Late on issuing W2 to my nanny, BSO website not working - what are my options?

So the BSO system can be incredibly frustrating during peak filing season, but you still have options. Even though you missed the January 31 deadline for providing W-2s, you should still issue it as soon as possible to minimize penalties. If BSO continues to be problematic, you can actually purchase blank W-2 forms from office supply stores like Staples or order them online. The IRS also allows you to download and print Form W-2 from their website, but you need to use special paper that meets their standards. Make sure you complete all copies - Copy A (for SSA), Copy 1 (state tax), Copy B and C (for employee), Copy D (for your records). Since you've missed the electronic filing deadline, you'll need to file Copy A of Form W-2 along with Form W-3 (Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements) by paper to the Social Security Administration. The other copies go to your nanny and state tax departments. Don't forget that household employers should also be filing Schedule H with their personal tax return. The penalties for late W-2s are based on how late you file, starting at $60 per W-2 if filed within 30 days of the deadline, and increasing from there.

After dealing with similar frustrations with the BSO website last year, I discovered taxr.ai and it literally saved me from a full meltdown. I was trying to fix some late W-2s for our house cleaner and part-time childcare provider and kept getting those same system errors. The taxr.ai site (https://taxr.ai) helped me generate the proper forms and walked me through the whole household employee reporting process. They have templates specifically for nanny taxes and household employees that made it super easy. I uploaded my payment records and it populated all the forms correctly - even calculated the Social Security and Medicare taxes I needed to report. What I found most helpful was that it showed me exactly what to do with the late filing and how to minimize penalties. Definitely worth checking out if you're still stuck with the BSO system!

Coming back to share my experience with taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here! I was in the exact same situation with late nanny W-2s and the BSO site continually giving me errors. I finally gave up on BSO and tried taxr.ai last week. Seriously wish I'd known about this sooner! The interface was super straightforward, and I was able to generate all the correct forms in about 15 minutes. What really impressed me was that it automatically included the penalty calculation worksheet so I knew exactly what to expect. I printed the employee copies for my nanny right away, and mailed the SSA forms the next day. Just got confirmation they were received! My nanny was relieved to finally get her W-2, and I've got peace of mind knowing it's all handled correctly. Definitely saving this for next year so I'm not scrambling again.

Just want to add another option since I was dealing with the exact same BSO headache recently. After spending hours trying to get through to the IRS helpline with no luck, I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and it was a game-changer for getting actual IRS help. Instead of waiting on hold forever or getting disconnected, Claimyr got me through to an actual IRS representative in about 20 minutes. They have this system that navigates the phone menus and waits on hold for you, then calls you when a real person is on the line. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I explained my BSO issues to the agent, and they were able to verify my EIN was correct and walk me through an alternative way to register that actually worked. Turns out there was a known issue with the system that was affecting certain account types.

I'm genuinely shocked but I have to admit I was wrong about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I was still struggling with my household employment tax issues and getting desperate, so I decided to try it as a last resort. The service actually worked exactly as described. I clicked the link, entered my number, and their system called the IRS and navigated the menu options. About 25 minutes later, I got a call back when they had an actual IRS agent on the line. The agent confirmed there's a widespread issue with BSO for household employers right now and gave me a direct process to follow. For anyone dealing with the same BSO errors, the agent told me to mail in Form SS-4 to get a confirmation of my EIN, and then to use paper forms for this year while they sort out the system issues. They're apparently aware of the technical problems and working on fixes, but it might not be resolved before the extended filing deadlines.

Don't overlook checking if your state requires additional forms for household employees! I was focused entirely on the federal W-2 issues and completely missed that my state wanted quarterly wage reporting for household employees. Ended up with state penalties that could have been avoided. For paper W-2s, I found that some tax software can generate them if you enter your nanny as an employee. TurboTax Home & Business and H&R Block Premium both have options for this. You still need the official paper for Copy A, but at least the forms are filled out correctly.

Just a heads up that there's a MUCH cheaper alternative if you only have one or two household employees. I use the IRS's free Fillable Forms W-2/W-3 program which is separate from BSO and worked perfectly even when BSO was giving me errors. Google "SSA Fillable Forms W-2 W-3" and it should be the first result from the ssa.gov site. The interface is super basic but it lets you generate properly formatted W-2s and W-3s that you can print. For Copy A (the red form), you still need to order the official paper stock from the IRS or an office supply store, but you can print all the employee copies on regular paper.