Beginning with forms for tax year 2016, the filing deadline for all federal W-2s is January 31 whether filing paper or electronic returns.
Until now, employers had two dates to keep in mind when remitting W-2’s:
-January 31, to provide employee copies
-February 28, for paper filings submitted to the Social Security Administration (March 31 for electronic filings)
The new January 31 deadline applies to certain types of 1099s. If you’re filing Form 1099-Misc and reporting amounts in Box 7: Nonemployee Compensation, then you will need to observe the new filing deadline of January 31.
If you don’t have amounts in Box 7, then the deadline remains February 28 for paper filings or March 31 for electronic filings.
If you need to make corrections after sending your file to the Social Security Administration, you can do so by filing Form W-2c, Corrected Wage and Tax Statement.
Colorado has also adopted the new deadline of January 31, beginning with the upcoming filings for 2016 Form W-2.