Starting Jan 1, 2024, the only practical advice is for all to efile W2 data with SSA
•There may be exceptions for those with certain business types AND having less than 10 cumulative forms (includes W2, 1099, and others.)
•Unless you are 100% positive you meet one of the exceptions, efile.
•Late forms, or paper filing when required to efile, the penalty starts at $60 per form (per employee, not per page).
Printing on Plain Paper (Yes, you can!)
•Copy A
•Since tax year 2001, the SSA has allowed W-2 and W-3 forms to be printed on plain paper, black ink/toner, using a jet or laser printer, from pre- approved software.
•The SSA has approved, and will accept, the form produced by Medlin Payroll Software, when printed with a jet or laser printer.
•State Copy
•The state copy can also be printed on plain paper.
•Employee Copies
•Medlin Payroll Software can print the employee copies, in the four per page style, on plain paper.
•A separate instruction sheet also needs to be printed and given to each employee each tax year.
Filling In Pre-printed Forms
•Pre-printed - fill in the blank - W-2's can be ordered from MEDLIN FORMS by calling 1-800-544-3427.
•'Four Per Page' forms can be used to print the employee copies.
•The traditional two employees per form style must be used for the IRS/SSA/State copies.
Electronic Reporting
•Visit http://medlin.com/w2 for the latest information.
•Don't forget to print paper copies to comply with record keeping regulations.
•You must still print and retain paper forms, for your record keeping obligations, and to give to employees.
Select Tax Year
•Choose which year's paychecks will be totaled on the W-2 and W-3 forms.
Adjustments
•If the alignment is not correct for your particular printer, enter adjustments here.
•Negative numbers can be used.
Employee Information
•One page per employee showing their withholding information.
•Starting with 2020 forms, employee W-2 forms will not always require the entire Social Security Number to be printed - the Employee Information report is an easy way to allow/require the employee to acknowledge the accuracy of their withholding information.
•This report is formatted to allow folding and placement in a double window envelope.
•NOTE: This report shows the full employee Social Security Number - handle in a secure manner. Personally handing the report to each employee is suggested.
Alignment Test
•Prints a sample which can be used to test print alignment.
W-2's for All Employees
•Plain Paper, Two Per Page
•Two employee records per page.
•This is the style to print for government reporting, and for employer copies.
•Plain Paper, Four Per Page
•Prints the employee copies, one employee per page.
•Pre-printed Forms, Two Per Page
•Two employee records per page.
•Pre-printed Forms, Four Per Page
•Prints the employee copies, one employee per page.
•Designed for MEDLIN FORMS number 5205.
W-3 Form
•Plain Paper
•Prints the complete W-3.
•The SSA has approved, and will accept, the form produced by Medlin Payroll, when printed with a jet or laser printer.
•Pre-printed Forms
•Fills in a pre-printed W-3.
W-2 for One Employee
•Fills in a W-2 for the employee selected.
•Used to print a replacement W-2, or if the printer smudged only one W-2.
Start Printing at a Particular Employee
•For restarting printing after a paper jam.
Print for Only One State
•If you have employees residing in more than one state, use this to create the sets to send to each state.
Allocated Tips
•If you have allocated tips to report on the W-2's, check this box.
•Allocated tip amounts can be entered for each employee, and will print in the proper location on the W-2 and W-3 forms.
W-2 Configuration
•The defaults can be changed, as needed.
•We suggest you print a test W-2, without changing the configuration options.
•State WH, Tips, and Retirement will automatically be printed in the appropriate box.
•Box 12a Code
•'D' is the proper code for 401k.
•NOTE: If one of the deduction 'types' is retirement, employees not marked as exempt from retirement will have the retirement box checked, whether or not they made a retirement contribution.
•Other Boxes
•The available deduction types are displayed in the drop-down boxes.
•Change the order as needed.
•Reset W-2 Configuration
•All configuration options are reset to the default values.
Space Limitations
•To fit in the allotted space, using the font required by SSA, certain information may be shortened.
Mask/Truncate Employee Social Security Numbers
•As of 1/1/21, W-2 copies given to the employee are not required to show the entire employee SSN. The first 5 digits of the SSN will be masked (replaced with an X). (T.D. 9861)
•Copy A, the copy sent to the SSA, includes the full SSN.
•eFile data includes the full SSN.