SEC. 2. NATURE OF CHANGES

.01 The text and exhibits were updated for tax year 1998 .

.02 Box 15 check boxes for Household Employee and Subtotal were deleted from the Forms W–2. All employers including household employers must now file Form W–3 even for a single submission of Forms W–2 thus eliminating the need for the check box. Also SSA no longer needs subtotals to process Forms W–2 allowing the elimination of another checkbox.

.03 Added sentence at the bottom of Form W–2 reminding filers not to sepa- rate forms, not to staple forms, and not to send in photocopies,

.04 Added last item to back of in- structions on copy C to make filers aware that Form W–2 should be re- tained until you start to receive benefits from SSA. Also employees should con- firm their work record with SSA from time to time.

.05 Added additional boxes to Forms W–3 just before the signature area for name of contact person, telephone number, fax number, and E-Mail ad- dress. This was done at SSA’s request so that they could more easily contact the filer to resolve any processing prob- lems.

.06 SSA recommended inserting a note at the bottom of Forms W–3 and just before the W–3 instructions informing the filer that the entire first page of the Forms W–3 and the entire first page of the Forms W–2 should be sent to SSA. Filers are also informed not to send in any payments with these forms to SSA.

.07 Deleted the Paper Work Reduction Act Notice from Form W–3 page 1 as a space saving measure. The notice information is located inside the Forms W–2 instructions.

.08 The Earned Income Credit notification to employees may now be placed on the back of copy B or the back of copy C.

See Part B, Section 2.05.5 for new information.

.09 The tax year (1998) must be printed in non-reflective black ink on copy A of Form W–2 and Form W–3 using 24 pt OCR-A font. The forms identification numbers, e.g., 22222 or 33333, at the top of the forms must be printed in non-reflective black ink. It is imperative that SSA’s scanning equipment be able to recognize the form number so that, for example, a Form W–3 is recognized and is not scanned or keyed as a Form W–2. The form number (W–3), and the signature line information on Form W–3, must be printed in non-reflective black ink. The word “Form” as well as the form title(s), e.g., Wage and Tax Statement and Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements, should be printed in red OCR drop-out ink. Tax Year (1998) Copies B,C, and 2 are not required to be 24 pt OCR-A font (See Part B, Section 2.05.

.10 The Catalog Number, shown on the 1998 Form W–2 as “Cat. No. 10134D”, and the Catalog Number shown on the 1998 Form W–3 as “Cat No. 10159Y”, is used for IRS distribution purposes and should not be printed on substitute Forms W–3 or W–2 (Copy A or employee copies).

.11 Added information on how forms can be obtained through computer on-line services.

.12 Various editorial changes were made.