New separate instructions.   We moved the detailed instructions for completing Forms W-2AS, W-2GU, W-2VI, Wage and Tax Statement, and for Form W-3SS, Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements, to this separately printed product to make them easier to read and use.

  If you have comments or suggestions for improving the forms or instructions, we would be happy to hear from you. Write to the address shown in the Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice on page 6.

Relocation of employee's SSN on Form W-2.   We moved the “Employee's social security number” box on Forms W-2AS, W-2GU, and W-2VI from box d to box a. We moved the “Control number ” box, optionally used by some employers to identify individual Forms W-2, from box a to box d. We also relocated the form ID number “(22222)” and “ Void” boxes to the top left corner of the Forms W-2. We made these changes to protect the employee's SSN from disclosure when employers furnish Forms W-2 to their employees using a window envelope and to enhance processing efficiency.

Relocation of form ID on Form W-3SS.   For consistency with the revisions to Forms W-2, we relocated the form ID number “(33333)” to the top left corner of Form W-3SS.

Employee instructions added to Copy B of Forms W-2.   We made the employee instructions on the back of Copy C easier to read by increasing their type size and continuing the instructions on the back of Copy B.

Form 944-SS.   If you file Form 944-SS, Employer's ANNUAL Federal Tax Return, use the “944-SS” checkbox in box b on Form W-3SS.

Notice to employers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.    If you are an employer in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, you must contact the Department of Revenue and Taxation, Capitol Hill, Saipan, MP 96959, to get Form W-2CM, Wage and Tax Statement, and the instructions for completing and filing that form.

Extension to file.   You may request an automatic extension of time to file Forms W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or Form W-2VI by sending Form 8809, Application for Extension of Time To File Information Returns, to the address shown on that form. You must request the extension by the due date of Forms W-2. You will have an additional 30 days to file. See Form 8809 for details.

  

Even if you receive an extension of time to file Forms W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or Form W-2VI, you must still furnish the forms to your employees by January 31, 2008. But see Extension to furnish Forms W-2 to employees on page 2.

Purpose of forms.   Use Copy A of Form W-3SS to transmit Copy A of Form W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or Form W-2VI to the Social Security Administration. File Copy 1 of Form W-3SS and Copy 1 of Form W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or W-2VI with your local tax department. Form W-2AS is used to report American Samoa wages, Form W-2CM is used to report the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands wages, Form W-2GU is used to report Guam wages, and Form W-2VI is used to report U.S. Virgin Islands wages. Do not use these forms to report wages subject to U.S. income tax withholding. Instead, use Form W-2 to show U.S. income tax withheld.

Who must file.   Employers and other payers in American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands must report wages and withheld income, U.S. social security, and U.S. Medicare taxes to their local tax department and to the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

  Household employers, even those with only one household employee, must file Form W-3SS with Form W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or Form W-2VI. On Form W-3SS, check the “Hshld. emp.” checkbox in box b.

Where to file Copy 1.   File Copy 1 of Forms W-2AS and W-3SS with the American Samoa Tax Office, Government of American Samoa, Pago Pago, AS 96799.

  File Copy 1 of Forms W-2GU and W-3SS with the Department of Revenue and Taxation, Government of Guam, P.O. Box 23607, GMF, GU 96921.

  File Copy 1 of Forms W-2VI and W-3SS with the V.I. Bureau of Internal Revenue, 9601 Estate Thomas, Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, VI 00802.

   Contact the Division of Revenue and Taxation, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands at
(670) 664-1000, for the address to send Copy 1 of Forms W-2CM and W-3SS.

Shipping and mailing.   If you file more than one type of form, please group forms of the same type with a separate Form W-3SS for each type. For example, send Forms W-2GU with one Form W-3SS and Forms W-2AS with a second Form W-3SS. Forms W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or W-2VI are printed two forms to a page. Send the whole page of Copies A and 1 even if one of the forms is blank or “Void.” Prepare and file Forms W-2 either alphabetically by employees' last names or numerically by employees' social security numbers. Do not staple or tape the forms together and do not fold them. Send the forms in a flat mailing.

Furnishing copies B and C to employees.   Furnish Copies B and C of Forms W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, and W-2VI to your employees by January 31, 2008. If employment ends before December 31, 2007, you may furnish the copies any time after employment ends but not later than January 31, 2008. If the employee asks for the form, furnish him or her the completed copies within 30 days of the request or within 30 days of the last wage payment, whichever is later. If an employee loses a form, write “REISSUED STATEMENT” on the new copy (unless it was furnished electronically), but do not send Copy A of the reissued statement to the SSA. Employers are not prohibited (by the Internal Revenue Code) from charging a fee for the issuance of a duplicate Form W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or W-2VI.

Calendar year basis.   Base all entries on Forms W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, W-2VI, and W-3SS on a calendar year. Use the correct year form.

Electronic reporting.   If you are required to file 250 or more Forms W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or W-2VI, you must file them electronically. You can get specifications for filing this information electronically by visiting Social Security's Employer Reporting Instructions and Information website at www.socialsecurity.gov/employer or by contacting an SSA Employer Services Liaison Officer (ESLO) at 212-264-1117 for the U.S. Virgin Islands or 510-970-8247 for Guam and American Samoa. SSA will no longer accept any type of physical media (magnetic tape, cartridge, diskette, etc.) submissions of Form W-2 reports.

  If you file electronically, do not file the same returns on paper.

Taxpayer identification numbers (TINs).   Employers use an employer identification number (EIN) (00-0000000). Employees use a social security number (SSN) (000-00-0000). When you list a number, separate the nine digits properly to show the kind of number. Do not accept an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) for employment purposes. You can identify an ITIN because it is a 9-digit number, beginning with the number “9” with either a “7” or “8” as the fourth digit and is formatted like an SSN (for example, (9NN-7N-NNNN). For more information about EINs and SSNs, see Pub. 80 (Circular SS).

  Social security numbers are used to record employee earnings for future social security and Medicare benefits. You must show the correct social security number on the Form W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or W-2VI.

Corrections.   Use the current version of Form W-2c, Corrected Wage and Tax Statement, to correct errors on previously filed Forms W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or W-2VI. Always send Form W-3c, Transmittal of Corrected Wage and Tax Statements, with Forms W-2c to the SSA. See the separate Instructions for Forms W-2c and W-3c. Also, see below for information on correcting an employee's address.

  If you are making an adjustment in 2007 to correct social security and Medicare taxes for a prior year, you must file Form 941c, Supporting Statement To Correct Information, with your Form 941-SS, Employer's QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return (Form 941, Employer's QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return); Form 944-SS, Employer's ANNUAL Federal Tax Return, (Form 944, Employer's ANNUAL Federal Tax Return); or Form 943, Employer's Annual Federal Tax Return for Agricultural Employees, in the return period that you find the error. File Copy A of Forms W-2c and W-3c with the SSA and give the employee a copy of Form W-2c for the prior year.

Incorrect address on employee's Form W-2.   If you filed a Form W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or Form W-2VI with the SSA showing an incorrect address for the employee but all other information on the form is correct, do not file Form W-2c with the SSA merely to correct the address.

  However, if the address was incorrect on the Form W-2 furnished to the employee, you must do one of the following:

Educational assistance programs.   A $5,250 exclusion for employer-provided educational assistance applies to benefits provided to your employees under an educational assistance program. However, educational assistance that exceeds $5,250 may be excludable from an employee's wages if it qualifies as a working condition benefit. See Pub. 970, Tax Benefits for Education, and section 2 of Pub. 15-B, Employer's Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits, for more information.

Election workers.   Report on Form W-2AS, W-2GU, or W-2VI payments of $600 or more to election workers for services performed in territorial, county, and municipal elections. File Form W-2AS, W-2GU, or W-2VI for payments of less than $600 paid to election workers if social security and Medicare taxes were withheld under a section 218 (Social Security Act) agreement. Do not report election worker payments on Form 1099-MISC.

Group-term life insurance.   If you paid for group-term life insurance coverage over $50,000 for an employee or a former employee, you must report the taxable cost of excess coverage determined by using the table in section 2 of Pub. 15-B in boxes 1, 3, and 5 of Form W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or W-2VI. Also, show the amount in box 12 with code C. For employees, you must withhold social security and Medicare taxes, but not income tax. Former employees must pay the employee part of social security and Medicare taxes on the taxable cost of group-term life insurance coverage over $50,000 on Form 1040. You are not required to collect those taxes. However, you must report the uncollected social security tax with code M and the uncollected Medicare tax with code N in box 12 of Form W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or W-2VI.

Moving expenses.   Report moving expenses as follows:

Sick pay.   Sick pay paid to an employee by a third party, such as an insurance company or trust, requires special treatment because the IRS reconciles Forms 941-SS with the Forms W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or Form W-2VI and Form W-3SS. See Sick Pay Reporting in section 6 of Pub. 15-A, Employer's Supplemental Tax Guide, for specific reporting instructions.

Terminating a business.   If you terminate your business, you must provide Forms W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or Form W-2VI to your employees for the calendar year of termination by the due date of your final Form 941-SS (Form 941) or Form 944-SS (Form 944). You must also file Forms W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or W-2VI with the SSA by the last day of the month that follows the due date of your final Form 941-SS (Form 941), or Form 944-SS (Form 944). However, if any of your employees are immediately employed by a successor employer, see Rev. Proc. 2004-53. You can find Rev. Proc. 2004-53 on page 320 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 2004-53 at Internal Revenue Bulletin 2004-34. Also see Rev. Proc. 96-57, 1996-2 C.B. 389, for information on automatic extensions for furnishing Forms W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or W-2VI to employees and filing them with the SSA. You can find Rev. Proc. 96-57 on page 14 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 1996-53 at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb96-53.pdf.

  

Void.   Check this box when an error is made on a Form W-2AS, W-2GU, or W-2VI and you are voiding it because you will complete a new form. Be careful not to include any amounts shown on “Void” forms in the totals you enter on Form W-3SS.

Box a—Employee's social security number .   Enter the number shown on the employee's social security card. If the employee does not have a card, he or she should apply for one by completing Form SS-5, Application for a Social Security Card. If the employee has applied for a card, enter “Applied For” in box a.

Box b—Employer identification number (EIN).   Show the employer identification number (EIN) assigned to you by the IRS (00-0000000). This should be the same number that you used on your Form 941-SS (Form 941), Form 944-SS (Form 944), or Form 943. Do not use a prior owner's EIN. If you do not have an EIN, enter “Applied For” in box b; do not use your SSN. File Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number, to get an EIN. See Terminating a business, above.

Box c—Employer's name, address, and ZIP code.   This entry should generally be the same as shown on your Form 941-SS (Form 941), Form 944-SS (Form 944), or Form 943.

Box d—Control number.   You may use this box to identify individual forms. You do not have to use this box.

Boxes e and f—Employee's name and address.   Enter the name as shown on the employee's social security card (first, middle initial, last). Generally, do not enter “Jr.”, “Sr.,” etc. on Copy A unless the suffix appears on the card. (You may enter an employee's name suffix in the designated area of box e. However, SSA prefers that you do not enter the suffix on Copy A.) If the name does not fit, you may show first name initial, middle initial, and last name (and ignore the vertical lines). If the name has changed, the employee must get a corrected card from any SSA office. Use the name on the original card until you see the corrected one. Do not show titles or academic degrees, such as “Dr.”, “RN”, or “Esq.”, at the beginning or end of the employee's name.

  Include in the address the number, street, apartment or suite number (or P.O. box number if mail is not delivered to a street address).

   Third-party payers of sick pay filing third-party sick pay recap Forms W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or W-2VI must enter “Third-Party Sick Pay Recap” in place of the employee's name in box e. See Sick Pay Reporting in Pub. 15-A.

Box 1—Wages, tips, other compensation.   Show, before any payroll deductions, the total taxable wages, tips, and other compensation such as: (a) wages, bonuses, prizes, and awards, (b) noncash payments, including certain fringe benefits, (c) tips reported, (d) taxable cost of group-term life insurance over $50,000, (e) distributions from a nonqualified or nongovernmental section 457(b) plan, and (f) cost of current insurance protection under a compensatory split-dollar life insurance arrangement. Other compensation is amounts you pay the employee from which income tax is not withheld. You may show other compensation on a separate Form W-2AS, W-2GU, or W-2VI.

Box 2—Income tax withheld.   Show the total American Samoa, Guam, or U.S. Virgin Islands income tax withheld. Do not reduce this amount by any advance EIC payments.

Box 3—Social security wages.   Show the total wages paid (before payroll deductions) subject to employee social security tax. Do not include tips. The total of boxes 3 and 7 cannot be more than $97,500 (2007 maximum social security wage base). Generally, noncash payments are considered wages. See Pub. 80 (Circular SS) for more information.

Box 4—Social security tax withheld.   Show the total employee social security tax (not your share) withheld or paid by you for the employee, including social security tax on tips. Include only tax withheld (or paid by you for the employee) for 2007 wages and tips. The amount shown should not exceed $6,045.00 ($97,500 x 6.2%).

Box 5—Medicare wages and tips.   Show the total wages paid and tips reported subject to employee Medicare tax. There is no wage base limit for Medicare tax.

Box 6—Medicare tax withheld.   Show the total employee Medicare tax (not the employer's share) withheld or paid by you for the employee. Include only tax withheld for 2007 wages and tips. The rate is 1.45% of all wages and tips.

Box 7—Social security tips.   Show the tips that the employee reported to you even if you did not have enough employee funds to collect the social security tax for the tips. The total of boxes 3 and 7 should not be more than $97,500 for 2007. Report all tips in box 1 along with wages and other compensation.

Box 9—Advance EIC payment.   (Forms W-2GU and W-2VI only.) Show the total advance earned income credit (EIC) paid to the employee.

Box 11—Nonqualified plans.   The purpose of box 11 is for the SSA to determine if any part of the amount reported in box 1 or boxes 3 and/or 5 was earned in a prior year. The SSA uses this information to verify that they have properly applied the social security earnings test and paid the correct amount of benefits.

  Show distributions to an employee from a nonqualified or nongovernmental section 457(b) plan. Also report the distributions in box 1. Make only one entry in this box. Distributions from governmental section 457(b) plans must be reported on Form 1099-R, not in box 1 of Forms W-2AS, W-2GU, or W-2VI.

  If you did not make distributions this year, show deferrals (plus earnings) under a nonqualified or any section 457(b) plan that became taxable for social security and Medicare taxes during the year (but were for prior year services) because the deferred amounts were no longer subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture. Also report these amounts in boxes 3 (up to the social security wage base) and 5. Do not report in box 11 deferrals that are included in boxes 3 and/or 5 and that are for current year services (such as, those that have no risk of forfeiture).

  

If you made distributions and you are also reporting any deferrals in boxes 3 and/or 5, do not complete box 11. See Pub. 957, Reporting Back Pay and Special Wage Payments to the Social Security Administration, and Form SSA-131, Employer Report of Special Wage Payments, for special reporting instructions for these and other kinds of compensation earned in prior years. However, do not file Form SSA-131 if this situation applies but the employee will not be age 62 or older by the end of that year.

Box 12—Codes.   Complete and code this box for all items described below. On Copy A, do not enter more than four items in box 12. If more than four items need to be reported in box 12, use a separate Form W-2AS, W-2GU, or W-2VI for additional items. You may enter more than four items on all other copies when using an approved substitute form.

  Show the IRS code (using a capital letter or letters) to the left of the vertical line in boxes 12a -12d and the money amount to the right of the vertical line using decimal points but no dollar signs or commas, (for example, D 5300.00).

Box 13—Checkboxes.   Check all boxes that apply.

  Generally, an employee is an active participant if covered by (a) a defined benefit plan for any tax year that he or she is eligible to participate or (b) a defined contribution plan (for example, a section 401(k) plan) for any tax year that employer or employee contributions (or forfeitures) are added to his or her account. For additional information on employees who are eligible to participate in a plan, contact your plan administrator.

  For details on the active participant rules, see Notice 87-16, 1987-1 C.B. 446; Notice 98-49, 1998-2 C.B. 365; section 219(g)(5); and Pub. 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs). You can find Notice 98-49 on page 5 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 1998-38 at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb98-38.pdf.

  Do not check this box for contributions made to a nonqualified or section 457(b) plan.
• Third-party sick pay. Check this box only if you are a third-party sick pay payer filing a Form W-2AS, W-2GU, or Form W-2VI for an insured's employee or are an employer reporting sick pay payments made by a third party. See Sick Pay Reporting in section 6 of Pub. 15-A.

Box 14—Other.   The lease value of a vehicle provided to your employee and reported in box 1 must be reported here or on a separate statement to your employee. You may use this box for any other information that you want to give to your employee, such as health insurance premiums deducted, union dues, voluntary after-tax contributions (but not designated Roth contributions) to a pension plan, or nontaxable income. Clearly label each entry.

How to complete Form W-3SS.   Please type or print entries. Make all entries without the dollar sign and comma but with the decimal point (00000.00). If a box does not apply, leave it blank.

Box a—Control number.   This is an optional box that you may use for numbering the whole transmittal.

Box b—Kind of Payer.   Check only one box unless the second, marked checkbox is “Third-party sick pay.” If you have more than one type of Form W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or W-2VI, send each type with a separate Form W-3SS.

941-SS.   Check this box if you file Form 941-SS and no other category (except “Third-party sick pay”) applies. A church or church organization should check this box even if it is not required to file Form 941-SS or Form 944-SS.

Military.   Check this box if you are a military employer sending Forms W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or W-2VI for members of the uniformed services.

943.   Check this box if you file Form 943 and are sending forms for agricultural employees. For nonagricultural employees, send their Forms W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or W-2VI with a separate Form W-3SS.

944-SS.   Check this box if you file Form 944-SS and no other category applies.

Hshld. emp.   Check this box if you are a household employer sending Form W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or W-2VI for household employees, and you did not include the household employee's taxes on Form 941-SS, Form 944-SS or Form 943.

Medicare government employee.   Check this box if you are a U.S. or a U.S. Virgin Islands government employer with employees subject only to the 1.45% Medicare tax.

Third-party sick pay.   Check this box (and one other checkbox) if you are a third-party sick pay payer (or are reporting payments made by a third party) filing Form(s) W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or W-2VI with the “Third-party sick pay” box in box 13 checked.

Box c—Total number of Forms W-2.   Show the number of completed individual Forms W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or W-2VI filed with this Form W-3SS. Do not count “Void” forms.

Box d—Establishment number.   You may use this box to identify separate establishments in your business. You may file a separate Form W-3SS, with Forms W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or W-2VI, for each establishment even if they all have the same EIN, or you may use a single Form W-3SS for all Forms W-2 of the same type.

Box e—Employer identification number (EIN).   If you received a preprinted Form W-3SS from the IRS with Pub. 80 (Circular SS), make any necessary corrections on the form. If you are not using a preprinted IRS Form W-3SS, enter the nine-digit EIN assigned to you by the IRS. The EIN should be the same as shown on your Form 941-SS, Form 944-SS, or Form 943 and in the following format: 00-0000000. Do not use a prior owner's EIN. If you do not have an EIN, see Box b on page 3. See also Box h below.

Boxes f and g—Employer's name and address.   If you are not using a preprinted Form W-3SS, enter your name and address as shown on your Form 941-SS, Form 944-SS, or Form 943. Make any necessary corrections on your preprinted Form W-3SS.

Box h—Other EIN used this year.   If you have used an EIN (including a prior owner's EIN) on Form 941-SS, Form 944-SS, or Form 943 submitted for 2007 that is different from the EIN reported in box e on this form, enter the other EIN used.

Contact person, telephone number, fax number, and email address.   Please enter this information for use by the SSA if questions arise during processing.

Boxes 1 through 7.   Enter the totals reported in boxes 1 through 7 of Forms W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or Form W-2VI being filed with this Form W-3SS.

Box 9—Advance EIC payments.   Enter the total advance EIC payments shown on Form W-2GU or Form W-2VI only.

Box 11—Nonqualified plans.   Enter the total reported in box 11 on Forms W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, or W-2VI being filed with this Form W-3SS.

Box 12—Deferred compensation.   Enter one total for all amounts reported with codes D-H, S, Y, AA, and BB in box 12 of Forms W-2AS, W-2GU, or W-2VI. Do not enter a code.

Box 13—For third-party sick pay use only.   Third-party payers of sick pay (or employers using the optional rule for Form W-2 described in section 6 of Pub. 15-A) filing third-party sick pay recap Forms W-2 and W-3SS must enter “Third-Party Sick Pay Recap” in this box. See Sick Pay Reporting in Pub. 15-A for details.

Box 14—Income tax withheld by payer of third-party sick pay.   Complete this box only if you are the employer and have employees who had income tax withheld on third-party payments of sick pay. Show the total income tax withheld by third-party payers on payments to all of your employees. Although this tax is included in the box 2 total, it must be shown separately here.

Box 15—Type of form.   Check this box for the type of forms you are submitting with this Form W-3SS.

Signature.   The signature on Copies A and 1 of Form W-3SS must be an original (not a copy).

Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice.   We ask for the information on Forms W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, W-2VI, and W-3SS to carry out the Internal Revenue laws of the United States. We need it to figure and collect the right amount of tax. Section 6051 and its regulations require you to furnish wage and tax statements to employees and to the Social Security Administration. Section 6109 requires you to provide your employer identification number. If you fail to provide this information in a timely manner, you may be subject to penalties.

  You are not required to provide the information requested on a form that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act unless the form displays a valid OMB control number. Books or records relating to a form or its instructions must be retained as long as their contents may become material in the administration of any Internal Revenue law.

  Generally, tax returns and return information are confidential, as required by section 6103. However, section 6103 allows or requires the Internal Revenue Service to disclose or give the information shown on your return to others as described in the Code. For example, we may disclose your tax information to the Department of Justice for civil and criminal litigation, and to cities, states, and the District of Columbia for use in administering their tax laws. We may also disclose this information to other countries under a tax treaty, to federal and state agencies to enforce federal nontax criminal laws, or to federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to combat terrorism.

  The time needed to complete and file these forms will vary depending on individual circumstances. The estimated average times are: Form W-2AS—23 minutes; Form W-2GU—24 minutes; Form W-2VI—24 minutes; Form W-3SS—24 minutes.

   If you have comments concerning the accuracy of these time estimates or suggestions for making these forms simpler, we would be happy to hear from you. You can write to the Internal Revenue Service, Tax Products Coordinating Committee, SE:W:CAR:MP:T:T:SP, 1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6406, Washington, DC 20224. Do not send Forms W-2AS, W-2GU, W-2VI, or W-3SS to this address. Instead, see Where To File on page 1.