How to Create a W-2 or W-2C

Filing a W-2 for a Household Employee

The IRS requires payroll tax filing by an employer who pays a household employee more than $2,200 cash wages in a calendar year. The government also requires the Payer to have a valid EIN when filing for their household employee. Refer to IRS Publication 926, Household Employer's Tax Guide for more information.

Payroll tax obligations may include:

• Employee portion of Social Security & Medicare taxes withheld from wages.
• Employer portion of Social Security & Medicare taxes.
• Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA).
• Advance payment of the Earned Income Credit for eligible employees.
• State Unemployment and disability insurance taxes levied on the employer.

Creating a W-2 Form

Use the W-2 Return screen to enter return information for Form W-2. You must set up a W-2 return before you can begin adding W-2 transactions (dollar amounts). Once you begin adding transactions, you can return to the W-2 Return window to view totals for the return on the Transaction Summary tab.

1. Click on the Payer List button.
2. Double click on the payer name.
3. Highlight the recipient to add the form to.
4. Click on the Add Form button.
5. Choose W-2 from the Form Type drop down menu.
6. Fill in the necessary fields on the form.
7. Click save.

Necessary Information on W-2

Return Information Tab

Use the Return Information tab to enter general return information. This includes state and local information, Employment Type, W-2 Control Number, Box 12 & 14 text entries, and notes.

• State and Local Information:
  • State: Enter the State abbreviation for the State that information is to be reported.
    • This prints in box 15 of the W-2.
  • ID: Enter the employer's state ID number that was assigned by the state.
    • This prints in box 15 of the W-2.
  • Locality: Enter the locality name.
    • This prints in box 20 of the W-2.
  • Include which wages on Form W-3: Use these drop-down lists to select the wages included in the W-3.
• Misc Information:
  • Box 12 Text: Prior Year - Enter any values to report for the prior year.
    • Enter the appropriate code (as explained in the IRS instructions), the 2-digit year, and the monetary value to be reported.
  • Box 14 Text: Enter any text that is to print in box 14 of the W-2.
• Employment Information:
  • Employment Type: The Employment Type is used when printing specific employment types of W-2's and prints in the appropriate Box b "Kind of Payer" on Form W-3.
  • W-2 Control No.: Enter the W-2 Control Number for the return, if applicable.

Transaction Summary Tab

Use the Transaction Summary tab to view the dollar amount information for the return. The first time you enter a Form W-2 for a new payer, you will need to set up a few things.

• Select the Amount Type (dollar amount) fields you would like to use.
• Select the W-2 Preferences you would like to use.

Checkboxes Tab

• Use the Checkboxes tab to check the exemption boxes or those used in Box 15.

Employment Information Tab

Use the Employment Information tab to enter employment information, such as Salaried, Seasonal, Start and End Dates, and state employment information.

• Salaried checkbox: Since Salaried information is usually the same, when new transactions are being added, the information from the previous transaction is copied to the new transaction like the copy button.
• Seasonal checkbox: Used in the Employee Detail Section of North Carolina Form NCUI 101 / 101-B.
• Start Date: Enter the date the Recipient began employment.
  • Used when quarterly wage detail report for Indiana is printed.
  • This does not print on the W-2.
• End Date: Enter the date the Recipient ended employment.
  • This does not print on the W-2.
• Check if Employee worked on the 12th day of the month: Used when quarterly wage detail reports for Indiana, Louisiana, and Massachusetts are printed.
• Standard Occupational Classification: Used when the quarterly wage detail report for Louisiana is printed.
• SOC Code: Used when the quarterly wage detail reports for Indiana and Louisiana are printed.
• Job Title: Used when the quarterly wage detail reports for Louisiana and Nebraska are printed.

State-Specific Tab

• Use the State-Specific tab to enter information specific to California, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, and Vermont.
• California: Wage Plan Type - Used when the California DE-9C is printed.
• Indiana (both fields are used when the Indiana UC-5A is printed):
  • Location Zip Code - Enter the Zip Code of employee's primary work location.
  • Employment Type - Enter FT for Full-Time, PT for Part-Time, or a two-digit seasonal code (01 to 99), if applicable.
• Iowa: Reporting Unit - Used when the Iowa 65-5300 / 60-0103 is printed.
• Louisiana: Hourly Rate - Used when the quarterly wage detail report for Louisiana is printed.
  • Enter employee's hourly pay rate, including fractions of cents.
  • If hourly rate is over 999.9999, enter 999.9999.
  • For salaried employees divide the annual salary by 2080.
• Massachusetts: Unit Number and Check if Owner/Officer - Used when the Massachusetts Quarterly Wage Detail Report is printed.
• Michigan: Choose F if employee works for a family owned business in which more than 50% of the shares are owned by the employee, or by the employee's spouse, child or parent(s).
  • Used when the Michigan UIA 1028 is printed.
• Minnesota: Check if worker (a) is a corporate officer, (b) owns or controls a portion of the corporation, or (c) is the spouse, parent or minor child of a partner or any worker who owns or controls a portion of the corporation.
  • Used when the Minnesota Quarterly UI Worksheet is printed.
• Vermont: Hourly Rate - Used when the Vermont C-101 / C-147 is printed.

Tips for W-2

• You must set up Amount Type (dollar-amount) fields the first time you enter a Form W-2 for a new payer.
  • When you set up Amount Type fields, you select which dollar amount fields you would like to appear on the W-2 Return Window.
  • You can also customize the order in which they appear on the window. See the How to Use the Amount Types Window and How to Customize an Amount Type articles for more information.
• Use the W-2 Preferences Window to select preferences for how the software calculates fields on Form W-2. Use the Set Calculations Window to create user-defined calculations for Form W-2.
• Consider using Return Defaults to make the data entry process faster.
• An ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) cannot be used to file paper or electronic W-2 forms. ITINs are formatted similar to an SSN but begin with the number 9 and have the number 7 or 8 as the fourth digit. For more information, see section 4 of Publication 15 (Circular E). 

When to File a W-2C

The W-2C form can only be used to correct the recipient's personal information and incorrectly reported dollar amounts.

Corrections of payer or employer information on the W-2 require a two part process to update the information with the SSA. The SSA recommends employers contact their Employer Services Liaison Officer (ESLO) for assistance with making this type of correction. If you would like additional information, you can contact the SSA at 1-800-772-6270.

Do Not File These Changes

If the incorrect data on the original W-2 form was one of these items, do not file a W-2C to the federal government. The SSA does not require a W-2C for these corrections:

• An incorrect recipient address.
• Incorrect or missing Box 14 data.
• Incorrect or missing data in the state boxes (lines 15-20).

Creating a W-2C Form

The W-2C form will only have the information that is changing entered on the form. For example, if the Medicare tax withheld amount is the only amount that is being corrected, that will be the only amount entered on the W-2C form.

1. Click on the Payer List button.
2. Double click the desired payer.
3. Locate the recipient with the W-2 that needs to be corrected.
4. If the W-2 that is being corrected is present in the Form List:
   • Double click on the W-2 in the Form List.
   • Click on the W-2C button located in the bottom-right corner of the window.
5. If the W-2 that is being corrected does not exist in the Form List:
   • Click the Add Form button.
   • Choose the W-2C from the Form Type drop down menu.
6. Enter the applicable information.
7. Click Save.
8. Click OK to close the form.