Table of Contents
- Special Reporting Situations forForm W-2
- Penalties
- Specific Instructions for Form W-2
- Code V—Income from the exercise of nonstatutory stock option(s).
- Code W—Employer contributions to a Health Savings Account (HSA).
- Code Y—Deferrals under a section 409A nonqualified deferred compensation plan.
- Code Z—Income under section 409A on a nonqualified deferred compensation plan.
- Code AA—Designated Roth contributions under a section 401(k) plan.
- Code BB—Designated Roth contributions under a section 403(b) plan.
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Income, social security, or Medicare tax was withheld or
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Income tax would have been withheld if the employee had claimed no more than one withholding allowance or had not claimed exemption from withholding on Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate.
page 3.
Even employers with only one household employee must file Form W-3 if filing a paper Form W-2. On Form W-3 check the “Hshld. emp.” checkbox in box b. For more information, see Schedule H (Form 1040), Household Employment Taxes, and its separate instructions. You must have an EIN. See Box b—Employer identification number (EIN) on page 9.
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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 (paper Form W-3 only).
You may request an automatic extension of time to file Form W-2 with the SSA by sending Form 8809, Application for Extension of Time To File Information Returns, to the address shown on Form 8809. You must request the extension before the due date of Forms W-2. You will have an additional 30 days to file. See Form 8809 for details.
Even if you request an extension to file Form W-2, you must still furnish Form W-2 to your employees by February 1, 2010. But see below.
Social Security Administration
Data Operations Center
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18769-0001
You may request a waiver on Form 8508, Request
for Waiver From Filing Information Returns Electronically. Submit Form 8508 to the IRS at least 45 days before the due date of Form W-2. See Form 8508 for filing information. If you file electronically, do not file the same returns on paper. Electronic reporting specifications for Form W-2 are in the SSA's EFW2 (formerly MMREF-1), a publication that can be downloaded by accessing SSA's W-2 Filing Instructions and Information website at www.socialsecurity.gov/employer and selecting “E-Filing Format (formerly MMREF).” You can also get electronic specifications by calling SSA's Employer Reporting Branch at 1-800-772-6270. Reporting instructions for electronic filing differ in a few situations from paper reporting instructions. For example, electronic filers may enter more than four items in box 12 in one individual's wage report, but paper filers are limited to four entries in box 12 on Copy A of each Form W-2. See TIP On Copy A (Form W-2), do not enter more than four items in box 12 on page 11.
Copies B, C, and 2 of Form W-2 to your employees, generally, by February 1, 2010. You will meet the “furnish” requirement if the form is properly addressed and mailed on or before the due date. If employment ends before December 31, 2009, you may furnish copies to the employee at any time after employment ends, but no later than February 1, 2010. If an employee asks for Form W-2, give him or her the completed copies within 30 days of the request or within 30 days of the final wage payment, whichever is later. However, if you terminate your business, see Terminating a business on page 7. You may furnish Forms W-2 to employees on IRS official forms or on acceptable substitute forms. See Substitute forms on page 1. Be sure the Forms W-2 you provide to employees are clear and legible and comply with the requirements in Pub. 1141.
You may request an extension of time to furnish Forms W-2 to employees by sending a letter to:
IRS–Enterprise Computing Center–Martinsburg
Information Reporting Program
Attn: Extension of Time Coordinator
240 Murall Drive
Kearneysville, WV 25430
Mail your letter on or before the due date for furnishing Forms W-2 to employees. It must include:
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Your name and address,
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Your employer identification number (EIN),
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A statement that you are requesting an extension to furnish “Forms W-2” to employees,
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Reason for delay, and
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Your signature or that of your authorized agent.
Keep for 4 years any employee copies of Forms W-2 that you tried to but could not deliver. However, if the undelivered W-2 can be produced electronically through April 15th of the fourth year after the year of issue, you do not need to keep undeliverable employee copies. Do not send undeliverable Forms W-2 to SSA.
www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb97-02.pdf. Advise your employees to see the Instructions for Form 8839, Qualified Adoption Expenses.
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(Name of agent) |
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Agent for (name of employer) |
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Address of agent |
Pub. 15-A.
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.
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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.
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Issue a Form W-2c to the employee showing the correct address in box i and all other correct information. Do not send copy A to the SSA.
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Reissue a Form W-2 with the incorrect address to the employee in an envelope showing the correct address or otherwise deliver it to the employee.
Example.
Before Employee A's death on June 15, 2009, A was employed by Employer X and received $10,000 in wages on which federal income tax of $1,500 was withheld. When A died, X owed A $2,000 in wages and $1,000 in accrued vacation pay. The total of $3,000 (less the social security and Medicare taxes withheld) was paid to A's estate on July 20, 2009. Because X made the payment during the year of death, X must withhold social security and Medicare taxes on the $3,000 payment and must complete Form W-2 as follows:
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Box a – Employee A's SSN
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Box e – Employee A's name
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Box f – Employee A's address
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Box 1 – 10000.00 (does not include the $3,000 accrued wages and vacation pay)
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Box 2 – 1500.00
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Box 3 – 13000.00 (includes the $3,000 accrued wages and vacation pay)
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Box 4 – 806.00 (6.2% of the amount in box 3)
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Box 5 – 13000.00 (includes the $3,000 accrued wages and vacation pay)
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Box 6 – 188.50 (1.45% of the amount in box 5)
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Boxes for: Recipient's name, address, and TIN—The estate's name, address, and TIN
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Box 3: 3000.00 (Even though amounts were withheld for social security and Medicare taxes, the gross amount is reported here.)
box 12. For reporting instructions, see Code AA and Code BB on page 13.
www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb00-06.pdf.
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Generally, payments made under an accountable plan are excluded from the employee's gross income and are not reported on Form W-2. However, if you pay a per diem or mileage allowance and the amount paid for substantiated miles or days traveled exceeds the amount treated as substantiated under IRS rules, you must report as wages on Form W-2 the amount in excess of the amount treated as substantiated. The excess amount is subject to income tax withholding and social security and Medicare taxes. Report the amount treated as substantiated (that is, the nontaxable portion) in box 12 using code L. See Code L— Substantiated employee business expense reimbursements on page 12.
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Payments made under a nonaccountable plan are reported as wages on Form W-2 and are subject to federal income tax withholding and social security and Medicare taxes.
box 3 on that same Form W-2.
Form W-2.
box 12 of Form W-2 with code W. Employer contributions to an HSA that are not excludable from the income of the employee also must be reported in boxes 1, 3, and 5. An employee's contributions to an HSA (unless made through a cafeteria plan) are includible in income as wages and are subject to federal income tax withholding and social security and Medicare taxes (or railroad retirement taxes, if applicable). Employee contributions are deductible, within limits, on the employee's Form 1040. For more information about HSAs, see Notice 2004-2 and Notice 2004-50. You can find Notice 2004-2 on page 269 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 2004-2 at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb04-02.pdf. You can find Notice 2004-50 on page 196 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 2004-33 at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb04-33.pdf. Also see Form 8889, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), and Pub. 969.
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Qualified moving expenses that an employer paid to a third party on behalf of the employee (for example, to a moving company) and services that an employer furnished in kind to an employee are not reported on Form W-2.
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Qualified moving expense reimbursements paid directly to an employee by an employer are reported only in box 12 of Form W-2 with code P.
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Nonqualified moving expense reimbursements are reported in boxes 1, 3, and 5 of Form W-2. These amounts are subject to federal income tax withholding and social security and Medicare taxes (or railroad retirement taxes, if applicable).
Get Schedule D (Form 941), Report of Discrepancies Caused by Acquisitions, Statutory Mergers, or Consolidations, for information on reconciling wages and taxes reported on Forms W-2 with amounts reported on Forms 941, Form 943, or Form 944.
box 12. See the TIP above Code D on page 12. You also may report certain makeup amounts in box 14. See
Box 14—Other on page 14. Instead of reporting in box 12 (or box 14), you may choose to provide a separate statement to your employee showing USERRA makeup contributions. The statement must identify the type of plan, the year(s) to which the contributions relate, and the amount contributed for each year.
The following penalties generally apply to the person required to file Form W-2. The penalties apply to paper filers as well as to electronic filers.
Use of a reporting agent or other third-party payroll service provider does not relieve an employer of the responsibility to ensure that Forms W-2 are furnished to employees and are filed correctly and on time.
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Fail to file timely,
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Fail to include all information required to be shown on
Form W-2, -
Include incorrect information on Form W-2,
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File on paper when you were required to file electronically,
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Report an incorrect TIN,
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Fail to report a TIN, or
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Fail to file paper Forms W-2 that are machine readable.
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$15 per Form W-2 if you correctly file within 30 days; maximum penalty $75,000 per year ($25,000 for small businesses, defined later).
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$30 per Form W-2 if you correctly file more than 30 days after the due date but by August 2; maximum penalty $150,000 per year ($50,000 for small businesses).
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$50 per Form W-2 if you file after August 2 or you do not file required Forms W-2; maximum penalty $250,000 per year ($100,000 for small businesses).
The following are exceptions to the failure to file correct information returns penalty:
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The penalty will not apply to any failure that you can show was due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect. In general, you must be able to show that your failure was due to an event beyond your control or due to significant mitigating factors. You must also be able to show that you acted in a responsible manner and took steps to avoid the failure.
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An inconsequential error or omission is not considered a failure to include correct information. An inconsequential error or omission does not prevent or hinder the SSA/IRS from processing the Form W-2, from correlating the information required to be shown on the form with the information shown on the payee's tax return, or from otherwise putting the form to its intended use. Errors and omissions that are never inconsequential are those relating to:
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A TIN,
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A payee's surname, and
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Any money amounts.
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De minimis rule for corrections. Even though you cannot show reasonable cause, the penalty for failure to file correct Forms W-2 will not apply to a certain number of returns if you:
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Filed those Forms W-2 on or before the required filing date,
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Either failed to include all of the information required on the form or included incorrect information, and
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Filed corrections of these forms by August 2.
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If you meet all of the conditions above, the penalty for filing incorrect information returns (including Form W-2) will not apply to the greater of 10 information returns (including Form W-2) or ½ of 1% of the total number of information returns (including Form W-2) that you are required to file for the calendar year.
For purposes of the lower maximum penalties shown in parentheses above, you are a small business if your average annual gross receipts for the 3 most recent tax years (or for the period that you were in existence, if shorter) ending before the calendar year in which the Forms W-2 were due are $5 million or less.
An inconsequential error or omission is not considered a failure to include correct information. An inconsequential error or omission cannot reasonably be expected to prevent or hinder the payee from timely receiving correct information and reporting it on his or her income tax return or from otherwise putting the statement to its intended use. Errors and omissions that are never inconsequential are those relating to:
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A dollar amount,
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A significant item in a payee's address, and
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The appropriate form for the information provided, such as whether the form is an acceptable substitute for the official IRS form.
Copy 1 to your state, city, or local tax department; and Copies B, C, and 2 to your employee. Keep Copy D, and a copy of Form W-3, with your records for 4 years. Type the entries on Form W-2 using black ink in 12-point Courier font. Copy A is read by machine and must be typed clearly with no corrections made to the entries or entries exceeding the size of the boxes. Entries completed by hand, in script or italics fonts, or in colors other than black cannot be read by the machines. Make all dollar entries on Copy A without the dollar sign and comma but with the decimal point (00000.00). Show the cents portion of the money amounts. If a box does not apply, leave it blank. Send the whole Copy A page of Form W-2 with Form W-3 to SSA even if one of the Forms W-2 on the page is blank or void. Do not staple Forms W-2 together or to Form W-3. File Forms W-2 either alphabetically by employees' last names or numerically by employees' SSNs.
For each Form W-2 showing an amount in box 3 or box 7, make certain that box 5 equals or exceeds the sum of boxes 3 and 7.
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Total wages, bonuses (including signing bonuses), prizes, and awards paid to employees during the year. See Calendar year basis above.
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Total noncash payments, including certain fringe benefits. See Fringe benefits on page 6.
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Total tips reported by the employee to the employer (not allocated tips).
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Certain employee business expense reimbursements (see Employee business expense reimbursements on
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The cost of accident and health insurance premiums for 2% or more shareholder-employees paid by an S corporation.
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Taxable benefits from a section 125 (cafeteria) plan if the employee chooses cash.
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Employee contributions to an Archer MSA.
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Employer contributions to an Archer MSA if includible in the income of the employee. See Archer MSA on page 4.
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Employer contributions for qualified long-term care services to the extent that such coverage is provided through a flexible spending or similar arrangement.
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Taxable cost of group-term life insurance in excess of $50,000. See Group-term life insurance on page 6.
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Unless excludable under Educational assistance programs (see page 5), payments for non-job-related education expenses or for payments under a nonaccountable plan. See Pub. 970.
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The amount includible as wages because you paid your employee's share of social security and Medicare taxes. See Employee's social security and Medicare taxes paid by employer on page 6. If you also paid your employee's income tax withholding, treat the grossed-up amount of that withholding as supplemental wages and report those wages in boxes 1, 3, 5, and 7. No exceptions to this treatment apply to household or agricultural wages.
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Designated Roth contributions made under a section 401(k) plan or under a section 403(b) salary reduction agreement. See Designated Roth contributions on page 5.
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Distributions to an employee or former employee from an NQDC plan (including a rabbi trust) or a nongovernmental section 457(b) plan.
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Amounts includible in income under section 457(f) because the amounts are no longer subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture.
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Payments to statutory employees who are subject to social security and Medicare taxes but not subject to federal income tax withholding must be shown in box 1 as other compensation. See Statutory employee on page 13.
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Cost of current insurance protection under a compensatory split-dollar life insurance arrangement.
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Employee contributions to a Health Savings Account (HSA).
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Employer contributions to an HSA if includible in the income of the employee. See Health Savings Account (HSA) on page 6.
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Amounts includible in income under an NQDC plan because of section 409A. See Nonqualified deferred compensation plans on page 7.
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Payments made to former employees while they are on active duty for more than 30 days in the Armed Forces or other uniformed services.
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All other compensation, including certain scholarship and fellowship grants (see page 7). Other compensation includes taxable amounts that you paid to your employee from which federal income tax was not withheld. You may show other compensation on a separate Form W-2. See Multiple forms on page 9.
Box 8—Allocated tips on page 11. Generally, noncash payments are considered to be wages. Include employee business expense reimbursements reported in box 1. If you paid the employee's share of social security and Medicare taxes rather than deducting them from wages, see Employee's social security and Medicare taxes paid by employer on page 6. The total of boxes 3 and 7 cannot exceed $106,800 (2009 maximum social security wage base). Include in box 5 any amounts reported in box 3. Report in box 3 elective deferrals to certain qualified cash or deferred compensation arrangements and to retirement plans described in box 12 (codes D, E, F, G, and S) even though the deferrals are not includible in box 1. Also report in box 3 designated Roth contributions made under a section 401(k) plan or under a section 403(b) salary reduction agreement described in box 12 (codes AA
and BB). Amounts deferred (plus earnings) under a nonqualified or section 457(b) plan must be included in boxes 3 and/or 5 as social security and/or Medicare wages as of the later of when the services giving rise to the deferral are performed or when there is no substantial forfeiture risk of the rights to the deferred amount. Include both elective and nonelective deferrals for purposes of section 457(b) plans.
Also include in box 3:
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Signing bonuses an employer pays for signing or ratifying an employment contract. See Rev. Rul. 2004-109. You can find Rev. Rul. 2004-109 on page 958 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 2004-50 at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb04-50.pdf.
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Taxable cost of group-term life insurance over $50,000 included in box 1. See Group-term life insurance on page 6.
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Cost of accident and health insurance premiums for 2% or more shareholder-employees paid by an S corporation, but only if not excludable under section 3121(a)(2)(B).
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Employee and nonexcludable employer contributions to an MSA or HSA. However, do not include employee contributions to an HSA that were made through a cafeteria plan. See Archer MSA on page 4 and Health Savings Account (HSA) on page 6.
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Employee contributions to a SIMPLE retirement account.
See SIMPLE retirement account on page 7.
You paid your employee $140,000 in wages. Enter in box 3 (social security wages) 106800.00 but enter in box 5 (Medicare wages and tips) 140000.00. There is no limit on the amount reported in box 5. If the amount of wages paid was $106,800 or less, the amounts entered in boxes 3 and 5 would be the same.
D 5300.00 (not A 5300.00 even though it is the first or only entry in this box). Report the IRS code to the left of the vertical line in boxes 12a–12d and money amount to the right of the vertical line. See the Form W-2 Reference Guide for Box 12 Codes on page 16. See also the detailed instructions below for each code.
Show the employee social security or Railroad Retirement Tax Act (RRTA) tax on all of the employee's tips that you could not collect because the employee did not have enough funds from which to deduct it. Do not include this amount in box 4.
Show the employee Medicare tax or RRTA Medicare tax on tips that you could not collect because the employee did not have enough funds from which to deduct it. Do not include this amount in box 6.
Show the taxable cost of group-term life insurance coverage over $50,000 provided to your employee (including a former employee). See Group-term life insurance on page 6. Also include this amount in boxes 1, 3 (up to the social security wage base), and 5.
Use these codes to show elective deferrals and designated Roth contributions made to the plans listed. Do not report amounts for other types of plans. See below for an example of reporting elective deferrals under a section 401(k) plan.
The amount reported as elective deferrals and designated Roth contributions is only the part of the employee's salary (or other compensation) that he or she did not receive because of the deferrals or designated Roth contributions. Only elective deferrals and designated Roth contributions should be reported in box 12 for all coded plans; except, when using code G for section 457(b) plans, include both elective and nonelective deferrals.
For employees who were 50 years of age or older at any time during the year and made elective deferral and/or designated Roth “catch-up” contributions, report the elective deferrals and the elective deferral “catch-up” contributions as a single sum in box 12 using the appropriate code, and the designated Roth contributions and designated Roth “catch-up” contributions as a single sum in box 12 using the appropriate code.
If any elective deferrals, salary reduction amounts, or nonelective contributions under a section 457(b) plan during the year are makeup amounts under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) for a prior year, you must enter the prior year contributions separately. Beginning with the earliest year, enter the code, the year, and the amount. For example, elective deferrals of $2,250 for 2007 and $1,250 for 2008 under USERRA under a section 401(k) plan are reported in box 12 as follows:
D 07 2250.00, D 08 1250.00. A 2009 contribution of $7,000 does not require a year designation; enter it as
D 7000.00. Report the code (and year for prior year USERRA contributions) to the left of the vertical line in boxes 12a through
12d.
The following are not elective deferrals and may be reported in box 14, but not in box 12.
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Nonelective employer contributions made on behalf of an employee.
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After-tax contributions that are not designated Roth contributions, such as voluntary contributions to a pension plan that are deducted from an employee's pay. See the instructions in codes AA and BB for reporting designated Roth contributions on page 13.
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Required employee contributions.
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Employer matching contributions.
Also show deferrals under a SIMPLE retirement account that is part of a section 401(k) arrangement.
Example of reporting excess elective deferrals and designated Roth contributions under a section 401(k) plan.
For 2009, Employee A (age 45) elected to defer $18,300 under a section 401(k) plan. The employee also made a designated Roth contribution to the plan of $1,000, and made a voluntary (non-Roth) after-tax contribution of $600. In addition, the employer, on A's behalf, made a qualified nonelective contribution of $2,000 to the plan and a nonelective profit-sharing employer contribution of $3,000.
Even though the 2009 limit for elective deferrals and designated Roth contributions is $16,500, the employee's total elective deferral amount of $18,300 is reported in box 12 with code D (D 18300.00). The designated Roth contribution is reported in box 12 with code AA (AA 1000.00). The employer must separately report the actual amounts of $18,300 and $1,000 in box 12 with the appropriate codes. The amount deferred in excess of the limit is not reported in box 1. The return of excess salary deferrals and excess designated contributions, including earnings on both, is reported on Form 1099-R.
The $600 voluntary after-tax contribution may be reported in box 14 (this is optional) but not in box 12. The $2,000 nonelective contribution and the $3,000 nonelective profit-sharing employer contribution are not required to be reported on Form W-2, but may be reported in box 14.
Check the “Retirement plan” box in box 13.
Do not report either section 457(b) or section 457(f) amounts that are subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture.
Be sure to include this amount in box 1 as wages. The employee will deduct the amount on his or her Form 1040.
Show any sick pay that was paid by a third-party and was not includible in income (and not shown in boxes 1, 3, and 5) because the employee contributed to the sick pay plan. Do not include nontaxable disability payments made directly by a state.
If you made excess “golden parachute” payments to certain key corporate employees, report the 20% excise tax on these payments. If the excess payments are considered to be wages, report the 20% excise tax withheld as income tax withheld in box 2.
Use this code only if you reimbursed your employee for employee business expenses using a per diem or mileage allowance and the amount that you reimbursed exceeds the amount treated as substantiated under IRS rules. See Employee business expense reimbursements on page 5.
Report in box 12 only the amount treated as substantiated (such as the nontaxable part). In boxes 1, 3 (up to the social security wage base), and 5, include the part of the reimbursement that is more than the amount treated as substantiated.
If you provided your former employees (including retirees) more than $50,000 of group-term life insurance coverage for periods during which an employment relationship no longer exists, enter the amount of uncollected social security or RRTA tax on the coverage in box 12. Also see Group-term life insurance on page 6.
If you provided your former employees (including retirees) more than $50,000 of group-term life insurance coverage for periods during which an employment relationship no longer exists, enter the amount of uncollected Medicare tax or RRTA Medicare tax on the coverage in box 12. Also see Group-term life insurance on page 6.
Show the total moving expense reimbursements that you paid directly to your employee for qualified (deductible) moving expenses. See Moving expenses on page 7.
If you are a military employer, report any nontaxable combat pay in box 12.
Show deferrals under a section 408(p) salary reduction SIMPLE retirement account. However, if the SIMPLE is part of a section 401(k) arrangement, use code D. If you are reporting prior year contributions under USERRA, see the TIP above Code D on page 12.
Show the total that you paid or reimbursed for qualified adoption expenses furnished to your employee under an adoption assistance program. Also include adoption benefits paid or reimbursed from the pre-tax contributions made by the employee under a section 125 (cafeteria) plan. However, do not include adoption benefits forfeited from a section 125 (cafeteria) plan. Report all amounts including those in excess of the $12,150 exclusion. For more information, see Adoption benefits on page 4.
Show the spread (that is, the fair market value of stock over the exercise price of option(s) granted to your employee with respect to that stock) from your employee's (or former employee's) exercise of nonstatutory stock option(s). Include this amount in boxes 1, 3 (up to the social security wage base), and 5.
This reporting requirement does not apply to the exercise of a statutory stock option, or the sale or disposition of stock acquired pursuant to the exercise of a statutory stock option. For more information about the taxability of employee stock options, see Pub. 15-B.
Show any employer contributions (including amounts the employee elected to contribute using a section 125 (cafeteria) plan) to an HSA. See Health Savings Account (HSA) on page 6.
It is not necessary to show deferrals in box 12 with code Y. For more information, see Notice 2008-115, available at www.irs.gov/irb/2008-52_IRB/index.html. However, if you report these deferrals, show current year deferrals, including earnings during the year on current year and prior year deferrals. See Nonqualified deferred compensation plans on page 7.
Enter all amounts deferred (including earnings on amounts deferred) that are includible in income under section 409A because the NQDC plan fails to satisfy the requirements of section 409A. Do not include amounts properly reported on a Form 1099-MISC, corrected Form 1099-MISC, Form W-2, or Form W-2c for a prior year. Also, do not include amounts that are considered to be subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture for purposes of section 409A. For more information, see Regulations sections 1.409A-1 through 1.409A-6, Notice 2008-113, available at www.irs.gov/irb/2008-51_IRB/ar12.html, and Notice 2008-115, available at www.irs.gov/irb/2008-52_IRB/index.html.
The amount reported in box 12 using code Z is also reported in box 1, and is subject to an additional tax reported on the employee's Form 1040. See Nonqualified deferred compensation plans on page 7.
Use this code to report designated Roth contributions under a section 401(k) plan. Do not use this code to report elective deferrals under code D. See Designated Roth contributions on page 5.
Use this code to report designated Roth contributions under a section 403(b) plan. Do not use this code to report elective deferrals under code E. See Designated Roth contributions on page 5.
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Statutory employee. Check this box for statutory employees whose earnings are subject to social security and Medicare taxes but not subject to federal income tax withholding. Do not check this box for common-law employees. There are workers who are independent contractors under the common-law rules but are treated by statute as employees. They are called statutory employees.
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A driver who distributes beverages (other than milk), or meat, vegetable, fruit, or bakery products; or who picks up and delivers laundry or dry cleaning if the driver is your agent or is paid on commission.
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A full-time life insurance sales agent whose principal business activity is selling life insurance or annuity contracts, or both, primarily for one life insurance company.
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An individual who works at home on materials or goods that you supply and that must be returned to you or to a person you name if you also furnish specifications for the work to be done.
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A full-time traveling or city salesperson who works on your behalf and turns in orders to you from wholesalers, retailers, contractors, or operators of hotels, restaurants, or other similar establishments. The goods sold must be merchandise for resale or supplies for use in the buyer's business operation. The work performed for you must be the salesperson's principal business activity.
For details on statutory employees and common-law employees, see section 1 in Pub. 15–A.
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Retirement plan. Check this box if the employee was an “active participant” (for any part of the year) in any of the following:
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A qualified pension, profit-sharing, or stock-bonus plan described in section 401(a) (including a 401(k) plan).
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An annuity plan described in section 403(a).
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An annuity contract or custodial account described in section 403(b).
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A simplified employee pension (SEP) plan described in section 408(k).
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A SIMPLE retirement account described in section 408(p).
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A trust described in section 501(c)(18).
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A plan for federal, state, or local government employees or by an agency or instrumentality thereof (other than a section 457(b) plan).
Generally, an employee is an active participant if covered by (a) a defined benefit plan for any tax year that he or she is eligible to participate in or (b) a defined contribution plan (for example, a section 401(k) plan) for any tax year that employer or employee contributions (or forfeitures) are added to his or her account. For additional information on employees who are eligible to participate in a plan, contact your plan administrator. For details on the active participant rules, see Notice 87-16, 1987-1 C.B. 446, Notice 98-49, 1998-2 C.B. 365, section 219(g)(5), and Pub. 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs). You can find Notice 98-49 on page 5 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 1998-38 at
www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb98-38.pdf.
Do not check this box for contributions made to a nonqualified or section 457(b) plan.
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Third-party sick pay. Check this box only if you are a third-party sick pay payer filing a Form W-2 for an insured's employee or are an employer reporting sick pay payments made by a third party. See Sick Pay Reporting in section 6 of Pub. 15-A.
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