Friday Feature – Payroll Setup Flags for W2s

For the last Friday Feature of 2013, Escape Online gives you the gift of simplicity and flexibility. Escape Online presents to you the payroll setup flags for W2s. In the W2 loading process, the pay detail records for the entire year are reviewed with Contribution, Deduction and Addon records playing an important role in placing earnings on the W2s. To help you comply with the ever-changing IRS and State regulations, Escape Online provides W2 flags in all three: Contributions, Deductions and Addons. Let’s take a look.

First up is Addons. They have a W2 Box and a W2 Category flag. The W2 Box specifies in which box the earnings generated by this Addon are reported on the W2. If the W2 Box is 12 or 14, the IRS requires you to specify a category, thus the W2 Category field.

These fields can be changed at any time during the W2 process.  Simply go into the record, change the flag and reload your W2s.  It is that simple.

Next, we see the same fields in the Contribution and Deduction records with a bonus field, called W2 Pension. The W2 Box and W2 Category fields in the Contribution and Deduction records work exactly the same as the ones in the Addon record. Notice how the W2 Category field has been filled in because the W2 Box is 12.

Now the W2 Pension flag is truly a gift to behold because it saves you a ton of work. If the person has reportable amounts for PERS or STRS or the W2 Box is 12 and the W2 Category is D, E, F or H, you don’t have to do a darn thing! Escape Online automatically puts those amounts correctly into Box 12.  You only have to concern yourself with alternative retirement plans.

Now that’s a gift that keeps on giving!