IRS Verification Code to Appear on 47.8 Million Forms W-2

About 20 percent of Forms W-2, Wage and Tax Statement issued for tax year 2016 will include a
verification code used in a pilot program to fight tax fraud and identity theft, IRS officials have announced.

The code will appear on nearly 47.8 million Forms W-2 for tax year 2016, up from 1.7 million for tax year 2015, according to Scott Mezistrano, representative for industry stakeholder engagement and outreach.  The program uses a 16-character alphanumeric code to verify W-2 data on Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. The code will appear on copies B and C of affected forms, he said. Payroll service providers Automatic Data Processing LLC, Ceridian LLC, Intuit Inc., Paychex Inc., Payroll People Inc., PrimePay Inc. and Ultimate Software Group Inc. are among those participating in the pilot, he said.

The code should be entered on the 1040 when using tax-preparation software, so be looking for it.