Not necessarily; and in fact it probably shouldn't, for data security reasons. However, the actual Control Number assigned for your W-2 in any given year is up to the discretion of your employer's payroll department or payroll outsourcing firm. So, if you are in your same job and working for the same company as last year, it's possible that your employer used the prior year Control Number for your W-2 this year that it did for last's year's W-2.
But there is no guarantee of that, and, for privacy and security reasons, we may hope that they did not (for the very same reason that it is wise to occasionally change your computer passwords).
Please let us explain.
The Box D Control Number is a code that uniquely identifies your
unique W-2 document in your employer's records. This number is assigned
by the company's payroll processing software, and is needed if
attempting to electronically import your W-2 into a tax software program
(like TurboTax). Please note that not all W-2s (or employers) will
necessarily include or support a Box D Control number. Your alternative
to importing a W-2 document is to simply input the information
manually.
The actual Control Number itself is not necessary in
completing your tax return, unless you wish to import your W-2 into
TurboTax (or other tax software); and it that one instance it is
required. In other words, the W-2 Control Number, whatever it is, will
never increase or decrease your actual tax refund (or your amount owed)
by a single penny.
If you choose to type in your W-2 manually,
rather than importing it electronically, then you should not have to
enter anything from Box D at all, if you do not want to. In fact, you
can simply leave the field blank. The exceptions to that would be if
you are attempting to e-file your return and see some sort of W-2
Control Number related error; or if the program insists on a value
before allowing you to continue. In those cases, we have a TurboTax FAQ
article that can help. We've linked that FAQ page for you, directly below this answer.
If you have further
questions, encounter any difficulties, or just want to speak with a live tax
expert who can walk you through your TurboTax entries (including the ability to
screen-share with your computer), please feel free to contact us. We
would be happy to help you (and as a TurboTax Deluxe customer, the call is free to
you). Here is a link where you can create a support ticket and reach us:
https://support.turbotax.intuit.com/contact/
Thank you for asking this important question.
https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/4417180
