New York Statewide
Payroll Conference
Tyrone Benefield
Employer Services Liaison Officer
Social Security Administration
Your W-2s and SSA
•Over 50 Million people receive SSA
monthly benefits
•Wage data is used by SSA to pay the
Right Person, the Right Benefit, at the
Right Time.
•Your properly submitted W-2s allow us,
as an agency, to be successful at what we
do.
Thank You!
Hiring Incentives to Restore
Employment Act “HIRE”
• Amount reflects earnings on which the employer doesn’t
pay the employers share of SS tax.
• Most W-2’s won’t have HIRE Exempt Wages and Tips. (Most
employees are not qualified new hires).
• Valid only for tax year 2010. (SSA will be required to
process HIRE Exempt Wages and Tips for delinquent TY
2010 reports.)
• Valid for all employment types except Household.
• Reportable by all types of employers except Federal, State
and Local government agencies or instrumentalities.
• Valid for all tax jurisdictions (paper and electronic
equivalents).
Hiring Incentives to Restore
Employment Act “HIRE” Cont.
• For paper forms W-2, W-2VI, W-2GU, W-2AS
and W-2c it will be reported as box 12 as
alphabetic code CC. For paper forms W-3
and W-3SS the reported total will be in box
12b (a new box). It will be added to the EFW2
format RO and RU records, and the EFW2C
format RCO and RCU records.
• Location on forms 499R-2/W-2PR and 499R-
2c/W-2cPR will be box 24.
2010 W-2 Reminders
Soc. Sec. Wage Maximum = $106,800.00
Furnish EE copies by January 31, 2011
When to File with SSA:
Electronic by March 31, 2011
-or-
Paper by February 28, 2011
• Do file on time
• Do not duplicate e-file with paper forms
• Do not file 250+ on paper
W-2 Reporting Options
• Electronic
Safe, fast and easy!
• Paper Copy A
W-2VI Online At Last!!
• Effective December 2010 W-2VI will be
available for tax year 2010 inputs.
• You must register at Business Services
Online to submit your W-2s via the
internet www.socialsecurity.gov/employer
Paper Forms are
Expensive and Error Prone
• Labor-intensive receipt and handling
• Non-scannable forms must be keyed
• Wrong size
• Cut forms
• Entries are
• too small
• too light
• outside the boxes
• illegible
Tons of Paper W-2s
• Wilkes-Barre
received 400,000
pounds of paper W-
2s in 2009 – that is
200 tons!
• 40,000,000 W-2s
Is this your report?
EFW-2 Sources
for File Upload Method
Vendor payroll software package
Payroll/tax filing agent (outsource)
Proprietary (in-house) program
See “Vendor List” at
www.socialsecurity.gov/employer
Advantages
• Extended due date – March 31st
• Fully electronic – no paperwork
• Immediate electronic receipt
• Faster processing
• Fewer errors
• Tracking capabilities
• Saves $$ for employers and SSA
To connect to
Business Services Online:
Point your browser to
www.socialsecurity.gov/employer
and click on
Business Services Online
Go to: www.socialsecurity.gov/employer
Tutorial
Common W-2 Reporting Errors
• Wrong tax year
• Money fields out of balance
• Wrong data (e.g., partial/ prior year)
• Name/SSN mismatches
• Wrong EIN
• Incorrect format
Filing Corrections (W-2C)
• 250 or more W-2Cs – must file
electronically
• Applies to immediate prior tax year
• File upload (MMREF-2 format), or
• W-2C Online
• Filing paper?
• Use January 2009 version from IRS, or
• IRS Pub. 1223 compatible forms
W-2c Online Prior Year
Filing
December 5th, 2009
Years accepted
• 3 years, 3 months and 15 days
– From the December release until April 15th the current
plus 3 prior years are accepted
– After April 15th only the current and 2 prior years are
accepted
• Example, starting in December
From 12/5-4/15 TY09, TY08, TY07 and TY06 accepted
From 4/15 on TY09, TY08 and TY07 are accepted
Who has their
Social Security
card with them
today?
What is SSNVS?
• SSN Verification Service
• Web-based verification of employee
name and SSN
• Cannot be used to screen potential
hires – for employees, only
• Users must register for PIN/ password
and request access
Two Methods for using SSNVS
• Direct keying onto SSA’s website
– Key up to 10 names/SSNs with immediate
results
– Can key multiple screens
• Upload file
– Can upload up to 250,000 SSNs per file
– Next business day results
Steps for using SSNVS
1. Register for a PIN and Password
2. Get your activation code from your employer
3. Input activation code (once) to turn on SSNVS
4. Log into Business Services Online with your PIN
and password
5. Use SSNVS to verify names and Social Security
numbers
6. If a mismatch occurs take appropriate steps
7. If you can’t resolve mismatch ask employee to
contact Social Security
SSNVS Results Page
SSNVS Online Verification Page
Possible Mismatch Codes
VERIFICATION CODES
1 = SSN not in file (never issued to anyone)
2 = Name and DOB match, gender code does not match
3 = Name and gender code match; DOB does not match
4 = Name matches, DOB and gender code do not match
5 = Name does not match, DOB and gender code not checked
6 = have employee contact the local social security office for more
information
DECEASED (PER SSA RECORDS)
If Social Security records indicate any of the names and SSNs submitted for
verification belonged to deceased individuals, the page will display a table
with the information pertaining to these requests.
What To Do If An SSN
Fails Verification
• Compare submitted information
• Ask employee to verify the information /
View Social Security card
• Ask employee to check with any local
Social Security office
• Document your efforts
What is TNEV?
• Telephone Number Employer Verification
• Must register for SSNVS and must
activate SSNVS
• Verify up to 10 names and SSNs
• Access TNEV through either the general
SSA number 1-800-772-1213 or the
employer number 1-800-772-6270
• TNEV is available 24/ 7 beginning
September 2009
Foreign Workers
• Verification with USCIS for foreign
workers before SSN issued
• Immediate verification
• Delayed verification
• How to file report without an SSN
• ITIN is not a SSN
No SSN by W-2 Time?
• Paper Filers
• Enter “Applied For” on all copies
• Electronic Filers
• “Applied For” on employee and
employer copies
• All zeroes in W-2 Online or MMREF-1
• File W-2c after employee receives
SSN (E-File preferred)
ITIN
• Individual Taxpayer Identification
Number
9xx-7x-xxxx
9xx-8x-xxxx
• Not valid for U.S. employment
• Issued by IRS to non-citizens for tax
filing of non-work income
• Apply for ITIN on IRS Form W-7
Employment Eligibility
Verification Program
• Dept. of Homeland Security and SSA
• Now web-based and nationwide
• Participating employers verify all new hires
• Checks both SSN and I-9 information
• Voluntary ― to enroll
Contact DHS at (888) 464-4218, or
www.vis-dhs.com/employerregistration
Reconciliation Process
941/943/944 Employer W-2s/W-3
SSA
IRS
94x Totals W-2 Totals
for Year for Year Post earnings
or place in
Reconcile IRS Totals Suspense File
with SSA Totals
Items Reconciled
Social Security Medicare
Wages Wages and Tips
Tips Tax Withheld
Tax Withheld
Federal Income Tax Withheld
Advance EIC Payment
• W-2s less than 94x – SSA sends notice
• W-2s more than 94x – IRS sends notice
Calling Dr. Accuwage
When in doubt consult your ESLO
My earnings for this
past year are not on
my Social Security
Statement
My name is really Mary Jones
but I prefer Cookie Jones on my W-2
Submission Level vs. Report Level
Partial Report vs. Whole Report
Sorting Out The Problem
Patience Not Panic Yields Good
Results
When in Doubt Contact Your ESLO
Questions?
How to Contact Us
Employer Issues:
Select “How To Reach Us” at
www.socialsecurity.gov/employer
Employer Reporting Service Center
(800) 772-6270
General Inquiries:
www.socialsecurity.gov
(800) 772-1213
New York Wage Reporting Staff
Tyrone S. Benefield
tyrone.s.benefield@ssa.gov
(212) 264-1117