Creating the W2 Electronic File

Note:  Be sure the fields on the General screen (tab) within the Employee W2s option have been completed prior to creating the W2 electronic file.

Steps to Complete General Screen within Employee W2s

• From the Payroll screen, select the Government Reporting menu and then Employee W2s.

• The W2 Search screen will appear listing all the Calendar Year Ending Dates for which there is data.  Double-click the Calendar Year Ending Date for the desired calendar year for which to create the file.

• A message may appear stating that there is a payroll calculation batch with a check date after the date the W2s were last generated; if the message appears, click Yes to continue regenerating the W2s if needed, or click No to open the W2s without regenerating.

Note:  If the W2s are regenerated, any changes manually made to the W2s will be lost.

• The Employee W2s screen will appear.

Note:  If an employee has a negative amount on the W2 in any box except Box 14, an error message will appear in the status bar stating there are negative W2s; the negative W2s must be resolved before printing the W2s or creating the electronic file.  To determine the employee(s) with the negative W2 amounts, click the Employee W2s tab, click the Find button, and review the Has Negatives column (employees with a negative amount in any box except Box 14 will appear with a checkmark in the field (column)).  If applicable, edit the amounts as needed on the W2s for the specified employees, or make the necessary corrections in Payroll and then regenerate the W2s.

Tip:  The Find Duplicate Social Security Numbers option is automatically completed when accessing previously generated W2s.  If there were employees found with W2s which have the same social security numbers, the Find Duplicate Social Security Numbers screen will appear listing the duplicate employees.  If applicable, edit the W2s or make the necessary corrections in Payroll and then regenerate the W2s.

• Click the Create Electronic File tab.

• Enter the name of the person who should be contacted with questions regarding the file submission in the Contact Name field.  The name can be up to 27 characters long.

• If applicable (and only if not entered as part of the phone number in the Contact Phone Number field on the General screen (tab)), enter the extension (up to 5 digits) for the contact person in the Contact Phone Extension field.

• Enter the fax number (without hyphens) for the contact person in the Contact Fax Number field.  The fax number can be up to 10 digits long.

Note:  Initially, the phone number entered in the System File with Fax as the Phone Type will appear as the default (and can be changed), but thereafter, the default will be the information last saved in this field.

• Enter the email address for the contact person in the Contact Email/Internet field.  The email address can be up to 40 characters long and must follow the proper format of "username@example.com".

• Enter the 8-digit alphanumeric user ID for your organization assigned by the Social Security Administration in the User Identification (User ID) field.

• Enter the appropriate type of preparer (Accounting Firm, Other, Parent Company, Self-Prepared, or Service Bureau) in the Preparer Code field, or click the down-arrow button to select the correct one.  In most cases, this will be Self-Prepared.

• Enter the appropriate type of your organization (Federal Government, None Apply, State and Local Governmental Employer, State and Local Tax Exempt Employer, or Tax Exempt Employer) in the Kind of Employer field, or click the down-arrow button to select the correct one.

• If applicable, select the Terminating Business field only if your organization was terminated this year.  A checkmark will appear in the box if the field is selected.

• If a Form 941, 942, or 943 was submitted to the IRS for the same payment year as the one for which the file is being created and the form used an EIN other than the one displayed in the Employer Identification Number (EIN) field on the General screen (tab), enter the other number in the Other EIN field.  The number can be up to 9 digits long (plus the dash).  The system will automatically add the dash for the federal ID number using the format of ## - #######.

• If the file is being created to resubmit the W2 information for the particular year, enter the appropriate resubmission wage file identification code given to you in the Resub Wage File Identifier (WFID) field.  The code can be alphanumeric and up to 6 characters long.

• If applicable, enter the amount of FIT withheld by a third party payer in the 3rd Party FIT Withheld field.  The amount can be up to 6 digits long (including the decimal point) and will be rounded to 2 decimal places by the system if capable.

• Enter the appropriate type of report file to create (Federal, Local, or State) in the Report Type field, or click the down-arrow button to select the correct one.  Enter Federal if creating the W2 file to submit to the Social Security Administration for FIT.  Enter State if creating the W2 file to submit to the appropriate state department for SIT.  Enter Local if creating the W2 File to submit to the appropriate local agency for LIT (only applicable for school districts in Kansas City, Missouri, and St. Louis, Missouri).

Note:  Only Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and North Dakota school districts (or school districts who withhold state income tax in those states) need to build the state W2 file in addition to the federal W2 file.

• If State is specified in the Report Type field, the State field is enabled.  Enter the state abbreviation for the state file to create (as based on the applicable state income taxes defined in the Tax File) in the State field, or click the down-arrow button to select the correct one.

• If Local is specified in the Report Type field, the City field is enabled.  Enter the appropriate description of the city for the local file to create (as based on the applicable local income taxes defined in the Tax File) in the City field, or click the down-arrow button to select the correct one.

• If creating the state file for Idaho (ID is specified in the State field), the Filing Cycle, Withholding Payments Made During the Year, Penalty on Balance Due, Interest on Balance Due, Penalty for Late Filing, Total Number of 1099s, and Federal/State Combined 1099 Participant fields are enabled.  If applicable, complete the fields as follows:

• Enter the appropriate frequency for how often your organization reports and pays Idaho state income tax to the state (Monthly, Quarterly, Semimonthly, or Yearly) in the Filing Cycle field, or click the down-arrow to select the correct one.

• Enter the total amount of payments made to the state for Idaho state income tax for the specified year in the Withholding Payments Made During the Year field.  The amount can be up to 12 digits long (including the decimal point) and will be rounded to 2 decimal places by the system if capable.

• If applicable, enter the self-assessed amount for the penalty on the balance due in the Penalty on Balance Due field.  The amount can be up to 12 digits long (including the decimal point) and will be rounded to 2 decimal places by the system if capable.

• If applicable, enter the self-assessed amount for the interest on the balance due in the Interest on Balance Due field.  The amount can be up to 12 digits long (including the decimal point) and will be rounded to 2 decimal places by the system if capable.

• If applicable, enter the self-assessed amount for the penalty if filing W2s late in the Penalty for Late Filing field.  The amount can be up to 12 digits long (including the decimal point) and will be rounded to 2 decimal places by the system if capable.

• If applicable, enter the number of 1099s that will be submitted with Idaho state income tax withheld in the Total Number of 1099s field.  The number can be up to 7 digits long (no decimal point).

• If your organization participates in the Combined Federal/State Filing Program, where the Federal Government automatically sends the 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC information to the State Government, select the Federal/State Combined 1099 Participant field.  A checkmark will appear in the box if the field is selected.

• All employees in the W2 File with reportable values for the specified report type appear in the Employee Selection List on the bottom of the screen.  Specify the employees for which W2s to include on the file by clicking the box for the Selected column to the left of the desired employee.  A checkmark will appear in the box if the employee is selected.  To select all the employees listed on the screen, click the Select All button located above the Employee Selection List.  If desired, change the filters to modify the employees displayed here.  If needed, click the Clear All Selection button to remove all the filters (display all employees) and unselect any previously selected employees.

• Click the Save button.

• Click the Execute button to continue creating the file.

• At the Create Report File screen, select the desired path (drive and folders) for the destination location and click the Save button.  The system will default to the location that was last specified.

Note:  Do not change the name of the file that will be created.

• A message will appear in the status bar after the file was created.

• If applicable, repeat these steps to build both the federal and state W2 files (and local W2 file, if applicable).