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Filing Year-End Forms: Preparing Your Forms W-2 and W-3

Employers must give their employees copies of their Form W-2 by January 31. Additionally, employers must file Copy A of each W-2 with the Social Security Administration, along with a Form W-3, by February 28 (or March 31 if you file electronically). The following tips should help you complete your Forms W-2 and W-3 in QuickBooks.

Preparing a Form W-2 or W-3 in QuickBooks

To prepare a Form W-2 or W-3 in QuickBooks:

  • QuickBooks 2005: From the Employees menu, choose Process Payroll Forms, then Federal form. Choose Annual Form W-2, then click OK.
  • QuickBooks 2004, 2003, or 2002: From the Employees menu, choose Process Payroll Forms. Then choose Annual Form W-2 and click OK.
Checking Where QuickBooks Gets the Numbers It Populates in Your W-2s

Refer to the following QuickBooks Knowledge Base article for explanations of where QuickBooks gets the numbers it puts in your W-2s: www.quickbooks.com/support/yearend/03b_w2.html

Adjusting Numbers on Your W-2s

If you need to adjust a number on a Form W-2, refer to the following QuickBooks Knowledge Base articles:

QuickBooks 2005: www.quickbooks.com/support/faqs/qb2005/202264.html
QuickBooks 2004: www.quickbooks.com/support/faqs/qb2004/202264.html
QuickBooks 2003: www.quickbooks.com/support/faqs/qbw2003/premier/202264.html
QuickBooks 2002: www.quickbooks.com/support/faqs/qbw2002/202264.html

Ensuring That Amounts Appear in the Correct Box on Form W-2

If an amount ends up in the wrong box on a W-2, it's usually because a payroll item has the wrong tax tracking type. Open the payroll item, click Next until you reach the Tax tracking type window, and review the description for the type currently assigned to the item. The description tells you what effect the type has on the W-2. If it's having the wrong effect, change the tax tracking type to the correct type. When you review your W-2s again, the amount should appear in the correct box.

Note: If you change a payroll item's tax tracking type, the new type might affect a different collection of taxes you have in use. If so, the wage base for your taxes might be incorrect, and you might have withheld the wrong amount of tax. Consult your tax professional on how to correct any resulting issues.

Tracking Contributions to Health Savings Accounts

The Health Savings Accounts (HSA) program was created by the federal government in 2004 to allow individuals to save for medical expenses. If your company uses Health Savings Accounts, you need to track employer contributions on your federal Form 940 and on your W-2s.

QuickBooks 2005 and 2004 support Health Savings Accounts and will include HSA sums on your Form 940 and W-2s as long as you set up and used the HSA payroll item.

QuickBooks 2003 and 2002 do not support Health Saving Accounts payroll items. If you use HSAs, you must manually adjust your federal Form 940 and W-2s to account for HSA contributions. See the following QuickBooks Knowledge Base articles for more information:

QuickBooks 2003: http://www.quickbooks.com/support/faqs/qbw2003/375929.html

QuickBooks 2002: http://www.quickbooks.com/support/faqs/qbw2002/375929.html

Printing Your W-2s and W-3

For more information about printing, see the article Printing Tax Forms.



The information contained in the QuickBooks Payroll Bulletin is meant to provide general information about the payroll process and is not intended to provide tax or legal advice. Always consult your tax professional when preparing tax documents.
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