FAQs: Form W-2
- What is Form W2?
- Why is the eSmartForm W2 copy A not red, like in previous years?
- How do I prepare and e-file W2s ?
- If I e-file Form W2, what should I do with Form W3?
- How do I print employee copies of W2 for distribution?
- Why is the printing area beyond the printer margin? Can I correct it?
- Can I import data into eSmartForm W2 so I do not have to re-type the information?
- When I use the Excel interface, I seem to lose some data (some columns are not recognized)?
What is Form W2? (back to top)
Form W2 is the Wage and Tax Statement issued by the employer to the employee, typically at year end (before January 31 the following year) to reconcile the amount of income and tax withheld. In addition, the employer is required to file a W3 to summarize the W2 information.
The employer is required to submit W2s (copy A) to SSA and States (where required) and the employee attaches the copy on his/her income tax returns.
Why is the eSmartForm W2 copy A not red, like in previous years? (back to top)
Starting from 2001, the SSA will accept black-and-white copy A of W2 as long as the form is approved by the SSA. We have submitted eSmartForm W2 to the SSA and it was processed successfully. If you choose to mail in copy A, you do not need to print it in red anymore. However, the data and the form have to be printed at the same time (you can not use pre-printed, black-and-white copy A, then fill in data later).
How do I prepare and e-file W2s ? (back to top)
You can prepare and e-file W2s online at our website completely, or you can use eSmartForm W2 on your computer, then upload the e-file data file through our website to the SSA.
E-file replaces the copy A of W2. You still need to distribute employee copies to the employee for his/her tax returns.
If I e-file Form W2, what should I do with Form W3? (back to top)
If you e-file the W2 information, form W3 is not required.
How do I print employee copies of W2 for distribution? (back to top)
If you used eSmartForm W2, you can print the employee copies using Microsoft Word.
Why is the printing area beyond the printer margin? Can I correct it? (back to top)
If you see a message stating that the printed area is beyond the printer margin, let it continue. Because we need to control the precise location of the data on each form, we had to design the form beyond the desktop printer margin. You will not be able to change the margin to accommodate the margin requirements.
The printed form, though may miss the last few lines at the bottom, contain all the required data and is acceptable to SSA. If you change the margin or the size of the form, the SSA may not be able to process the W2 with OCR (Optical Character Recognization).
Can I import data into eSmartForm W2 so I do not have to re-type the information? (back to top)
You can use the Excel interface utility to import data into eSmartForm W2 to print or create e-file data file.
When I use the Excel interface, I seem to lose some data (some columns are not recognized)? (back to top)
Please check the column heading (name of the data record) in the Excel worksheet. Sometimes, the heading may contain extra spaces, carriage return or other invisible characters and the column heading is not mirrored completely in the Excel interface utility. The program thus did not pick up the data in the column. It is a good practice to copy the cell (column heading) into the interface utility to make sure the name is properly mirrored.