FAQs- New Hire Reporting


Frequently Asked Questions: New Hire Reporting

General Questions
1.	For whom must this information be reported?
2.	For purposes of this program, who is considered to be an employee who must be reported?
3.	What information must be reported for each newly hired or rehired employee?
4.	When must this information be filed?
5.	What is the "hiring date" considered to be?
6.	Can employers substitute either manually- or computer-produced listings of newly hired employees in place of copies of W-4s?
7.	Can employers submit the New York State Form IT-2104, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate - New York State, City of New York, City of Yonkers, instead of the federal W-4?
8.	The requirements state that an employee’s name must be provided in the following order: first name, middle initial, last name. Can employers provide the name in a last name, first name, middle initial order?
9.	Must employees who discontinued services within 20 days of being hired still be reported?
10.	Employers sometimes transfer employees working in other states to New York State. Must these employees be reported for the new hire reporting program?
11.	Can employers submit a report of all new employees hired anywhere in the country with an indicator of the state in which they work?
12.	Must all employees be reported as new hires in the case of takeovers, mergers, and consolidations by employers?
13.	What do employers report for nonresident aliens who do not receive social security numbers?
14.	What does an employer report for a newly hired employee who does not yet have a social security number?
15.	Must the employee’s physical address be reported, or is a post office box sufficient for an employee’s home address? (For example, the employee may want a post office box for receiving a paycheck from the employer.)
16.	What date does the Tax Department use for determining timeliness — the postmark or the received date?
17.	How can employers obtain Federal Employer Identification numbers (FEIN)?

General Questions

For whom must this information be reported?

All newly hired employees, whether hired for the first time or rehired, regardless of the type of employment, amount of remuneration, or status of the employer (such as for profit, not-for-profit, or government), must be reported. Household employers must also report newly hired employees.

1.	For whom must this information be reported?
	All newly hired employees, whether hired for the first time or rehired, regardless of the type of employment, amount of remuneration, or status of the employer (such as for profit, not-for-profit, or government), must be reported. Household employers must also report newly hired employees.
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2.	For purposes of this program, who is considered to be an employee who must be reported?
	Any newly hired or rehired person who works in New York State must be reported, whether or not the person is a resident of New York State.
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3.	What information must be reported for each newly hired or rehired employee?
	The information required to be reported includes the employer’s federal employer identification number, name, and address, and the employee’s social security number, name, and address.
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4.	When must this information be filed?
	The required information must be filed within 20 days of the hiring date. Employers who report by magnetic media or electronically must report using two monthly transmissions (if needed) not less than 12 nor more than 16 days apart.
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5.	What is the "hiring date" considered to be?
	Employers must use the first day compensated services are performed by an employee as the hiring date. This would be the first day any services are performed for which the employee will be paid wages or other compensation, or the first day an employee working for commissions is eligible to earn commissions.
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6.	Can employers substitute either manually- or computer-produced listings of newly hired employees in place of copies of W-4s?
	Yes. Employers may substitute listings or other written formats provided all the required information is included.
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7.	Can employers submit the New York State Form IT-2104, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate - New York State, City of New York, City of Yonkers, instead of the federal W-4?
	Yes, provided that all the required information is reported.
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8.	The requirements state that an employee’s name must be provided in the following order: first name, middle initial, last name. Can employers provide the name in a last name, first name, middle initial order?
	Yes. The order of the name as stated in the requirements corresponds to the order specified for federal Form W-4. Employers who provide this information in a listing or other written format may provide the name in the alternative order.
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9.	Must employees who discontinued services within 20 days of being hired still be reported?
	Yes. These individuals were still employees and must be reported.
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10.	Employers sometimes transfer employees working in other states to New York State. Must these employees be reported for the new hire reporting program?
	No. These employees are not newly hired or rehired by the employer, but merely transferred from another state.
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11.	Can employers submit a report of all new employees hired anywhere in the country with an indicator of the state in which they work?
	Multi-state employers who report magnetically or electronically may designate one state (in which he or she has employees) to report newly hired employees. For employers who do not report magnetically or electronically, only newly hired employees working in New York State must be reported, and employees who do not work at all in New York State must not be reported.
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12.	Must all employees be reported as new hires in the case of takeovers, mergers, and consolidations by employers?
	No, not if these employees have been previously reported through the quarterly wage reporting system.
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13.	What do employers report for nonresident aliens who do not receive social security numbers?
	Employees who legitimately do not have social security numbers still must be reported. Employers should enter "not required" in the space for social security number on their submission.
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14.	What does an employer report for a newly hired employee who does not yet have a social security number?
	Employees who do not have social security numbers must still be reported. The employer should enter "applied for" in the social security number field on the report.
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15.	Must the employee’s physical address be reported, or is a post office box sufficient for an employee’s home address? (For example, the employee may want a post office box for receiving a paycheck from the employer.)
	A post office box is sufficient for an employee’s home address, because we do not intend to modify the W-4 process. We recognize the main purpose of the W-4 is to provide federal income tax withholding information to employers.
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16.	What date does the Tax Department use for determining timeliness — the postmark or the received date?
	For reports delivered by the U.S. Postal Service, we use the postmark date for determining if the report was submitted in time. Taxpayers can use certain private delivery services, in addition to the U.S. Postal Service, with the assurance that timely mailed reports will be considered timely filed. For rules for determining the "postmark dates" when using a designated delivery service, refer to TSB-M-97(2)I. If neither the U.S. Postal Service nor a designated delivery service is used, we use the received date.
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17.	How can an employer obtain Federal Employer Identification numbers (FEIN)?
	New employers are required to have FEINs issued by the Federal Internal Revenue Service. The IRS has recently created a web site which new employers can use to obtain an FEIN. The web site address is http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=98350,00.html. Employers must inform the New York State Tax Department when they obtain a FEIN and employers must use that number as their Withholding Tax Identification number. .
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General Questions

For whom must this information be reported?

For purposes of this program, who is considered to be an employee who must be reported?

What information must be reported for each newly hired or rehired employee?

When must this information be filed?

What is the "hiring date" considered to be?

Can employers substitute either manually- or computer-produced listings of newly hired employees in place of copies of W-4s?

Can employers submit the New York State Form IT-2104, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate - New York State, City of New York, City of Yonkers, instead of the federal W-4?

The requirements state that an employee’s name must be provided in the following order: first name, middle initial, last name. Can employers provide the name in a last name, first name, middle initial order?

Must employees who discontinued services within 20 days of being hired still be reported?

Employers sometimes transfer employees working in other states to New York State. Must these employees be reported for the new hire reporting program?

Can employers submit a report of all new employees hired anywhere in the country with an indicator of the state in which they work?

Must all employees be reported as new hires in the case of takeovers, mergers, and consolidations by employers?

What do employers report for nonresident aliens who do not receive social security numbers?

What does an employer report for a newly hired employee who does not yet have a social security number?

Must the employee’s physical address be reported, or is a post office box sufficient for an employee’s home address? (For example, the employee may want a post office box for receiving a paycheck from the employer.)

What date does the Tax Department use for determining timeliness — the postmark or the received date?

How can an employer obtain Federal Employer Identification numbers (FEIN)?