Household Employee and W2

I know that a household employer does not have to issue a W2 to a household employee if the employee's total wages are less than $2100 for 2019, but can an employer ELECT to file a W2 for such employee(s) if the employer must issue W2s to other household employees with total wages over $2100? No federal tax was withheld. It would save time instead of having to give them a recap of their 2019 earnings. Nice and neat package.

I wouldn't call it an "election", but let's put it this way, there is no penalty for issuing a W-2 with accurate information.

A few years ago we had a W-2 rejected from e-filing for a household employee who earned $1,440 that year. The rejection was due to the wages being below the covered minimum amount for household employees. At the end of the day, we were unable to e-file the W-2. YMMV.

A few years ago we had a W-2 rejected from e-filing for a household employee who earned $1,440

Now that you mention it, I recall a similar discussion in this forum some time back, and that sounds correct. Well, still no penalty, but maybe it just can't be officially filed.

" It would save time instead of having to give them a recap of their 2019 earnings. "
Why not just give them the same numbers as would appear on a W-2? Or print out a (unfiled) Form W-2, but cover up the "W-2" part, and maybe don't supply the EIN. Or some kind of watermark indicating it is not an official W-2.

Was it rejected from the SSA, or did it reject when the return was electronically filed because the EIN had been applied for in January of the year following the tax year? I've had that happen. (I.e., W2s for 2018, but employer did not file for the EIN until January 2019.)

I do know SSA will let you file the W2 with box 1, but will not let you enter an amount in boxes 3 - 6 if the total wages are less than $2,100 if the employer is listed as a household employer on the W3.

A few years ago we had a W-2 rejected from e-filing for a household employee who earned $1,440

Now that you mention it, I recall a similar discussion in this forum some time back, and that sounds correct. Well, still no penalty, but maybe it just can't be officially filed.

" It would save time instead of having to give them a recap of their 2019 earnings. "
Why not just give them the same numbers as would appear on a W-2? Or print out a (unfiled) Form W-2, but cover up the "W-2" part, and maybe don't supply the EIN. Or some kind of watermark indicating it is not an official W-2.

Our software actually asks for the EIN if we use the household employee screen for line 7. Plus you still have to give them the EIC notices.

Correction: It only asks for the Employer's name and address.

Does this mean it is still necessary to file a Form 940 in a case like this where wages to a household employee are more than $1,000 but less than $2,100?

It feels weird to file a 940 with no 941 or W-2. But if that is proper that is what I will do with the client I am working with.

There wouldn't be a 940 for a household employee, only a Schedule H.

There used to be a form you gave household employees whose wages were under the limit. It was not a W-2. It's not going to hurt to issue one that shows total wages then FICA wages of zero.

For HarryFL, the Schedule H functions as a combined 941 and 940. If you have no 1040 filing requirement you can file a Schedule H as a stand-alone employment tax return. Notice that the schedule has its own signature block and preparer ID section for that purpose.