The IRS has had its fair share of fraud and identity theft issues over recent years. Fraudulent claims cost millions, if not billions of dollars annually, and the numbers are increasing at an alarming rate.
In attempt to minimize fraudulent claims, the filing deadline for 2017 W-2 and 1099 forms is January 31, 2018 for the second year in a row. The suggested best practice is for employers to have these forms distributed to their employees before the cut-off date to better address accuracy and legitimacy. This will allow employees plenty of time to gather their tax filing information before the deadline.
Dissemination of the W-2 forms can be via encrypted electronic file (with the employee’s authorization) or traditional paper forms. We highly recommend tracking numbers be utilized for any paper forms that are distributed via mail, courier or UPS/FedEx.
For state W-2 form filing, the standards don’t necessarily follow the Federal rules. However, Payroll Vault has this handled for you. Feel free to reach out to your local office with any questions.