Section 1. Purpose

.01 The purpose of this revenue procedure is to provide general rules and specifications from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) for paper substitute forms for Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, and Form W-3, Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements, for wages paid during the 2004 calendar year.

.02 For purposes of this revenue procedure, substitute Form W-2 (Copy A) and substitute Form W-3 are forms that are not printed by the IRS. Copy A or any other copies of a substitute Form W-2 or a substitute Form W-3 must conform to the specifications in this revenue procedure to be acceptable to the IRS and the SSA. No IRS office is authorized to allow deviations from this revenue procedure. Preparers should also refer to the separate 2004 Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 for details on how to complete these forms. See Part C, Section 4, for information on obtaining the official IRS forms and instructions. See Part B, Section 2, for requirements for the copies of substitute forms furnished to employees.

.03 For purposes of this revenue procedure, the official, IRS-printed red dropout ink Forms W-2 (Copy A) and W-3 and their exact substitutes are referred to as “red-ink.” The SSA-approved, laser-printed, black-and-white Forms W-2 (Copy A) and W-3 are referred to as “laser-printed.”

Any questions about the red-ink Form W-2 (Copy A) and Form W-3 should be emailed to *taxforms@irs.gov or sent to:

2004–34 I.R.B. 325 August 23, 2004

Internal Revenue Service Attn: Substitute Forms Program SE:W:CAR:MP:T:T:SP, Room 6516 1111 Constitution Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20224

Any questions about the black-and-white laser-printed Form W-2 (Copy A) and Form W-3 should be emailed to laser.forms@ssa.gov or sent to:

Social Security Administration Data Operations Center Attn: Laser Forms Approval, Room 359 1150 E. Mountain Drive Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702-7997

Also, see Sections 3.05 and 3.06 of Part I.

Note. You should receive a response within 30 days from either the IRS or the SSA.

.04 The IRS maintains a centralized call site at its Martinsburg Computing Center (IRS/MCC) to answer questions related to information returns (Forms W-2, W-3, 1099 series, 1096, etc.). You can reach the call site at 304-263-8700 (not a toll-free number) or 1-866-455-7438 (toll-free). The Telecommunication Device for the Deaf (TDD) number is 304-267-3367 (not a toll-free number). The hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern time. You may also send questions to the call site via the Internet at mccirp@irs.gov . IRS/MCC does not process Forms W-2 (Copy A). Forms W-2 (Copy A) prepared on paper and/or magnetically/electronically must be filed with the SSA. IRS/MCC does, however, process waiver requests (Form 8508, Request for Waiver From Filing Information Returns Magnetically) and extension of time to file requests (Form 8809, Request for Extension of Time To File Information Returns) for Forms W-2 (Copy A) and requests for an extension of time to furnish the employee copies of Form W-2. See Publication 1220, Specifications for Filing Forms 1098, 1099, 5498 and W-2G Electronically or Magnetically, for information on waivers and extensions of time.

.05 The following publications provide detailed filing procedures for certain information returns: