Every year I receive a few questions related to W2 and W3 reporting. Employees should receive a Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement from each of their employers where they worked during the year. Employers have until January 31 to send their employees a Form W-2 earnings statement. If you haven’t received your W-2 by early February, follow these three steps:
- Contact Your Employer: Inquire if and when the W-2 was mailed. If it was mailed, it may have been returned to the employer because of an incorrect or incomplete address.
- Contact your Payroll Company: If your employer was dealing with a local payroll company you are probably in luck. Smaller local payroll companies keep good records and are probably on a first name basis with the employer. They can easily check to see if there is a problem and re-issue the W2.
- Contact the IRS: Call the IRS for assistance at 800-829-1040. Based on the information you provide to the IRS, they will contact your employer for you. The IRS will also send you a Form 4852 which is a substitute for Form W-2. They will instruct you how to complete the form so you can file your taxes.
Always review your W2 carefully to make sure your Social Security Number is correct. If it isn’t advise your employer immediately so that it can be corrected before your payroll company submits the W2’s to Federal and State
reporting agencies.
All New Jersey based Employers must file a Gross Income Tax Reconciliation of Tax Withheld (Form NJ-W-3) each year to report the total monthly tax remitted, wages paid and withholdings. Registered employers must file Form NJ-W-3 even if no wages were paid and no tax was withheld during the year. The due date for filing the reconciliation is on or before the last day in February following the close of the calendar year.
If you are doing this yourself a copy of each employee’s Federal Wage and Tax Statement (W-2) must be enclosed with the NJ-W-3. You must also enclose a totaled listing, such as an adding machine tape, of income tax withheld as shown on the W-2’s.
Please note that in New Jersey each employee’s W2 should show their contributions to New Jersey State funds for Unemployment Insurance, Workforce Development, Disability Insurance, and Family Leave Insurance. These totals should reconcile to filings made during the year on your quarterly NJ-927 return.
