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W-2 News
For Employers, and Businesses Who Submit W-2 Forms
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Welcome to W-2 News, the electronic newsletter for employers who submit W-2s to Social Security.

Issue 2007-02
May 30, 2007

Inside this issue:

 

 

Employers - Changes to Social Security Number Verification Service (SSNVS)

Beginning August 25, 2007, SSA will implement four changes to the SSNVS process:

  1. SSA will return all names and numbers submitted, not just the mismatches.
  2. Where names and Social Security numbers match, SSA will return only the last four digits of the Social Security number.
  3. A new unverified code “6” will now be returned when appropriate.
  4. The eight position tracking code will be replaced by a 16 position confirmation number.

For more detailed information go to www.socialsecurity.gov/employer and select “Learn How To Use SSNVS.”

 

 

Software Developers – Changes to the Social Security Number Verification Service (SSNVS)

Beginning August 25, 2007, SSA will implement changes to the SSNVS process.

  1. SSA will return all names and numbers submitted, not just the mismatches in positions 1-9.
  2. Where names and Social Security numbers match, SSA will return only the last four digits of the Social Security number in positions 6-9. Positions 1 -5 will be filled with an ‘X’.
  3. A new unverified code “6” will now be returned when appropriate in position 98.
  4. The eight position tracking code will be replaced by a 16 position confirmation number in positions 49-64.
  5. SSA will sort all numbers based on whether an SSN is verified or not verified.
    Note: We recommend using the User Control Data field in positions 90-103 to identify each record.

For more detailed information go to www.ssa.gov/employer/ssnv.htm.

 

 

IRS/SSA Reconciliation

Have you received a letter from Social Security concerning a discrepancy between the wages you reported to Social Security and the wages you reported to the Internal Revenue Service? Did you know that you can submit the missing W-2s electronically, regardless of how you filed originally? To learn more about electronic filing using SSA’s Business Services Online, go to www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/. For additional information on the reconciliation process, go to www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/recon/recon.htm.

Note: If you submit an additional W-2 for an employee with exactly the same wages as the first one, it will be treated as a duplicate and will not be credited to the wage earner’s account. To avoid this situation, make sure that you do not submit a second W-2 that has the same money amounts as the first one.

 

 

Friendly Reminders about PINs, Passwords and Activation Codes

  • To keep PINS active, passwords can be updated at any time prior to the expiration date. Passwords must be changed every 365 days.
  • Activation codes are mailed to the address your company provided to the Internal Revenue Services (IRS).
  • Addresses should be updated timely with IRS to make sure Activation Codes are received at the correct location.

For more information visit www.ssa.gov/bso/bsowelcome.htm.

 

 

Helpful Hints

For submitting wage reports, verifying Social Security numbers, and for third-party submitters.

Electronic Filing

  • Do not send paper copies of Forms W-2 or W-3 to Social Security when filing electronically.
  • Forms 1099 are filed with IRS, not SSA.
  • When resubmitting wage files, use the wage file identifiers (WFID) already assigned.
  • Corrections to previously submitted reports for the current tax year can be completed electronically by using
  • W-2C Online.
  • Visit www.socialsecurity.gov/employer for more information.

Social Security Number Verification Service (SSNVS)

  • SSN verification is available online and will allow from 1–10 verifications per session. The results are displayed immediately.
  • To verify SSNs online, a PIN, password and an activation code are needed. The Business Services Online, SSNVS Handbook is located at www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/ssnvs_handbk.htm

Third-Party Submitters

  • When submitting wage reports, be certain that the client’s employer identification number (EIN) is used in the RE record, and not your EIN.

More information is located at www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/06mmref1.pdf.

 

 

Spanish Language Tutorials for W-2 and W-2c Online

Spanish language employers have a new resource available for wage reporting. Business Services Online (BSO) now has Spanish language W-2 and W-2c Online tutorials available through their Información para el Empleador en Español link on the BSO Welcome Page. Or employers can go directly to the webpage at www.ssa.gov/bso/bsowelcomespanish.htm.

The tutorials have been translated and include page views to assist users in their wage reporting activities. They’re great resources for small employers, providing step-by-step instructions and illustrations for using W-2 Online and W-2c Online for creating, printing and submitting Forms W-2 and W-2c to the Social Security Administration.

 

 

IRS Starts e-Newsletter Just for Small Businesses

The IRS has started a new service, e-News for Small Business. Distributed every Wednesday, it brings timely, useful tax information right to your computer, including:

  • Important upcoming tax dates.
  • What’s new on the IRS web site.
  • Reminders and tips to assist businesses with tax compliance.
  • IRS news releases and special IRS announcements.

e-News’ convenient format will put IRS tax information at your fingertips. “Useful Links” brings you quickly to some of the most useful information on www.irs.gov for large and small businesses and the self-employed.

To begin your FREE subscription to e-News for Small Business, go to the IRS website at www.irs.gov/businesses/small/content/0,,id=154826,00.html, type in your e-mail address and submit.

 

 

Employer Reporting Resource Kits

Make the following web pages your favorites for valuable resource information. You can link to these pages from the “Employer W-2 Filing Instructions & Information” website at www.socialsecurity.gov/employer:

 

 

Form 6559 Obsolete!

The Form 6559 (Transmitter Report and Summary of Magnetic Media) is now obsolete. All wages must be filed either electronically or on paper. If you use off-the-shelf software to prepare your wage reports and it does not offer electronic filing, contact the software company.

For a more information about electronic filing, and for a list of vendors that offer wage reporting services and/or products, visit www.socialsecurity.gov/employer.

 

 

SSA/IRS Reporter

The SSA/IRS Reporter is a newsletter issued by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It publishes articles about employment and business tax compliance. The SSA/IRS Reporter also carries general information about best payroll and employment tax practices as well as SSA and IRS products and services.

Current and past issues are available in both English and Spanish on www.socialsecurity.gov/employer and www.irs.gov and search for "Reporter."

 
 

Please don't hit the "reply" button. W-2 News is an "announce only" newsletter.

For more information on reporting employee wages to Social Security visit our website.
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/employer

Employers may contact Social Security with wage reporting questions or problems.
Email - employerinfo@ssa.gov
Phone - 1-800-772-6270, Monday - Friday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern Time

 
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