By Dan Doolin, May 29, 2020
The IRS has been busy the last few years making form changes, now there is another update. The IRS released 2020 Form W-2 changes earlier this year. We want to make sure you have what you need when the time comes, so here’s a summary of the IRS changes to the 2020 Form W-2.
In the Notice to Employee section:
Credit for excess taxes
The dollar amounts for eligibility to claim a credit have been adjusted for 2020.
In the Instructions for Employee section:
Box 8
The tip reporting instructions have been clarified. Here was the wording for 2019:
“On Form 4137, you will calculate the social security and Medicare tax owed on the allocated tips shown on your Form(s) W-2 that you must report as income and on other tips you did not report to your employer.”
And here is the new wording for 2020:
“Use Form 4137 to figure the social security and Medicare tax owed on tips you didn’t report to your employer. Enter this amount on the wages line of your tax return.”
Box 12
The dollar amounts have been adjusted for 2020.
In the Employers, Please Note– section:
Due Dates
The filing and furnishing deadline for 2020 W-2s is February 1, 2021 (because January 31, 2020 is a Sunday).
E-filing
The note about required E-filing for 250 or more Forms W-2 has been changed to reference the General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 for information on when E-Filing is required.
Minor Text and Layout Changes throughout the Form
- The written title on Copies 1, 2, B, C, and D has changed so Wage and Tax Statement appears on the same line (previously, “Statement” flowed to a second line).
- Instances where references to the Instructions for Form 1040 appear have been updated to also include a reference to Form 1040-SR.
- A line at the top of the back of Copy 2 alerts readers that the instructions there are a continuation of the instructions for Box 12.
- The wording “also may” has been changed to “may also,” the wording “also see” has changed to “see also,” and the wording “also is” has changed to “is also.”
