During the November 3 payroll industry call, the IRS talked about the drafts for the 2023 Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, and warned the form’s design may change slightly for 2023 and more drastically for 2024.
After it released the first draft on September 29, the IRS said it received feedback from stakeholders that the proposed redesign would not fit the windows of the envelopes currently used for Forms W-2. Due to this feedback, the IRS said it opted to revert to the current design and posted a revised draft for 2023 on October 31.
IRS Releases Second Draft
The revised draft for the 2023 Form W-2 keeps the current number of pages (10) with copies on separate pages. During the call, the IRS said although the second draft includes Copy D, it most likely will be eliminated from the final version of the 2023 Form W-2. However, the IRS will confirm this change later as the agency would like to keep an even number of pages for Form W-2.
Possible Changes for 2024
The IRS also said the design for the first draft will likely be implemented for tax year 2024. The delay in reducing the number of pages is intended to give employers enough time to adapt.
The first draft reduced the number of pages from 10 to four by placing Copies B, C, and 2 on the same page. To fit these copies on one page, some of the boxes were moved. In addition, all the instructions were combined on one separate page to align on the reverse side of the page for Copies B, C, and 2. The IRS also eliminated Copy D, the employer’s copy, and the employer instructions that appeared on the reverse side of the copy.
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Jyme Mariani, Esq., is Managing Editor of Payroll Currently and Senior Manager of Payroll Information Resources for the APA.