E-file Your W-2 Forms with ExpressIRSForms

Did you know about this awesome and simple solution for e-filing your business’s W-2 Forms? If you’ve read the title, you probably know where we’re going with this: it’s ExpressIRSForms!

The E-filing Basics
For a few years now, the IRS hasn’t really kept it a secret that everything goes a lot more smoothly when you e-file. In fact, if you have more than 250 of any one form (W-2s included), you’re required to e-file that return. E-filing is easier to complete, more secure, and faster than our previous filing habits. So why not hop aboard the e-filing train?

The ExpressIRSForms Basics
ExpressIRSForms actually started out as ExpressTaxFilings, which had its first season “way back” in 2013 for 1099 and W-2 e-filing for the 2012 tax year. When we started adding more non-tax information forms (like the W-9 and the ACA forms), we realized we needed a little make-over.

But everything we built into ExpressTaxFilings (and more!) to make e-filing faster and easier than ever - like the bulk upload and error checks - stayed with ExpressIRSForms.

Information Needed to File W-2s
So before you sit down to e-file with ExpressIRSForms, there’s some information you’ll need to complete your W-2 Forms:

• Employee info, like their name, address, and social security number,
• Employer info, like your name, address, EIN, and state ID (if applicable), and 
• Financial information, like their wages, as well as federal and state tax withheld.

E-filing with ExpressIRSForms
Once you create an account with ExpressIRSForms, it only takes a few simple steps to complete your W-2 return:

• From your Dashboard, click “Start New Form” then select the W-2 option.
• Enter your employer information and “Next.”
• Select whether you’d like to enter your employees and their information individually or by bulk uploading an Excel template that contains their data.
• Enter your employee details based on the selection you made in step 3.
• If you selected individually, you’ll enter their basic details then their financial details one by one.
• If you selected bulk upload, use our spreadsheet or one of your own to enter all the data and upload it at once.
• Review your forms on the summary page, pay our low, one-time transmittal fee, and send your forms securely along to the IRS!

You can even decide how to send your Form W-2 employee copies with ExpressIRSForms. You can do it the old-fashioned way by printing the PDFs from your Print Center after you file and mailing them yourself OR you can select to have us do that for you before you transmit. If you choose the latter, we’ll make sure to have your W-2 Forms sent out from our headquarters in Rock Hill, SC by the next business day.


Ready to sign up? Have more questions? Our all-star customer support team is here no matter what you need. Just give us a call (704-684-4751) or send us a live chat Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST, or send us an email 24/7 to support@ExpressIRSForms.com!

Read More »

All About Form W-9

Before we get into the information return filing season - 1099-MISC and W-2 forms are due in just over three months! - there might be some information you need, for which you’re not quite sure how to ask. We’re talking social security numbers and other identifying information you need to fill out the IRS information returns that show what you paid and to whom throughout the year.

Now your employees might not be so difficult; they should expect you’ll need that information to fill out their W-2s. In fact, you may have even already had them complete a Form W-9 upon hire. Oh, right, that’s the form we’re talking about today, by the way: Form W-9.

Form W-9?
That’s right, and it’s nothing like its cousin, Form W-2. Form W-9, the Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification, is your legal, secure way to obtain the sensitive information you need to complete information returns, like your 1099s and W-2 forms. The main thing you’re looking for when you have someone fill out a W-9 is their taxpayer identification number (TIN), usually an SSN, EIN, or ITIN.

Now, normally, depending on who you’re getting to fill out the W-9 would determine how you asked them to fill it out. Your employees may have completed it as part of their new-hire paperwork or, if you provide investment opportunities, you may have included it in their investment account opening paperwork. The keyword here, obviously, is “paperwork,” which is why ExpressIRSForms has taken a special interest to include it as an e-sign-able option in our IRS forms line-up.

E-sign??
Right again! Just because you can now handle this form electronically doesn’t mean it needs to be sent to the IRS, hence (jazz hands!) e-signing. Since we knew many filers of the forms we offer (W-2s, 1099s, ACA Forms) would need the information from W-9 but might not have already had their payees/recipients complete it, we decided to include it as a secure option you can complete right from your ExpressIRSForms account.

So How Does That Work?
When you log into your ExpressIRSForms account, you should see a button that says “Request W-9.” Click this button to get started. You’ll enter your payer information (that’s you) along with the name(s) and email address(es) of those whose TINs you need. Within 5-10 minutes of you completing this step, your requests will be securely emailed to your recipients.

Once they get your request with a little explanation as to why they’re filling out Form W-9, your recipient(s) can either complete the form and send it back securely or reject your request. Either way, we’ll keep you updated on the status of all your pending and completed W-9 forms.

When a Form W-9 is completed, the status of that form will update in your ExpressIRSForms account. Then, you can view, download, or print the W-9 to use and keep for your records. Your ExpressIRSForms address book will even update with the new information you receive from your W-9s, making completing your information returns that much easier!

Get Those Digits!
So what are you waiting for? We already told you how close the new filing deadlines are! Get on over to ExpressIRSForms and get those TINs so you can complete your filing easily and ahead of schedule. And if you have any other questions in the meantime, don’t hesitate to give our all-star support team a call! We’re available by phone (704-839-2270) and live chat Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST, and by email (support@ExpressIRSForms.com) 24/7!

Read More »

Form 1099-MISC Has a New IRS Deadline

Well, guys, we had to break it to you about the new W-2 Form deadline, now we’ve got some more slightly stressing news: your Form 1099-MISC deadline has probably been backed up to January 31, too.

The New Filing Date
Usually, when we talk deadlines, we’re a little more exact than “probably,” but the new 1099-MISC filing date has a condition: if you’re reporting nonemployee compensation payments in box 7 on Form 1099-MISC, your 2016 1099-MISC Forms must be submitted to the IRS by January 31, 2017.

If you do not have to report nonemployee compensation payments in box 7, you get to stick with the old deadlines, which if you’ll remember, are:

• February 28, 2017, if you’re paper filing
• March 31, 2017, if you’re e-filing.

Use ExpressIRSForms to File On Time
Of course, if you’re using ExpressIRSForms, this little deadline change should be anything but stressful, because we have everything you need to make sure your return is done on time. We’re cloud-based, so you can access your account through any browser and we have a built-in Address Book that automatically saves your payer and payee information as you enter it. We’ll even mail your recipient copies of Form 1099-MISC out from our headquarters in South Carolina once we’ve securely e-filed your IRS return.

Check out www.ExpressIRSForms.com for more info or give us a ring! We’re available by phone (704-684-4751) and live chat Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST and we also offer 24/7 email assistance through support@ExpressIRSForms.com.

Read More »

E-filing Forms W-2 and W-3

We’ve covered quite a bit on Form W-2 over the past month or so: everything from the new deadline to new extension form regulations and even a bit about those pesky penalties.

So now it only makes sense to go over how to e-file Form W-2 and what the deal is with its companion form, the W-3.

E-filing Form W-2
First things first: if you have more than 250 W-2 Forms to file, you’re required by the IRS to e-file. Even if you’re not quite there and only have a few W-2 Forms to submit, we (and the IRS) strongly recommend e-filing anyway. It’s easier, faster, and more secure - if you sign on with an IRS-authorized e-file provider like ExpressIRSForms, that is.

With ExpressIRSForms, you can have your W-2 Forms e-filed with the IRS and mailed out to your employees in just a few steps:

1. Create an account.
2. Select that you’d like to create W-2 Forms from your Dashboard.
3. Fill in your basic employer information (name, EIN, address).
4. Fill in your employees’ details, including their basic info as well as their federal and state income and tax withheld.
5. Review your forms and select whether you’d like us to mail your employee copies of Form W-2 for you.
6. Pay the one-time transmittal fee and securely send your return off to the IRS!

It’s that easy. And with built-in error checks, you’re sure to have everything filed correctly the first time around!

And Form W-3
One of the biggest bonuses of filing online is that Form W-3 isn’t required to be completed and sent with your return when you e-file. It’s the transmittal form for Form W-2 which means it summarizes the contents of the W-2 return it accompanies. Because W-2 e-filing is more streamlined than paper filing, Form W-3 isn’t needed online.

If you do insist on paper filing, you will need to complete one Form W-3 to be sent with your W-2 Forms. You’ll need the following information to complete it:

• Payer or Employer type
• Total number of W-2 Forms
• Employer name, EIN, address, and state ID number
• Total income and taxes withheld reported in your W-2 Forms

And your W-2 return, along with Form W-3, should be sent to the following address by January 31, 2017:

Social Security Administration

Data Operations Center

Wilkes-Barre, PA 18769-0001

If sending your return by Certified Mail, change the ZIP code to 18769-0002. And if you use an IRS-approved private delivery service, include in the address “ATTN: W-2 Process, 1150 E. Mountain Dr.” and change the ZIP code to 18702-7997.

Read More »