Earlier W2 Filing Requirement in 2017

One of the new wrinkles for tax filing requirements for 2017 is that employers must adhere to an earlier W2 filing date than in years’ past. For 2017,all W2 and W3 (employer records) must be filed with the Social Security Administration by January 31.

The previous deadline was the last day of February if the W2 and W3 forms are filed on paper; by the end of March if filed electronically.

Many employers will be caught off-guard by the earlier W2 filing requirement. I wouldn’t think it would be a problem to meet this requirement. The deadline of January 31 for distribution of employee Form W2’s has been the rule for quite a while now. The primary problem is if there are any corrections necessary. This will just cause the employer to have to amend his forms W2/W3 filings with SSA after the fact.

This earlier W2 filing requirement should not have an impact either way for most employees. Tax preparers preparing employer payroll tax forms may be a bit overwhelmed in January. This portion of W2/W3 filing is often delayed until after the employee copies of Form W2 have been distributed. Filings must now be complete by the end of January. This compresses the timeline for distribution to employees and submission to Social Security.

The IRS recently published a Reminder about this change, which was passed into law in December 2015 as part of the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act. The reminder is IR-2016-143. As part of this Reminder, IRS also notes that these changes (from the PATH Act, specifically if claiming Earned Income Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit) may delay some tax refunds until after February 15, 2017.