IRS Suggests Security Change to W-2 Tax Form

On Sept. 20, the Internal Revenue Service proposed a rule to amend the Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, to require employers to obscure employee social security numbers. In the proposal the first five digits would be obscured or replaced with a symbol. The final four digits will remain clear. The goal of the change is to protect employees from identify theft. If the change is implemented, the IRS plans to incorporate this into forms and instructions. Employers would be permitted to use a truncated taxpayer identification number or TTIN on the employee’s copy of the report. Interested parties can submit comments at www.regulations.gov, the federal government’s regulation portal, on or before Dec. 18, 2017.

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