Bill Drops 250 Form W-2 Electronic Filing Threshold to 10

A bill that greatly reduces the maximum number of Forms W-2 employers can file on paper was signed July 1 by President Donald Trump.

The Taxpayer First Act reduces the threshold that triggers the electronic filing requirement for the combined filing of most information returns to the IRS, including Forms W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, and the Form 1099 series. The threshold, now 250 forms, would fall to 100 for 2021 forms filed in 2022 and to 10 forms for 2022 forms filed in 2023 and subsequent years.

The bill (H.R. 3151) was bipartisan legislation that restructures the Internal Revenue Service. Additionally, the law establishes an independent Office of Appeals to help resolve taxpayer disputes and prevents the IRS from referring low-income taxpayer debtors to private collection companies.

The provision to lower the electronic filing threshold “didn’t get a lot of publicity,” Mary Hevener, a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP in Washington, D.C., told Bloomberg Tax. “At least there is enough lead time [for filers] because this is one more thing they have to program for.”