W-2 Deadline Dates To File W-2s
| January 31st | February 29th* | March 31st* |
|---|---|---|
| Deadline to distribute Forms W-2 to employee | Deadline to file using paper Forms W-2 | Deadline to file using Business Services Online |
* If this date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the deadline will be the next business day.
W-2 Deadline Changed as a result of Identity Theft.
Tax information from 104,000 filers was recently stolen. The IRS is paying for credit monitoring for victims. Victims can also apply for identity theft numbers. In a major about face, the IRS indicated it WILL give victims copies of the false returns to help taxpayers assess the damage from the intrusion. ALERT: The IRS and Congress also move up the date for employers to file W-2s with the feds to January 31 from March 31.
Identity Theft Letter.
Potentially impacted individuals are notified of the data loss via Letter 4281C, IM Breach Notification Letter. See IRM 10.5.4.4.3 (12-02-2014).
Estate Taxes.
Estates wanting to elect portability must timely file an estate tax return, even if not required. Under the portability rule, when one spouse dies, the unused estate and gift tax automatically passes to the surviving spouse. In order to take advantage, file a 706.
High Incomers.
2012 data show: the average tax rate of the top 1% of earners was 22.83%. The top 1% is defined as AGI of at least $434,682. The rate at the top 0.01% was 19.53%. These 13,608 taxpayers had AGI of $12.1 MIL. At the top 0.001; 17.6%. AGI was $62 MIL.
IRS Priorities.
Employee or not employee (independent contractor)? That is the question. Worker misclassification. Labor Dept to get involved. IRS suspects employers near 50 workers will 1099 some to avoid ACA mandate. There is a reduced penalty for voluntarily correcting errors. IRS uses three part test: behavioral, financial, and type-of-relationship.