SEC. 3. GENERAL RULES FOR

FILING FORMS W–2

below). The requestor will receive an approval or denial letter from IRS, but must allow at least 30 days for IRS to respond. If you have any questions concerning Form 8508, contact IRS/ MCC at the address or phone number shown above. Employers who do not comply with the magnetic media filing requirements for Form W–2 and who are not granted a waiver may be subject to certain penalties. Since many states and local governments accept Form W–2 data on magnetic media, savings may be obtained if magnetic media is used for filing with both SSA and state or local governments. In many instances, the state or local government is willing to accept the data format specifications set out in SSA’s Technical Information Bulletin (TIB) No. 4, Magnetic Media Reporting. You must contact each individual state or local taxing agency to receive approval and make arrangements to file on magnetic media.

EMPLOYERS WHO FILE FORM W–2 INFORMATION ON MAGNETIC MEDIA WITH SSA MUST NOT SEND THE SAME DATA TO SSA ON PAPER FORMS W–2. This would result in duplicate reporting and may subject the filer to an unnecessary contact by the IRS.

.02 TIB–4, Magnetic Media Report- ing, Submitting Annual W–2 Copy A Information to the Social Security Ad- ministration, (SSA Pub. No. 42–007, revised Oct., 1996 ) contains the specifications and procedures for filing Form W–2 information on magnetic media with SSA. Specifications for both tape and diskette reporting for Forms W–2 are included in the TIB–4.

.03 TIB–4 may be obtained by writing to:

Social Security Administration OCRO, DEA Attn: Resubmittal Unit 300 North Greene Street Baltimore, MD 21201. Employers may call their local SSA Magnetic Media Coordinator (MMC) to obtain the TIB–4 (see list of Magnetic Media Coordinators’ telephone numbers in the Appendix). The TIB–4 is also on the SSA Annual Wage Reporting Bulletin Board System (AWRBBS). The number for the AWRBBS is (410)965–1133 (not a toll-free number ). Employers using magnetic media are cautioned to obtain the most recent revision of the TIB–4 and supplements due to possible changes in the specifications and procedures.

.04 Employers not using magnetic media must file a paper Copy A of

Form W–2 with SSA on either the IRS printed official form or a privately printed substitute paper form that exactly meets the specifications shown in Parts B and C.

.05 Employers can design their own statements to give to employees. This applies to both employers who file with SSA either on magnetic media or paper Forms W–2, Copy A. Employee statements designed by employers must comply with the requirements shown in Parts B and C, below. NOTE: Copy A must not be filed on paper with SSA when the same Form W–2 information is filed on magnetic media. Therefore, magnetic media fil- ers who use the official IRS printed form or any other pre-printed form are advised not to print Copy A, or to discard a printed Copy A, to prevent duplicate information from being sub- mitted to SSA.

.06 Beginning January 1, 1997, if you are terminating your business, you must provide your employees with Forms W–2 on or before the due date of the business filing its final Form 941. Employers must also file Forms W–2 and W–3 with SSA on or before the last day of the month following the due date of the final Form 941. See Rev. Proc. 96–57, Au- tomatic Extensions for Forms W–2, Internal Revenue Bulletin 1996–53 dated 12/30/96, for more information.

Note: Use of a reporting agent or other third-party payroll service pro- vider does not relieve an employer of the responsibility to ensure that tax and information returns are sent out and/or filed correctly and on time.

.07 1997 Forms W–2, whether filed on magnetic media or paper, must be submitted to SSA on or before March 2, 1998. In addition, the employee copies must be furnished to the employee on or before January 31, 1998. If employment ended before December 31, 1997, the employee may be furnished his/her copy any time after employment ends, but no later than January 31, 1998. However, if the employee requests Form W–2, you must furnish him or her the completed copies within 30 days of the request or of the final wage payment, whichever is later. This requirement is met if the form is properly addressed, mailed, and postmarked on or before the due date. Failure to timely file with SSA or to timely provide the employee copies may subject the employer to penalties. Employers needing additional time to file Form W–2 information (paper or

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magnetic media) with SSA may request an extension of time to file by submitting Form 8809, Request for Extension of Time to File Information Returns, to the IRS/MCC at the address (or alternative address) listed in Sec. 3.01, above. The extension request should be filed as early as possible, but must be postmarked no later than the due date of the forms ( March 2, 1998 ). DO NOT SEND FORM 8809 TO SSA.

NOTE: APPROVAL OF THE EXTENSION IS NOT AUTOMATIC. Approval or denial is based on administrative criteria and guidelines. The requestor will receive an approval or denial letter from IRS and must allow at least 30 days for IRS to respond. Form 8809 may be obtained through electronic options on the Internet at http:// www.irs.ustreas.gov; by modem to IRIS (703)321–8020; or by using the IRS Fax Forms Program (703)487–4160, or by calling 1–800–829–3676. You can also contact IRS/MCC (See the address and phone number in Sec. 3.01, above).

.08 If requesting extensions of time for more than 10 employers, IRS encourages filers to submit the request on tape, tape cartridge, 5 1/4 or 3 1/2-inch diskette, or electronically through the Information Reporting Program Bulletin Board System (IRP–BBS). Transmitters requesting an extension of time to file more than 50 payers are required to file the extension request on magnetic media or electronically. Transmitters who submit requests for multiple payers will receive one approval letter with an attached list of payers covered under that approval. Publication 1220, Specifi- cations for Filing Forms 1098, 1099 series, 5498 and W–2G Electronically or on Magnetic Media, provides information on how to file requests for extensions of time on tape, diskette, or electronically. NOTE: To file a request for extensions of time magnetically or electronically for multiple payers, third party filers and/transmitters, must have an IRS Transmitter Control Code (Authoriza- tion to file information returns).