How much money do I need to earn before an employer must file a W-2?

Question

It used to be that if you earned under $600, an employer did not need to file a W-2. Is there still an amount like that? If so, what is the current amount, and what IRS document would contain that information

Answer 1

The $600 rule applied to 1099-Misc forms only. (I've gotten W-2s for 1 day's pay before.)

Who must file Form W-2. Employers must file Form W-2 for wages paid to each employee from whom:

Income, social security, or Medicare tax was withheld or

Income tax would have been withheld if the employee had claimed no more than one withholding allowance or had not claimed exemption from withholding on Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate. (For a weekly payroll system, that's a mere $51!)

Answer 2

Sorry, but that has NEVER been the case. All wages paid will show up on Form W-2; there is NO minimum. Therefore there is no IRS document that will say otherwise.

The IRS does allow figures to be rounded to the nearest dollar so at least in theory if you're paid 49¢ or less (total for the year) there won't be a W-2 coming.

Answer 3

I might be wrong think it is 3,000 for a w-2.