Effective January 1, 2018, recently enacted HB 1582 changes the due date for employers to file Forms W-2 with the Missouri Department of Revenue to January 31. As a result, state copies of calendar year 2017 Forms W-2 will be due January 31, 2018. Employers with 250 employers will be required to file Forms W-2 electronically.

The deadline for filing state copies of Forms W-2 remains at February 28, 2017 for the submission of calendar year 2016 Forms W-2 to the Department (while the federal Form W-2 deadline is January 31, 2017 for calendar year 2016).

Currently, employers filing 250 or more Forms W-2 with the Department must file on CD or flash drive (electronic filing is not an option).

According to a Department representative, effective January 1, 2018, employers with 250 or more employees will be required to file over an electronic filing system that the Department is currently developing. Filing on CD or flash drive will no longer be allowed. The Social Security Administration's EFW2 format (including the RE and RS records) must be used. (Email response to inquiry, withholding tax section representative, July 22, 2016.)

If an employer is granted a waiver of the federal requirement to file electronically by the Internal Revenue Service, the Department will automatically waive the requirement to file the state copy electronically.

Annual filing threshold increased

Currently, an employer is allowed to file an annual withholding tax return rather than quarterly returns when the aggregate amount withheld is less than $20 in each of the four preceding quarters. Effective August 28, 2016, HB 1582 changes the threshold for annual reporting to less than $100 in each of the four preceding quarters if the employer is not otherwise required to file a withholding return on a quarterly or monthly basis.

For more information on Missouri income tax withholding, go to the Department's website.

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