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W-2 E-Filing: Navigating the SSA's Business Services Online Website

The following instructions assume you have previously created a file for upload using Payroll System's "Create W-2/W-2C e-file/MagMedia Files" ("W-2 e-file") module. See E-Filing W-2s.

Connecting to the BSO Website

Use of the Business Services Online website to file Wage Reports (W-2's) is entirely the user’s responsibility. The following instructions are not a replacement for SSA/BSO instructions or tutorials. Additionally, BSO webpages are subject to change.
  1. Go to https://www.ssa.gov/bso/bsowelcome.htm or click Connect to SSA on Step 3 of our e-file module in Payroll System.
  2. Click Sign In under Employers, even if you are a practitioner.
  3. Most users will then Sign In through ID.me.
    1. Acknowledge the alert that you are leaving the current website to proceed to ID.me sign-in.
    2. After successfully signing in thru ID.me, you will be automatically redirected to the SSA’s BSO site.
    3. Agree to the terms of service and proceed past the Privacy Act statement.
  4. Choose your BSO User ID and EIN from the dropdown list, then click Next.
  5. Click Report Wages to Social Security to test wage files with Accuwage, submit W-2 wage files, or check on submission status or other activities.
    For more information about testing W-2 files with SSA's AccuWage Online utility before uploading, go to https://www.ssa.gov/employer/accuwage/index.html.

Uploading Formatted Wage File

  1. After signing in, there may be a few self-explanatory web pages. At the main menu click Reporting Wages to Social Security. 
  2. Proceed through Attestation to continue, then click Upload Formatted Wage File on the tab strip.
  3. To upload a file, click Submit a Formatted Wage File.
    For resubmission files, instead click Resubmit your Formatted Wage File (under Resubmission Notice as seen in image above).
  4. At the Formatted Wage File Upload prompt, click W-2/W-3 forms for Tax Year 2023 or previous tax year (EFW2) for normal submissions.
    Only submit W-2c correction(s) if the original W-2 wage file has been processed to Complete status.
  5. Click Browse (or Choose File) to locate the file to upload, which was already created by Payroll System in the EFW2 or EFW2C format.
  6. Click into the File name field, and press CTRL + V (or right-click and choose Paste). See Copying and pasting file name and path for help.
    Or, navigate to the desired file and click Open (or Save). The file should begin with W2SSAYR-.
  7. Compare the file name displayed next to Browse (or Choose File) to that on the Step 3 - SSA Submittal tab of the W-2 e-file module. If you are confident that this is the correct file, click Upload File.

If the file is large, the upload process might take long enough for an “in progress” popup to be displayed.

During file upload, your file is checked for correct file type, size, and format. The data inside the file is also checked for errors. If your file passes all the checks, it will automatically be submitted for further processing and you will see the Success Confirmation page (PRINT or Save.  See also the Success section below).  If your file fails any check, you will see the Error page.  Be sure to PRINT or save the Error page, and any Error descriptions BSO provides.

For additional help with Errors: W-2 E-Filing: BSO File Errors
Some conditions cannot be checked during the file upload and could still cause a reject later in the process. You may be notified of these by email but it is the user's responsibility to go back to the BSO website to check the Submission status of your upload(s). For notifications, SSA will use the email address included in the wage file, if it exists. If the email address is not in the wage file, SSA will use the address that you registered with IRS.

Success

When the file passes all the file and data checks, the system displays the Success page.

  1. The green section at the top (illustration above) indicates the status of your file’s upload and provides a link to the submission status. Print your receipt before going to check submission status.
    As soon as you leave this screen you will no longer be able to print your receipt. Your file’s status should show as “RECEIVED”.
    To view the submission status at a later time, click View Submission Status.
  2. The blue section gives the wage file identifier (WFID), which is proof of your file’s submission. The WFID gives you a quick way to check the file’s status on the Electronic Wage Reporting (EWR) home page in the BSO website. You need the WFID to reference this submission in all communications with SSA.
  3. More details and actions you can take:
    1. Click Print Receipt. The Acknowledgement of Receipt popup is displayed and you can print the information. To close this popup, click on the X at the top right corner or click outside of its boundaries.
    2. To submit another file, click Upload New File in the middle of the page or at the top of the page.
    3. To return to the EWR home page, click EWR Home in the middle of the page or at the top left of the page.
  4. You can verify the file upload by checking that the values in the File Summary section agree with your file: file name, file size, number of W-2 or W-2c forms and number of W-3 or W-3c forms. See Checking Size of Uploaded File.
  5. Be sure to mark your file as submitted in Step 3 of the W-2 e-file module, and don't forget your state filing requirements (if any).
Note: If this information is not the same as the file information shown on your computer, contact SSA Support at 1-888-772-2970 (TTY 1-800-325-0778).
Even after passing BSO’s Preliminary check and receiving confirmation of your upload, the file could later be rejected by BSO.  Although they try to contact you by email or mail, it is the User’s responsibility to check back on BSO’s website for the STATUS of your file. One method to check is through the link BSO provided in your confirmation.  Another is after returning to BSO’s website and logging in, proceed to the Electronic Wage Reporting (EWR) page, and click on “View Submission Status” as illustrated below.  For more information, see the BSO tutorial at Submission Status.

If Things Go Wrong

Incorrect File Name

If the file name in the Choose File field is not correct, you can click on Choose File again and try again to either navigate to your file or paste the file name/path into the File Name field. (See Recopying File Name and Path, below.)

Recopying File Name and Path

If necessary, you can go back to Step 3 – SSA Submittal in the W-2 e-file module and recopy the file name/path.

(BSO and certain states) want the file that is uploaded to be named with a .txt at the end of the filename. Make sure the saved file name has a .txt before submitting. See E-File Format Error W2 and 1099.

Communications Disruption

If a communications disruption occurs while you are submitting a wage file, log in again and click the View Submission Status link on the EWR home page to determine whether the file transfer was successful. If the submission is not displayed, you will have to submit it again. Select the same submission type that you initially selected.

Technical Support

BSO technical support/information:

  • Send an email to employerinfo@ssa.gov
  • Call toll free at 1-800-772-6270 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday

CFS technical support: (800) 343-1157.

How did we do?

W-2 E-Filing: Checking the Submission Status

W2 E-Filing Module Overview

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