What has 82,000 employees, manages more than 800 official tax forms and schedules, and is solely responsible for administering our nation’s federal statutory tax laws? The answer, of course, is the Internal Revenue Service –known by most as simply the IRS.
While not as glamorous as NASA, as inspiring as the National Endowment for the Humanities, nor as elemental to daily life as the Department of Transportation, the IRS plays a vital role in the function of our government. Likewise, those responsible for the compilation and communication of tax-related information play a vital role in the function of any business.
The 2022 tax year is winding down and corporate accountants everywhere are getting ready. Soon, it will be time to issue W-2s, 1099s, Affordable Care Act (ACA) disclosures and other tax forms that enable people nationwide to file timely and accurate personal income tax returns.
Any government agency with more than 800 official forms can be expected to make changes from time to time and the IRS is no different. Each year, the IRS updates its tax forms and it is the responsibility of corporate accountants to stay abreast of the changes. Here are three sources of tax form information that employers should bookmark and reference throughout the year.
IRS Publication 15, or “Pub.15” for short, is similar to an owner’s manual for a new car. In this one document, the Internal Revenue Service summarizes an employer’s responsibilities in regard to filing and reporting tax information. From Employer Identification Numbers (EINs) and recordkeeping requirements to the proper use of 1099s, W-2s, W-4s and everything in between, Publication 15 is a go-to resource for anyone involved in the filing of tax forms and information on behalf of a business.
There’s a saying that the more things change, the more they stay the same. This clearly doesn’t apply to the Internal Revenue Service. In fact, the IRS maintains a page on their website dedicated to “specific changes to forms, instructions or publications after they are available on IRS.gov.” Whether due to new tax laws, corrections of tax form errors or something else, this webpage grows throughout the year as the IRS issues articles alerting tax professionals to everything that’s new and different. As of the writing of this blog, more than 60 such articles had been posted just since the beginning of 2022.
The IRS isn’t the only government agency with a role to play in the filing of tax forms. The SSA website is required reading for details regarding employer filing instructions for W-2 forms. There are also updates regarding topics such as the Taxpayer First Act, which will soon require employers who file 10 or more W-2s or W-2Cs to send those forms to the SSA electronically. If you have a question regarding W-2s or wage reporting in general, SSA.gov is a vital resource to cross-reference against IRS.gov.
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