W-2 Forms Process

This topic describes the steps in the W-2 Forms process.  This process encompasses the steps you will take to create, edit, and print employee W-2s.  In addition, you have the options for generating the W-2 Magnetic file containing the employee W-2 information and for uploading the W-2 Magnetic file electronically to the government, if applicable.

 

Important W-2 Forms Reminders:

  • Read and review all of the steps in the W-2 forms process before beginning.  For questions, please contact NDS Support at 1-800-649-7754.

  • NDS recommends that you do a test run that includes going through the steps listed below and printing the W-2s using plain paper before the last payroll of the year so you can make any necessary changes and adjustments before the end of the year.

  • All entries should be in UPPER CASE only.  Do not use punctuation.

  • For more information regarding entries in specific fields, please refer to the documentation supplied by the IRS and the Social Security Administration.

  • If you are filing employee W-2 information electronically:

  • Both the Social Security Administration (SSA) and NDS encourage you to download and run the Social Security Administration's free AccuWage Software for the current tax year, which reads your files and checks for errors.  It is important to do this before you submit the file to the SSA.

 

W-2 Forms Set Up Steps

Each year before you start the W-2 forms process, be sure to check all records for accuracy.

1.  Maintain the W2 Employer information.

2.  Maintain the W2 Box Tables for the deduction and other pay amounts to print in boxes 10, 11, 12 and 14.

3.  Maintain the Local Tax Code table if you assess local taxes.

4.  Perform maintenance for electronic filing, if you submit W-2s electronically to the government:

a.  Maintain the W2 Transmitter information.

b.  Maintain the file name and export location for the W-2 Magnetic file during W2 Destination File Maintenance.

c.  Maintain the appropriate State Supplemental Data to maintain additional information required by the state for processing employee W-2s.

d.  Obtain or verify the submitter's user ID and password for uploading the W-2 Magnetic file to the Social Security Administration.

 

W-2 Forms Steps

1.  After the last payroll of the year and before you clear the payroll files, print the following reports to be used for reconciliation purposes:

a.  Employee Earnings & Withholding Report for the fourth quarter

b.  Deductions Totals Report for the year end

2.  Run Create Forms to create employee W-2s.

3.  Consolidate the W-2 Records, if you have employees with multiple W-2s.
Note:  This routine is optional.  You can choose to run this routine, if you have employees who have multiple W-2s and you want to consolidate them into one employee W-2.

4.  Edit employee W-2s that need changing during the Edit Forms routine.

5.  Print W-2 Forms.
Note:  NDS recommends that you print the W-2s on plain paper to review and verify the accuracy of the w-2 information before printing them on the actual forms.

 

Note:  Only use the following steps if you are sending your W-2 Magnetic file electronically to the government.

6.  Run the Magnetic Filing routine to create the W-2 Magnetic file.

7.  Download and run AccuWage to test the W-2 Magnetic file for errors.  
Note:  NDS strongly recommends that you run AccuWage to ensure that the W-2 electronic file is error-free.

8.  Submit the W-2 Magnetic file electronically to the Social Security Administration.
Note:  The person who submits the W-2 Magnetic file must have a valid User ID and password from the SSA.