That shouldn't actually be a problem. The only truly meaningful
elements on a W-2 for income tax filing purposes are your employer's
federal EIN (Employer's tax Identification Number), your own Social
Security Number
(SSN), and your actual wage data. If there was a mistake made with any
of these items, then that is a cause for concern. The State
Employer ID Number in Box 15 of a W-2, on the other hand, is simply not a big deal.
If it would make you more comfortable to do so, then we would recommend that you enter the State ID number using what information you have on your W-2, starting from the left (even if a separate number), reading to the right, and then continue to type as many digits into the Box 15 field that you can until you get a message saying that the field is full. You may leave a space between numbers, or not.
In
fact, the IRS computers and your state department of revenue really
won't care, as they're really just looking for the federal EIN, SSN, and
relevant wage data. The State ID is simply a bureaucratic convention
for your state; they can and will still be able to easily and
uniquely identify your employer by their federal EIN, even if they have
to cross-reference the Federal / State ID numbers in their database. In
other words, this single issue should not affect the processing of your
tax return.
Therefore, you can just re-enter your Federal ID Number into Box 15
if you like, or you can leave it blank, or you can do what was described above. Alternatively, you can go to
your employer's payroll or human resources office and ask if they have an accurate State ID number for you to use in filing your taxes.
Again, this is something that is simply not a material factor to
the filing of your income tax return, and it will not change the value
of your refund (or liability) by a single dollar. You may choose to proceed using any of the suggestions above, as long as you are comfortable with that particular option.
Thanks for asking this question, and good luck to you!
