Purpose
To provide agencies with content information for the 2008 Form W-2
Background
According to IRS Publication 15, Circular E for 2008, and the Instructions for Form W-2, employers are required to furnish each employee with a Form W-2 Wage and Tax Statement by February 2, 2009. As the employer, OSC is responsible for furnishing the Form W-2 to employees with the appropriate wage, income and benefit information.
2008 Form W-2 Content
2008 Form W-2s will include earnings paid in paychecks dated:
Institution: | 1/3/08 through 12/31/08 |
Administration: | 1/9/08 through 12/24/08 |
An employee who has worked for more than one (1) State agency during the year will receive one (1) Form W-2. Employees who worked in more than one (1) company will receive a Form W-2 for each company. Workers’ Compensation taxable supplemental payments are included in Box 1 on the Form W-2 statements.
The information that will appear on the Form W-2 Statement is described below:
Box 1 | Wages, Tips and Other Compensation The amount in this box is the Federal taxable gross wages. |
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Box 2 | Federal Income Tax Withheld The amount in this box is the Federal income tax withheld. |
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Box 3 | Social Security Wages The amount in this box is the wages subject to Social Security taxes, not to exceed the $102,000 maximum. |
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Box 4 | Social Security Tax Withheld The amount in this box is the Social Security tax withheld, not to exceed $6,324. |
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Box 5 | Medicare Wages The amount in this box is the wages subject to Medicare withholding. |
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Box 6 | Medicare Tax Withheld The amount in this box is the Medicare tax withheld. |
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Box 9 | Advance EIC Payments The amount in this box is the Earned Income Credit paid to an employee. |
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Box 10 | Dependent Care Benefits The amount in this box is the total dependent care deduction. | |
Box 12 | Codes (Elected Deferrals, certain deductions and/or reimbursement amounts. These amounts are not included in Box 1.) E - Section 403(b) contributions G - Section 457(b) deferred compensation plan P - Excludable moving expense reimbursements (not included in Boxes 3 and 5) |
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Box 13 | Checkbox [ ]Retirement PlanThird Party Sick Pay |
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Box 14 |
Other Amounts to be reported:
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Box 15 | State A two-letter code from the list below indicating which State income taxes were withheld: NY - New York |
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Box 16 | State Wages The State wages reported for New York State are the same as the amount of Federal wages required to be reported in Box 1 - Wages, Tips and Other Compensation. |
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Box 17 | State Income Tax The amount in this box is the State tax withheld. |
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Box 18 | Local Wages The amount in this box is the Local wages. New York City reportable wages are on the top line and Yonkers wages are directly below in the same box. For a part-year New York City resident, the amount reported is the Federal taxable gross wages for the period during which the employee was a New York City resident. Yonkers wages are the same amount as the Federal wages required to be reported in Box 1. |
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Box 19 | Local Income Tax The amount in this box is the Local taxes withheld. New York City tax withheld is on the top line and Yonkers tax withheld is directly below in the same box. |
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Box 20 | Name of Locality The name of the locality for the Local income taxes withheld for New York City and/or City of Yonkers. |
Employer’s Name and Address
This information will be printed on all copies of the Form W-2 for the Company the employee worked and includes the Federal Employer Identification Number as follows:
New York State Federal ID # 14-6013200
City University Federal ID # 13-3893536
NYS Environmental Facilities Corporation Federal ID # 14-1499804
NYS Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation Federal ID # 86-1167163
SUNY Construction Fund Federal ID # 14-6019701
Industrial Exhibit Authority Federal ID # 16-1332929.
Note: “Important Tax Document Enclosed” appears on the outside of the Form W-2 Statement.
Taxable Gross Calculations and Additional Employee Information
Employees should retain their last paycheck stub/direct deposit advice statement of 2008 for a record of Non-Taxable Health Insurance paid in 2008. Employees participating in the NYS-Ride Transportation Benefit Program should retain their last paycheck stub/direct deposit advice statement for 2008 for a record of participation in the program.
Although these amounts are deducted from Boxes 1, 3 and 5 to calculate the taxable gross wages for Federal income tax and Social Security and Medicare taxes, the amounts paid for health insurance and the NYS-Ride Transportation Program in 2008 do not appear on the Form W-2.
CUNY employees with deductions for the Pre-Tax and After-Tax Transit Benefit should retain their last paycheck stub/direct deposit advice statement of 2008 for a record of participation in the CUNY Transit Benefit Transportation Spending Account Program.
Although the pre-tax amount is deducted from Boxes 1, 3 and 5 to calculate the taxable gross wages for Federal income tax and Social Security and Medicare taxes, the amounts paid for the Pre-Tax Transit Benefit and the After-Tax Transit Benefit in 2008 do not appear on the Form W-2.
Deductions for Dependent Care, Flexible Spending Account and Non-taxable Health Insurance for CUNY employees are reported as IRC125 in Box 14.
W-2 Distribution
The agency return address is used for all 2008 Form W-2 Statements.
OSC will mail employee Form W-2 Statements to employees' addresses currently in PayServ.
W-2 Corrections
Agencies should refer to Payroll Bulletin No. 837 for instructions regarding corrected wage information and the issuance of Form W-2c
Questions
Questions regarding this bulletin may be e-mailed to the Payroll Deductions mailbox.