Each year, employers must send Copy A of Forms W-2 (Wage and Tax Statement) to the Social
Security Administration (SSA) by the last day of February (or last day
of March if you file electronically) to report the wages and taxes of
your employees for the previous calendar year.
In addition, you must give a W-2 to each employee by January 31 (for
individual income tax purposes.) W-2s are sent to SSA along with a
Form W-3 (Transmittal of Income and Tax Statements).
Employers are required to file Form W-2 for wages paid to each employee
from whom:
Income, social security, or Medicare taxes were
withheld or
Income tax would have been withheld if the employee
had claimed no more than one withholding allowance or had not claimed
exemption from withholding on Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance
Certificate.
The 2004 wage base is $87,900. Here's a helpful table that shows Social
Security and Medicare Maximum Wage and Tax Rates from 1937 to present.
This file is an Excel file. Click here for Table.
For Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment and Other Automatic
Increases for 2004 Click
here
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