INQUIRY 15-06, Delivery of the 2015 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Wage and Tax Statement

Published: December, 24, 2015
Effective: January 2016

Summary

In January 2016, the 2015 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, will be mailed to the employee's residence address as recorded in the Payroll/Personnel System (PPS). The data will include payments through Pay Period 24, 2015.

Additionally, employees will have the option to elect to receive (and print) their W-2 electronically through Employee Personal Page (EPP). Also, employees will be able to import their 2015 W-2 information into Turbo Tax or At Home.

Affected Systems

Implementations

The data on the W-2 includes salary payments for Pay Period 25, 2014 (or the pay period of implementation into the PPS), through Pay Period 24, 2015, inclusive. The W-2 will also include any manual payments disbursed after Pay Period 24, 2015, through December 30, 2015. Employees who worked during the tax year for more than one organization serviced by the National Finance Center (NFC) will receive a W-2 containing the total wages paid by NFC for all organizations. The W-2 will be issued under the name of the current employing organization.

Agencies are encouraged to remind their employees to verify their residence addresses are correct and make any changes prior to the processing of the W-2s. If an address is not recorded in PPS, the employee's W-2 will be mailed to their Agency.

Employee Indebtedness

To comply with IRS regulations, employees who have not repaid an indebtedness (i.e., salary overpayment) incurred during calendar year 2015 will have the outstanding debt included as taxable wages on their W-2s. The outstanding debt is subject to Federal and State (if applicable) income tax. Any payments which are made toward a debt between December 15 and December 31, 2015, could result in a corrected W-2 being issued at a later date.

Electronically Delivered Version of the W-2

IRS will allow employees the option to file their tax return with a printout of an electronically delivered version of their W-2 for tax year 2015. Employees who are established users of NFC's EPP can print this electronic version of the W-2 for tax year 2015 (via NFC's Web site at www.nfc.usda.gov) for submission with their tax return. For more information on receiving W-2s electronically or by mail, see INQUIRY Bulletin 15-04, Employee Modifications to IRS Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement and IRS Form 1095-C, Employer Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage. The 2015 W-2s will be available on the EPP in January 2016.

Note: Employees who are not current EPP users (or need a new user identification (ID) or password) can locate the sign-up instructions under My EPP. Log on to the internet and go to the NFC Web site (www.nfc.usda.gov). Select HR and Payroll Clients page from the My NFC drop-down menu and click My EPP icon on the HR/Payroll Application Launchpad.

Turbo Tax/At Home

In addition to printing their W-2 from the EPP, employees will also be able to import their 2015 W-2 information into Turbo Tax or At Home. NFC has worked with the software providers to make their products interoperable with the EPP. For more information on Turbo Tax, see INQUIRY Bulletin 15-05, IRS Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, Available for Use with Turbo Tax or At Home.

Reporting Center

In January 2016, W-2 data will be available on the Reporting Center through the Financial Reports Menu.

Maintaining W-2 Data

Although W-2 history data for tax years 1998 and forward is available to the employee on their EPP and to Agencies via the Reporting Center, only 2 years of W-2 data history is available in the W-2 Online Processing System. The W-2 data for tax year 2013 was moved to history in October 2015 and is no longer available to be viewed by Agencies. In mid-January, Agencies will be able to view W-2 data for tax years 2014 and 2015.

Inquiries and W-2 Reprints

If some employees do not receive W-2s when they are initially mailed, it may have been determined that these W-2s require adjustments (i.e., relocation travel payments). The appropriate adjustments will be completed by January 31, 2016, and the W-2s will be sent to the employees upon completion. Employees should use their EPP to check their W-2 data.

All current and former employees of Agencies serviced by NFC must request W-2 reprints from their respective Servicing Personnel Office. When Agencies receive requests from current employees for W-2 reprints, the Agency is encouraged to inform employees to utilize EPP. Agencies are also encouraged to utilize the full suite of available reports on the Reporting Center. Agency representatives without current Reporting Center access (or without access to the W-2, Wage and Tax Statement report) should submit a request for access via their Agency Security Officer.

Resources

A Quick Reference Card (QRC), which is available online as a reference tool at the NFC Web site, can assist with accessing EPP, user identification availability, and password assistance.

Inquiries

For questions about NFC processing, authorized Servicing Personnel Office representatives should contact the NFC Contact Center at 1-855-NFC-4GOV (1-855-632-4468) or via the Internet using the Requester Console.