518-373-4111
Employers will need to file their employees’ W-2 forms much earlier next year than in previous years. The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015 was signed into law last December, and among the many provisions is a new W-2 filing deadline for 2016 forms. That deadline for submitting forms to the Social Security Administration (SSA) is January 31, 2017. That is also the date by which employees must receive their own W-2 copies, which means if there are any errors on the forms, there is no time to make corrections before they need to be filed with the SSA. It should be noted that these changes apply regardless of whether an employer submits paper forms or electronic ones.
The PATH Act also provides a safe harbor from de minimus (minor) error penalties, including relief of up to $25 for withholding errors and up to $100 for other errors.
Employers that do their payroll in-house should begin preparing now for this new deadline, as the time frame in which to get all W-2s in order is now much shorter than it has been.
Using a payroll service like GTM, however, removes the burden from the employers. GTM’s service ensures clients’ employees get their W-2s on time and that they get filed with the SSA on time as well.
Contact us at (518) 373-4111 to learn more.
