Filing Forms W-2c/W-3c with Social Security

Helpful Hints

• If you use your own software to prepare and submit paper Forms W-2c (Statement of Corrected Income and Tax Amounts), follow the instructions in Social Security's Information for Software Developers.

                    

• 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.

                    

• If you expect to file 250 or more W-2cs during a calendar year, you are now required to file them electronically. (W-2cs for years before 2002 are not counted for purposes of the new threshold.) Submitters must follow the formatting specifications in Social Security’s Specifications for Filing Forms W-2 Electronically (EFW2). If you believe the 250 threshold requirements (published in IRS Pub. 1223) will create a hardship, contact the IRS Employer Call Site in Martinsburg, West Virginia directly at (866) 455-7438 (toll-free) about the possibility of a waiver.

                    

• If any item shows a dollar change and one of the amounts is zero, enter "-0-" Do not leave the box blank.

                    

• Make sure your Employer Identification Number (EIN) reported on Forms W-2c and W-3c (and, if applicable, Form 941x , Supporting Statement to Correction Information) is the same number issued by the IRS and used on all three types of forms. If your EIN was incorrectly reported, please file a W-3c to correct it.

                    

• Corrections to amounts reported in a prior tax year should be shown on a Form 941x for the period when the error was discovered. Remember to file the Form 941x with your next Form 941 (Employer's Quarterly Tax Return) as it cannot be filed alone.

                    

• Special rules apply to Medicare Qualified Government Employment employers. See IRS W-2c/W-3c Instructions for details.

                    

• See Where to File page for the Forms W-2c/W-3c mailing address.