New Mexico W-2 forms are now available in electronic format. Employees have the option to sign a consent form in order to access their W-2 in PDF format instead of receiving the information in the mail.
Each employer must supply employees with a W-2 for the previous year no later than January 31. The Internal Revenue Service has had to become more vigilant in making sure employers adhere to the January 31 deadline due to the increasing number of employees who were not receiving their W-2s on time. In an effort to adhere to the deadline and avoid pressure from the IRS, employers are making electronic copies available to employees.
Historically, employers have run into problems making sure employees receive their W-2s in the timeframe specified. If an employee leaves their job and moves, and does not inform their former employer of their new address, the W-2 cannot be delivered. Even if an employee does not leave their job, but moves and forgets to change their address, they will not receive their W-2. Sometimes an employee does submit an address change, but it is only changed in one system, maybe a company directory, but not in the payroll system where W-2s are generated. Changing to electronic access can eliminate these delivery issues.
However, supplying W-2s electronically is not issue-free. Employees must sign consent forms in order to receive their W-2 electronically. They must be supplied with a user name and password in order to access the information along with instructions on how to access the form. Supplying the user name, password and instructions can be done via email, regular mail or in person.
We already know the issues with supplying this information via regular mail. Email is no different. If a person has left the company, they no longer have a company email in order to receive the information. If they change their personal email (if the company even has this information), it cannot be delivered.
For many people, having the ability to access W-2 forms online will make life easier. However, it will not alleviate all problems for employers.
