How to Complete a W-3 Form

A W-3 form is a summary of your W-2 forms. The W-3 and copy A of all W-2s must be mailed to the Social Security Administration no later than the end of January...even if you file them electronically!

Notice that you do not send the W-3 to the IRS. Instead, the Social Security Administration shares the W-3 and W-2 information with the IRS.

Note: the Social Security Administration has a free electronic filing option available that allows you to prepare and submit up to 20 W-2s. You have to set up a user name and password, but it is easy to do. See the above link for instructions.

The Church Accounting: How To Guide devotes a whole section of the book to payroll for churches. It covers payroll terminology and forms and then takes you through the steps necessary to set up a payroll, calculate and file the necessary taxes and forms, and even details how to handle the minister's payroll. It also includes sections on filling out IRS forms: 1099, 1099-NEC, and 1096.

If you have QuickBooks or are considering using it in the future, go ahead and purchase the QuickBooks for Churches and the How To Guide combo for a complete package on setting up and administering a payroll using QuickBooks.

QuickBooks for Churches & Church Accounting Combo Bundle

Step-by-Step instructions for manually filling out the W-3 Form:

Note: Box a (control number) is optional. Usually smaller churches do not use this box.

Check how you pay your employment taxes in box b. Most churches pay on a Form 941 or Form 944.

Note: According to the IRS instructions for Form W-3, in Box b – Kind of Payer, a church should check the “941” box even if it is not required to file Form 941 or Form 944 (for example, because the church staff consists of only the pastor).

Important: The IRS has revised the W-3. They now require more information in box b. They want to know what kind of employer you are.

According to the W-3 instruction booklet and the referenced Pub 557 it looks like most nonprofit organizations, including churches, will check the box “501c non-govt”.
Enter the total number of W-2s you are attaching in box c.
Enter the church’s EIN (Employer Identification Number) in box e.
Enter your church’s name and address in boxes f and g.
Enter the totals for the corresponding boxes on your W-2s in boxes 1-14. For example, in box 1, you would enter the total of all of the number 1 boxes from all of the W-2s.
Enter your state information in boxes 15 – 18.
Sign the W-3

The W-3 and the Copy A of all W-2s must be sent to the Social Security Administration at:

Data Operations Center
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18769-0001

Important: Don’t staple or tape the Copy As of the W-2s to each other.Put them in alphabetically order by employee’s last name or numerically order by employee’s social security numbers. Also do not fold the W-3 or W-2 forms. Send them to the SSA in a large flat envelope.

Spreadsheet Package

The Spreadsheet Package includes:

Contribution Tracking Workbook
5 Fund Automatic Accounting Workbook
Bank Reconciliation Workbook
Collection Count Sheet
Mileage Log Workbook
Much more - Click here for details

PLUS a Word document with 3 examples of contribution statements for cash, non cash, and quid pro quo donations that you can customize for your own use!

If you want to DIY your payroll, I highly recommend you look at using Gusto! It is very user friendly and their support is awesome! Plus they know how to set up and maintain payrolls for churches and nonprofit organizations.

Note: I am a "partner" of Gusto, but as I have told you before ... I never recommend anything that we or our clients have not tried and love =)

Share this page:

What’s this?

Facebook

Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

Click on the HTML link code below.
Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.