SSA. Also use
Form W-2c to provide corrected
Forms W-2, W-2AS, W-2GU, W-2CM, W-2VI, or Form W-2c to employees.
Corrections reported on Form W-2c may require you to file Form 941c, Supporting Statement to Correct Information.
See the Form 941c instructions
for more information. If an employee repaid you for wages received in a prior year, also see
Repayments on page 2.
Do not use Form W-2c to report back pay. Instead, see Pub. 957, Reporting Back Pay and Special Wage Payments to the Social Security
Administration, and Form SSA-131, Employer Report of Special Wage Payments.
Do not use Form W-2c to correct Form W-2G, Certain Gambling Winnings. Instead, see the Instructions for Forms 1099, 1098, 5498, and
W-2G.
Use Form W-3c to send Copy A of Form W-2c to the SSA. Form W-3c is required to be filed with a single Form W-2c as
well as with multiple Forms
W-2c. You may file Form W-3c separately if you are simply correcting your EIN on a previously filed Form W-3 or Form W-3SS,
Transmittal of Wage and
Tax Statements (for Forms W-2AS, W-2GU, W-2CM, and W-2VI).
Where to file Forms W-2c and W-3c.
If you use the U.S. Postal Service, send Forms W-2c and W-3c to:
Social Security Administration
Data Operations Center
P.O. Box 3333
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18767-3333.
If you use a carrier other than the U.S. Postal
Service, send Forms W-2c and W-3c to:
Social Security Administration
Data Operations Center
Attn: W-2c Process
1150 E. Mountain Drive
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702-7997.
Do not send
Form W-2, to either of these addresses. Instead, see the Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3.
When to file.
File Forms W-2c and W-3c as soon as possible after you discover an error. Also provide Form W-2c to employees as soon
as possible.
How to file.
You may file Forms W-2c and W-3c on paper. Please type all entries using dark or black ink in
12-point Courier font, if possible, and
make sure all copies are legible. See the Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 for more information.
If any item shows a dollar change and one of the amounts is zero, enter “
-0-.” Do not leave the box blank.
Electronic reporting.
If you are required to file 250 or more Forms W-2c during a calendar year, you must file them electronically unless
the IRS grants you a waiver.
You may request a waiver on Form 8508, Request for Waiver From Filing Information Returns Electronically/Magnetically. Submit
Form 8508 to the IRS at
least 45 days before you file Forms W-2c. See Form 8508 for filing information. You may be charged a penalty if you fail to
file electronically when
required.
For purposes of the electronic requirement, only Forms W-2 for the immediate prior year are taken into account. Also,
if an employer must file 200
Forms W-2c for the immediate prior year in March and then discovers that another 100 Forms W-2c for the
same year must be filed in August,
only the 100 Forms W-2c that are filed in August must be filed electronically.
Specifications for filing Form W-2c electronically are contained in SSA's MMREF-2, Magnetic Media Reporting and Electronic
Filing of W-2c
Information. You can download MMREF-2 by visiting the SSA website at
www.socialsecurity.gov/employer. You can also order a copy of MMREF-2 by calling SSA's Employer
Reporting Branch at 1-800-772-6270.
If you file fewer than 250 Forms W-2c, they are not required to be filed electronically; however, doing so will enhance
the timeliness and accuracy
of forms processing. For more information, see
Online filing of Forms W-2c and W-3c above and
Online wage reporting on page 2.
Magnetic media reporting.
Magnetic media reporting is available until February 28, 2006. Magnetic media submissions will not be accepted after
this date. Any magnetic media
submissions prior to March 1, 2006, must be on 3.5 inch diskette only. See SSA's MMREF-2 for magnetic media information.
Who may sign Form W-3c.
Generally, employers must sign Form W-3c. However, the transmitter or sender (including a service bureau, reporting
agent, paying agent, or
disbursing agent) may sign Form W-3c (or use its PIN on electronic filings) for the employer or payer only if the sender:
-
Is authorized to sign by an agency agreement (either oral, written, or implied) that is valid under state law and
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Writes “For (name of payer)” next to the signature.
Even though an authorized sender signs for the payer, the payer still has the responsibility for making sure the Form
W-3c and attachments are
filed correctly and timely. The payer is subject to any penalties that result from not complying with these requirements.
Online wage reporting.
Using a personal computer and a modem, you can access SSA's Business Services Online (BSO) to electronically report
wage data. To obtain
information regarding filing wage data electronically with SSA or to access BSO, visit the SSA's Employer Reporting Instructions
and Information
website at
www.socialsecurity.gov/employer. Call the SSA at 1-888-772-2970 if you experience problems using any of
the services within BSO.
The website includes information on electronic filing, some IRS and SSA publications, and general topics of interest
about wage reporting. You can
also use BSO to ask questions about wage reporting.
Substitute forms.
If you are not using the official IRS form to furnish Form W-2c to employees or to file with the SSA, you may use
an acceptable substitute form
that complies with the rules in Pub. 1223, General Rules and Specifications for Substitute Forms W-2c and W-3c. Pub. 1223
is a revenue procedure that
explains the requirements for format and content of substitute Forms W-2c and W-3c.
Your substitute forms must comply with the requirements in
Pub. 1223.
Correcting more than one kind of form.
You must use a
separate Form W-3c for each type of Form W-2 (that is, Forms W-2, W-2AS, W-2GU, W-2CM, W-2VI, or Form W-2c) being
corrected. You must also use a separate Form W-3c for each kind of payer in box c (unless the second checked box is the “
Third-party sick pay”
indicator). If you are correcting more than one kind of form, please group forms of the same kind of payer, and send them
in separate groups.
Correcting an employee's name and/or SSN only.
If you are correcting only an employee's name and/or SSN, complete Form W-2c through box i, as appropriate. Be sure
to report the employee's
previously reported incorrect SSN in box h and/or incorrect name in box i. Do not complete boxes 1 through 20. Advise your
employee to correct the SSN
and/or name on his or her original Form W-2.
If your employee is given a new social security card following an adjustment to his or her resident status that shows
a different name or SSN, file
a Form W-2c for the most current year only.
Correcting an employee's name and SSN if the SSN was reported as blanks or zeros and the employee name was reported as blanks.
If you need to correct an employee's name and SSN and the SSN was reported as blanks or zeros and the employee's name
was reported as blanks,
do not use Form W-2c to report the corrections. You must contact the SSA at 1-800-772-6270 for instructions.
Correcting an incorrect tax year or EIN.
To correct an incorrect tax year or EIN on Form W-2, file one Form W-2c showing the incorrect tax year or EIN and
reducing the previously-reported
money amounts to zero and a second Form W-2c reporting the money amounts (showing zeros in the “
Previously reported” columns) in the correct year
or with the correct EIN.
Employee's incorrect address on Form W-2.
If you filed a Form W-2 with the SSA showing an incorrect address for the employee but all other information on the
Form W-2 is correct,
do
not file Form W-2c with the SSA merely to correct the address.
However, if the address was incorrect on the Form W-2 furnished to the employee,
you must do one of the following:
-
Issue a new, corrected Form W-2 to the employee including the new address. Indicate “REISSUED STATEMENT” on the new copies. Do not
send Copy A to the SSA.
-
Issue a Form W-2c to the employee showing the correct address in box f and all other correct information. Do not send Copy A to the
SSA.
-
Mail the Form W-2 with the incorrect address to the employee in an envelope showing the correct address or otherwise deliver
it to the
employee.
Correcting more than one Form W-2 for an employee.
There are two ways to prepare a correction for an employee who received more than one Form W-2 under the
same employer identification
number (EIN) for the tax year. You can (a) consider all the Forms W-2 when determining the amounts to enter on Form W-2c as
shown in
Example 1
below, or (b) file a single Form W-2c to correct only the incorrect Form W-2 as shown in
Example 2 below. However, state, local, and
federal government employers who are preparing corrections for Medicare Qualified Government Employment (MQGE) employees must
also follow the
instructions in the
CAUTION under
Boxes 5 and 6 on
page 3.
Example 1.
Mary Smith received two Forms W-2 for tax year 2005 under the same EIN. One form incorrectly reported social security wages
of $30,000 and the second correctly reported social security wages of $20,000. A single Form W-2c filed to change the $30,000
to $25,000 (correct
amount) would show $50,000 in box 3 under “Previously reported” and $45,000 in box 3 under “Correct information.”
Example 2.
The facts are the same as in the first example. However, you may choose to correct only the incorrect Form W-2 by filing a
Form W-2c that shows
$30,000 in box 3 under “Previously reported” and $25,000 in box 3 under “Correct information.”
Repayments.
If an employee repays you for wages received in error in a prior year, file Form W-2c to correct only social security
and Medicare wages and tax.
Do not correct wages reported in box 1 for the amount paid in error. Report an adjustment on Form 941, Employer's QUARTERLY Federal
Tax
Return (or 941-SS, 943, 944, or CT-1) for the period during which the repayment was made to recover the social security and
Medicare taxes. Instead of
making an adjustment on Form 941 (or 941-SS, 943, 944, or CT-1) you may file a claim for these taxes using Form 843, Claim
for Refund and Request for
Abatement. You may not make an adjustment for income tax withholding because the wages were paid in a prior year.
Please tell your employee that the wages paid in error in a prior year remain taxable to him or her for that year. This is
because the employee
received and had use of those funds during that year. The employee is not entitled to file an amended return (Form 1040X,
Amended, U.S. Individual
Income Tax Return) to recover the income tax on these wages. Instead, the employee is entitled to a deduction (or a credit,
in some cases) for the
repaid wages on his or her Form 1040 for the year of repayment.
Undeliverable Forms W-2c.
Keep for 4 years any employee copies of Forms W-2c that you tried to deliver but could not.
Do not send undeliverable Forms W-2c to
the SSA.
