Fillable Form W3 (2019)

What is Form W-3?

Form W-3, Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements, is a form by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Employers need to file Form W-3 each year to report the annual wages and tax withholdings of employees to the Social Security Administration (IRS).

Form W-3 is filed with copies of all the W-2 forms of involved employees. It combines the numbers for all the employees in a single form, showing the total earnings for all the W-2 forms being filed. It also shows a formal summary of quarterly tax payments for the year.

How to fill out Form W-3?

Form W-3 is a single-page form. It has a similar setup with Form W-2. However, while Form W-2 consists of six copies, Form W-3 only contains a single copy.

To complete Form W-3, you need information about your business, including Employer Identification Number (EIN), name, address, contact information, and financial information.

Before filling out Form W-3, you need to prepare payroll records and the W-2 forms of employees to cross-refer to ensure the accuracy of the information you provide.

The lettered boxes require information about your company

Box a

Enter the control number.

Box b

Select your Kind of Payer. You may check the 941, Military, 943, 944, CT-1, Hshld. Emp., or Medicare govt. emp. box.

Select your Kind of Employer. You may check the None apply, 501c non-govt., State/local non-501c, State/local 501c, or Federal govt. box.

Check the Third-party sick pay, if it applies to you.

Box c

Enter the total number of W-2 you are filing.

Box d

Enter the establishment number.

Box e

Enter the nine-digit Employer Identification Number (EIN) assigned to you by the IRS.

Box f

Enter the name of your business.

Box g

Enter the address of your business, including the ZIP code.

Box h

Enter other EIN used for the year, if there is any.

The numbered boxes require the combined income and tax information from all the W-2 forms you are filing.

Box 1

Enter the total annual taxable wages, tips, and other forms of compensation.

Box 2

Enter the federal income tax withheld from the employees’ pay during the year.

Box 3

Enter the total wages subject to Social Security tax, excluding tips.

Box 4

Enter the total amount of Social Security taxes withheld for the year.

Box 5

Enter the total amount of wages and tips subject to Medicare taxes, including tips. Also, enter tips that the employees reported even if you did not have enough employee funds to collect the Medicare tax for those tips.

Box 6

Enter the amount of Medicare taxes withheld for the year.

Box 7

Enter the total amount of reported tips subject to Social Security tax. Report all tips in box 1 along with wages and other compensation. Also, include any tips reported in box 7 in box 5.

Box 8

Enter any tip income allocated by the employer to the employees. Do not include this amount in boxes 1, 3, 5, or 7.

Box 9

This box is no longer used.

Box 10

Enter the total benefits provided to the employees under a dependent care assistance program.

Box 11

Enter the total amount distributed to the employees from the nonqualified deferred compensation or a non-government pension plan. This is to determine if any part of the amount reported in box 1 or boxes 3 and/or 5 was earned in a prior year.

Box 12a

Enter the deferred compensation.

Box 12b

This box is no longer used.

Box 13

Enter the nonqualified deferred compensation for third-party sick pay use only.

Box 14

Enter the amount of income tax withheld by the payer of third-party sick pay correctly.

Box 15

Enter the employer’s state and state tax identification number.

Box 16

Enter the total taxable wages the employees earned in a specific state.

Box 17

Enter the total amount of state income taxes withheld from the employees’ wages reported in box 16.

Box 18

Enter the amount of wages and tips subject to local, city, or other state income taxes.

Box 19

Enter the total taxes withheld from the employees’ wages for local, city, or other state income taxes.

After filling out all boxes, enter the following details: a contact person for the employer, their telephone number, fax number, and email address. At the bottom of the page, provide a signature and date to assure all the details are correct, true, and complete.

Where to submit Form W-3?

You may file Form W-3 online or by mail.

By mail

If you are filing paper forms, you should mail Form W-3, as well as the entire Copy A of W-2 forms for each employee, to :

Social Security Administration

Direct Operations Center

Wilkes-Barre, PA 18769-0001

Make sure to send Form W-3 by mail by January 31.

Online

If you are filing W-2 and W-3 electronically, you’ll have to register for the Social Security Administration’s business services online (BSO) platform.

Once registered, you have two options:

a. Use fill-in forms to create W-2s for each employee; or

b. Upload wage files from your payroll or tax software according to a given format.

BSO will generate a W-3 form for you once W-2 forms are submitted.

In case of any errors on the submitted W-3 form, you must file a W-2c and a W-3c form with the Social Security Administration. File Forms W-2c and W-3c as soon as possible after you discover an error.

To give more time to find errors, give W-2 forms to employees earlier in January because the deadline for giving W-2 forms to employees and sending W-2 and W-3 forms to the Social Security Administration is the same date: January 31 of the year following the tax year.

If you don't think you'll be able to submit the W-2 and W-3 forms on time, you may request one 30-day extension by filing Form 8809, Application for Extension of Time to File Information Returns. You must submit the application no later than the due date of the form.