What’s a WH-3?
The WH-3 (Annual Withholding Reconciliation Form) is a reconciliation form for the amount of state and county income taxes withheld throughout the year. All employers must file the WH-3 by January 31 each year. If you previously registered to file withholding tax, you must still file Forms WH-1 and WH-3 for each period even if no tax is due or to report no employees for that time period. Late filed WH-1 returns are subject to a penalty of up to 20%, and a minimum penalty of $5. Late filed WH-3's are subject to a penalty of $10 per withholding document (W-2, 1099, K-1).
Why Am I Required to File Electronically?
Any business who files more than 25 W-2, W-2G, or 1099-R statements must file them electronically (IC 6-3-4-16.5).
What Do I Do Next?
If your withholding file size is 10MB or less you’ll manually enter or batch upload via INTIME. If your withholding file size is 10MB or over, you will batch load your W-2s using the bulk upload SFTP. For more information about both methods of submitting WH-3s, see the Bulk Upload Guide.
What If I Use a Payroll Provider? Can’t They Just File My WH-3 Return?
Yes, if the payroll provider you use is certified with the Indiana Department of Revenue (DOR), they can file your W-2s and WH-3 for you. Contact your service provider to find out if they have been certified with DOR.
If I Am a Software Developer...
Do I need to be certified with the Indiana Department of Revenue even if I just produce a substitute WH-3?
Yes. You will want to make sure that you are registered with DOR as software developer. You will then want to follow the forms approval process outlined in Departmental Notice # 4.
If I Am Service Provider...
Do I need to be certified with the Indiana Department of Revenue even if I’ve purchased software from a developer?
If you are the one that is actually submitting the W-2 and WH-3 files on behalf of your clients through batch upload, you will need to be certified with DOR. If you are, however, uploading or manually entering the W-2 and WH-3 files through INTIME, you do not have to be certified with DOR.
Uploading Withholding Files
If you are a business with a withholding file 10MB or less in size, please follow these steps:
Step 1: Register for INTIME (or migrate your INtax account to INTIME. More info at in.gov/dor/online-services/intime-tax-center/)
Step 2: Manually enter each of your W-2s into INTIME. Be sure that you have a valid Indiana Taxpayer Identification number (TID). However, if you have a valid EFW2 text file, you may upload your W-2s. More information can be found in our W-2 and WH-3 Filing Requirements Booklet.
Taxpayers with Withholding Files Over 10MB in Size
Step 1: Register for INTIME
Step 2: Batch upload your W-2s.
The bulk file upload is a system for uploading electronic files containing tax return data to the Indiana Department of Revenue (DOR)'s system. Batch upload submitters must be pre-registered and certified to use the system. This is DOR's preferred method of electronic filing if a company has a withholding file size of more than 10MB.
To submit a file to DOR’s Bulk Upload Web site, you must do all of the following:
- Have a valid Indiana Taxpayer Identification number (TID) for each return
- Be registered in INTIME if you are a service provider (the clients included in the file do not have to be registered)
- Have a text file in the prescribed SSA EFW2 format
- Use PGP encryption software to encrypt file before sending them
- Install PGP Software
- Request Public Key from the department (Bulkfiler@dor.IN.gov)
- Use the following software to connect to the secure FTP site: https://myshare.in.gov/Pages/sftp.aspx - Request User Name and Password to secure FTP site from the department (Bulkfiler@dor.IN.gov)
- Successfully complete an upload of two test files to the FTP site listed in step E.
INTIME
You can use INTIME to manage your Indiana sales and withholding taxes online. It gives you 24/7 access to your business tax records and lets you file and pay online right up to the last minute.
Taxpayers with withholding files over 10MB in size
Step 1: Register for INTIME (or migrate your INtax account to INTIME. More info at in.gov/dor/online-services/intime-tax-center/)
Step 2: Batch upload your W-2s.
The bulk file upload is a system for uploading electronic files containing tax return data to the Department of Revenue’s system. Batch upload submitters must be pre-registered and certified to use the system. This is the department’s preferred method of electronic filing if a company has a withholding file size of more than 10MB.
To submit a file to the department’s Bulk Upload Web site, you must do all of the following:
- Have a valid Indiana Taxpayer Identification number (TID) for each return
- Be registered in INTIME if you are a service provider (the clients included in the file do not have to be registered)
- Have a text file in the prescribed SSA EFW2 format (www.in.gov/dor/files/w-2book.pdf)
- Use PGP encryption software to encrypt file before sending them (http://www.pgpi.org/)
- Install PGP Software
- Request Public Key from the department (Bulkfiler@dor.IN.gov) - Use the following software to connect to the secure FTP site: https://myshare.in.gov/Pages/sftp.aspx
- Request User Name and Password to secure FTP site from the department (Bulkfiler@dor.IN.gov) - Successfully complete an upload of two test files to the FTP site listed in step E.
You can find more information about uploading a bulk file at www.in.gov/dor/4002.htm
Additional Resources
- Frequently Asked Questions
- INTIME
- File-It-Yourself Certified Software
- Service and Payroll Providers
- Tax Preparers
- Software Developers
- Other Electronic Services
Contact Us
Phone: (317) 233-5656
E-mail: Bulkfiler@dor.IN.gov
Address: Electronic Filing Coordinator
Indiana Department of Revenue
100 North Senate Avenue, IGC N286
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2253