Social Security: Filing W-2 reports just got easier for small businesses
If you’re one of the millions of people running a small business, the Social Security Administration has good news for you. Business owners with 20 or fewer employees can now file their W-2s and other wage reports online and avoid the costs of paper versions of the same reports and mailing them to the government.
“The president has asked us to provide more of our services electronically,” said Jo Anne B. Barnhart, commissioner of Social Security. “We know small business operators will appreciate this service because it’s fast, it’s safe, it’s paperless and, above all, it’s free.”
Although many large employers have been filing electronic wage reports for years, small businesses who handle their own payrolls were stuck with the old-fashioned paper process. Last year, for example, almost five million small employers filled out and mailed 53 million paper W-2 forms to the Social Security Administration.
In 2002, for the first time, Social Security offered businesses with fewer than 10 employees the chance to file online. But only 6,400 small employers took advantage of the opportunity and filed an average of three electronic W-2s each. By increasing the threshold to 20 W-2s per employer, and by actively promoting the service, Commissioner Barnhart hopes to greatly increase the numbers of small businesses who use the service.
Calling it a “win-win” situation for everyone, Barnhart said, “By using what we call e-file, small employers can save money in labor, paper and mailing costs, and the Social Security Administration can give our employees who currently open millions of envelopes and process even more millions of paper W-2 forms the opportunity to do other critical work.”
Commissioner Barnhart also noted this service is not confined to traditional businesses. For example, families who employ a housekeeper or gardener also can go online to file their wage reports.
Besides speed and cost, Social Security says there are other advantages to filing wage reports electronically.
• It offers a later filing deadline. Electronic filers have until March 31 to file their reports. Those who use paper must submit reports by Feb. 28.
• It provides an electronic receipt as proof of timely filing.
• It includes a tracking system that allows employers to monitor the status of their reports as they are processed by the government.
To use the service, business owners, or families employing household help, simply need a computer with access to the Internet, and a printer to print W-2 forms for their employees. They log onto www.socialsecurity.gov/ employer, then select “Employer Services Online” and simply follow the prompts.
It takes 10 to 14 days to set up a personal identification number, or PIN, with a password. Once those are established, the business owner can start using the free service any time.