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            CITY OF CINCINNATI  

          INCOME TAX DIVISION 

        MAGNETIC MEDIA REPORTING 

                   FOR TAX YEAR 2023                 

            (For submitting annual Form W-2 information      
               to the City of Cincinnati Income Tax Division) 
                                        
               CITY OF CINCINNATI                    
               INCOME TAX DIVISION                   
          805 CENTRAL AVENUE SUITE 600               
            CINCINNATI, OH  45202-5799               
                   (513) 352-2546                    
                                                     
 Website Address: www.cincinnati-oh.gov/citytax                        
 E-Mail Address:   david.meale@cincinnati-oh.gov Prepared: December  2023

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INTRODUCTION

The following specifications conform to the Social Security Administration Publication No. 42-007,
Specifications for Filing Forms W2 Electronically (EFW2) with some minor changes.

Enclosed are copies of the changes to the file specifications. The main changes we are concerned with are:

1) Records Layout Sheets ‘RS’
2) Record ‘RS’ is required by the City of Cincinnati
3) For tax year 2020, wage information will be accepted on following types of media:
a) CD-ROM
b) DVD
c) File online through the Income Tax website: https://web2.civicacmi.com/Cincinnati

NOTE: No reel-to-reel tapes, DAT tapes, DLT tapes or 3 1/2” diskettes will be accepted.

If the information received does not meet the specifications in this document, it may be returned to you
unprocessed.

It is advised that you obtain a copy of the Social Security Administration Publication No. 42-007 (EFW2)
mentioned above to use as a reference for those areas not covered in this document. To obtain the publication
contact the Social Security Administration Office of Systems Requirements at (800) 772-6270,
7:00 A.M. through 7:00 P.M. (Eastern Standard Time), Monday through Friday.

The document is also available online at http://www.ssa.gov/employer/efw/19efw2.pdf

FILING REMINDERS

1) We will not accept compressed files on magnetic tapes and cartridges, or compressed zip files.

2) Be sure to enter the correct tax year in the employer records.

3) The EFW2 format is required, as amended by the City of Cincinnati. Any submission that does not
meet these specifications will be returned to the sender.

4) Record length must be exactly 512 bytes. The record should be padded with blanks to 512 characters
if needed, not truncated. Do not add blanks at the beginning of the record or extend the record past
512 characters. Do not place a CR/LF in the middle of a record, and do not include blank records or
extra CR/LF pairs. Other than CR/LF all letters must be uppercase.

5) The following record types are required: RA, RE, RW, RS, RT, and RF. There must be at least one RS
record for each RW record. There must be an RW record for each set of RS records with the same
SSN. All RS records for a given employee must follow that employee’s RW record and must be
together.

6) The RS record must give the local taxable wages and the local income tax withheld amounts for the
City in positions 308-412. A separate entry must be generated for each city within Ohio for which city
income tax was withheld. The specifications are designed for the filing of multiple city information.

7) There must only be one file per media item. The entire file must fit on the media chosen. Multi volume
submission files will not be accepted.

8) Each submission of W-2 data must be accompanied by one or more City of Cincinnati Form W-3 Wage
Reconciliation returns (paper copy required) for each RE record within the submission file. The City of
Cincinnati Form W-3 document can be downloaded from our website at:
http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/finance/income-taxes/

9) Paper Form W-2 documents should not be sent if an electronic submission is being transmitted.

10) All files should be mailed to the following address:

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CINCINNATI INCOME TAX DIVISION
ELECTRONIC W-2 FILING PROGRAM
805 CENTRAL AVENUE SUITE 600
CINCINNATI, OH 45202-5799

GENERAL INFORMATION

What is in this booklet?

Instructions for filing Form W-2 information to the City of Cincinnati electronically using the EFW2 format.

Who must use these instructions?

Employers who are required to submit IRS Form W-2 information electronically for federal tax purposes shall
submit the information required by the Municipality in electronic format. We advise employers who will be
submitting Form W-2 information for 100 or more employees to use this program.

May I use these instructions if I have fewer than 100 employees?

Yes. Any employer may file their Form W-2 documentation electronically.

What if I have 100 or more Form W-2s and I send them to you in the paper format?

For tax year 2023, all employers with 100 or more employees must file electronically. Employers with fewer
than 100 employers may submit their W-2 data file or continue to file paper Form W-2 documents.

What if I do not follow the instructions in this booklet?

Your data file may be returned to you. Your totals of all Form W-2 documents may not match the Form W-3
totals for the year. Your employee wages may not be credited properly.

What clarifications do I need before I read this booklet?

The term “W-2” refers to W-2, W-2CM, W-2VI, W-2GU, W-2AS, 499R-2/W-2PR unless otherwise noted.

The term “W-3” W-3SS, and W-3PR refers to W-3,

May I send paper copies of Form W-2 and W-3 with my electronic filing?

Do not send paper copies of Form W-2 with your filing. However, you must include a paper copy of
Form W-3 Wage Reconciliation with your filing. The Form W-3 can be downloaded from our website
http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/finance/income-taxes/.

How may I send you my Form W-2 information using the EFW2 format?

For tax year 2023, the following types of media will be accepted:

a) CD-ROM
b) DVD
c) File online through the Income Tax website: https://web2.civicacmi.com/Cincinnati

NOTE: All information must fit onto one (1) media component. No reel-to-reel tapes, DAT tapes,
DLT tapes or 3 ½” diskettes will be accepted.

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When is my file due to your office?

Electronic files are due by February 29, 2024.

What if I file late?
The City of Cincinnati will impose a penalty for late filing of your return. Refer to section 311-75 of the
Cincinnati Municipal Code for details.

Will you return the magnetic media to me after the file has been processed?

No files will be returned to you after they have been processed successfully.

Whom should I contact if I have general questions or need assistance with the information in this
booklet?

You may contact our office at (513) 352-2546 during the hours of 8:00 A.M. until 4:30 P.M. (EST), Monday
through Friday. You may send E-mail inquiries to Dave Meale: david.meale@cincinnati-oh.gov.

FILE DESCRIPTION

General:

What should I name my file?

The preferred file name would be “w2report.txt” but is not required. Any filename is acceptable.

File Requirement :

STATE RECORD (RS):

This record is required. It should follow its related CODE RW record.

If there are multiple City records for an employee, include each City record sequentially.
Refer to pages 11 – 13 for the file layout specifications of the RS record.

Do not generate this record if only blanks would be entered after the record identifier.

RECORD SPECIFICATIONS

General:

What is the length of each record?

512 bytes

What is the recommended maximum number of records for an EFW2 file?

50,000 records

What case letters must I use?

UPPER CASE letters only throughout the file.

Your instructions address the format for the fields in the records I have to create. How do I know
exactly what should be in each field?

If you need assistance completing the various fields, refer to the Social Security Administration website:

http://www.ssa.gov/employer

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RULES

What rules do you have for alpha/numeric fields?

Left justify and fill with blanks. Where the field shows “blank” all position must be blank, not zeroes.

What rules do you have for money fields?

Numerics only
No punctuation
No signed amounts (high order signed or low order signed)
Include both dollars and cents with the decimal point assumed
Do not round to the nearest dollar (Example: $1,250.78 = 00000125078).
Right justify and zero fill to the left
The field must contain zeroes if not applicable

What rules do you have for the address fields?

Fields equate to lines of address printed on correspondence. They must conform to United States
Postal Service (USPS) guidelines. You may contact U.S. Post Office by calling them at (800) 275-
8777 or by using their website, http://www.usps.gov.

For State abbreviations, use only the standard two letter abbreviations.

What rules do you have for the format of the employee name?

The employee name must be the same name shown on the individual’s Social Security card. The
employee name must be submitted in the individual name fields:

- Employee First Name
- Employee Middle Name or Middle Initial
- Employee Last Name
- Suffix

Do not include any titles.

What rules do you have for the SSN?

Use the number shown on the original or replacement Social Security card.
Only numeric characters
Omit hyphens, prefixes and suffixes
May not begin with 8 or 9.
May not be 111111111, 333333333, or 123456789

For valid number ranges, check the latest list of newly issued Social Security number ranges from
their website: http://www.ssa.gov/employer. (Select SSN Verification and then High Group List).

If the SSN is not available, enter zeroes (0) in locations 3-11 on the RW record and in Location 10-18
on the RS Record.

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PURPOSE

What is the purpose of the RS State record?

The field is normally submitted to the State to report revenue, taxation, and quarterly unemployment
compensation data for state and local municipalities. The City of Cincinnati requires the RS record
for the purpose of reporting taxable wages and income tax withheld for local municipalities

CODE RS—STATE RECORD

NOTE: Record ‘RS’ is required by the City of Cincinnati, which will include local taxable wages, local
income tax withheld, and Entity codes.

The RS Record is required by the City of Cincinnati. It should follow its related CODE RW record.
If there are multiple City withholdings for an employee, include each City as a separate RS record.

LOCATION FIELD LENGTH SPECIFICATIONS
1 – 2 Record Identifier 2 Constant “RS”
3 – 4 State Code 2 Enter the appropriate postal Numeric
Code.
5 – 9 Blank 5 Fill with blanks
10 –18 Social Security Number (SSN) 9 Enter the employee’s social security
number as shown on the
original/replacement SSN card issued by
SSA. If no SSN is available, enter zeroes.
19 – 33 Employee First Name 15 Enter the employee’s first name as shown
on the social security card. Left justify and
fill with blanks.
34 – 48 Employee Middle Name or 15 If applicable, enter the employee’s middle
Initial name or initial as shown on the social
security card. Left justify and will with
blanks. Otherwise, fill with blanks.
49 – 68 Employee Last Name 20 Enter the employee’s last name as shown
on the Social Security card. Left justify
and fill with blanks.
69 – 72 Suffix 4 If applicable, enter the employee’s
alphabetic suffix.
For example: SR or JR. Left justify and fill
with blanks. Otherwise, fill with blanks.
73 – 94 Location Address 22 Enter the employee’s location address
(Attention, Suite, Room Number, etc.).
Left justify and fill with blanks.
95 – 116 Delivery Address 22 Enter the employee’s delivery address.
Left justify and fill with blanks.
117 – 138 City 22 Enter the employee’s city. Left justify and
fill with blanks.
139 – 140 State Abbreviation 2 Enter the employee’s state. Use a
standard postal abbreviation codes (2-
digits). For a foreign address, fill with
blanks.
141 – 145 Zip Code 5 Enter the employee’s zip code. For a
foreign address, fill with blanks.
146 – 149 Zip Code Extension 4 Enter the employee’s four-digit extension
of the zip code. If not applicable, fill with
blanks.

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150 –154 Blank 5 Fill with blanks. Reserved for SSA use.
155 –177 Foreign State/Province 23 If applicable, enter the employee’s foreign
state/province. Left justify and fill with
blanks. Otherwise, fill with blanks.
178 – 192 Foreign Postal Code 15 If applicable, enter the employee’s foreign
postal code. Left justify and fill with blanks.
Otherwise, fill with blanks.
193 – 194 Country Code 2 If one of the following applies, fill with
blanks.
• One of the 50 states of the USA
• District of Columbia
• Military Post Office (MPO)
• American Samoa
• Guam
• Northern Mariana Islands
• Puerto Rico
• Virgin Islands
Locations 195 to 267 apply to unemployment reporting
195 – 196 Blank 2 Fill with blanks
197 – 202 Reporting Period 6 Enter the last month and 4-digit year for
the calendar quarter for which this report
applies. (Example: “032019” for January
through March 2019).
203 – 213 State Quarterly Unemployment 11 Right justify and zero fill.
Insurance Total Wage
214 – 224 State Quarterly Unemployment 11 Right justify and zero fill.
Insurance Total Taxable Wages
225 – 226 Number of Weeks Worked 2 Defined by State/Local agency.
227 – 234 Date First Employed 8 Enter the month, day, and the four-digit
year.
(Example: “01312019”)
235 – 242 Date of Separation 8 Enter the month, day, and the four-digit
year.
(Example: “01312019”)
243 – 247 Blank 5 Fill with blanks. Reserved for SSA use.
Locations 248 to 307 apply to Wages Earned in Ohio
248 – 267 State Employer Account 20 Required field. Numeric characters only.
Number Omit hyphens. Right justify and fill with
blanks.
268 – 273 Blank 6 Fill with blanks. Reserved for SSA use.
274 – 275 State Code 2 Enter the appropriate postal numeric code.
(Example: Ohio = “39”)
276 – 286 Ohio Taxable Wages 11 Right justify and zero fill.
287 – 297 Ohio Income Tax Withheld 11 Right justify and zero fill.
298 – 307 Gross Total Wages, Tips and 10 Enter the employee’s total annual wages,
Other Compensation tips and other compensation.
Locations 308 to 412 apply to Income Tax
308 Tax Type Code 1 Enter the appropriate code for entries in
fields 309 – 337:
C = City Income Tax
D = County Income Tax
E = School District Tax
F = Other Income Tax

309 – 319 Local Taxable Wages 11 Right justify and zero fill.
320 – 330 Local Income Tax Withheld 11 Right justify and zero fill.

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331 – 337 State Control Code/Number 7 CINCI = City of Cincinnati Code.
associated with tax type code Left Justify
above. This field is for withholding paid to
Cincinnati only. All other localities should
be listed in positions 338-412

Applies to income tax reporting.
338 – 412 Additional Municipality 75 Full municipality name of NON-
CINCINNATI locality. Left justify and fill
with blanks.

Applies to income tax reporting.
413 – 512 Blank 100 Fill with blanks. Reserved for SSA use.

CD-ROM/DVD FILING—MEDIA\DATA REQUIREMENTS

What are the media requirements for CD-ROMs and DVDs?

CD-ROM and DVD: Do not create the CD-R with the option that it must always be read from a specific disc
drive letter.

What are the data requirements for CD-ROMs and DVDs?

Data must be recorded in the American Standard Code for Information Interchange-1 (ASCII-1) character set.
(Refer to Appendix D).

Use the file name W2REPORT.TXT

Do not include more than one W2REPORT.TXT file per CD-ROM or DVD.

Do not include any other files on the CD-ROM or DVD.

We encourage you to file combined reports to avoid creating a separate file and a CD-ROM or DVD for each
employer by filing many employers’ reports on a single CD-ROM or DVD. (Review EFW2 to see how multiple
employers can be combined into one file).

We prefer files with record delimiters. Record delimiters (CR—Carriage Return followed by LF—Line Feed)
must follow the last character of each record except the Code RF record.

Do not place record delimiters after a field within a record.

Do not place a record delimiter before the first record of the file.

A record delimiter should appear immediately after the last character of each record.

The record delimiter must consist of two characters and those two characters must be carriage return
and line feed (CR/LF).

The ASCII-1 hexadecimal value for the carriage return character is 0D (zero and letter D); the ASCII-1
hexadecimal value for the line feed is 0A (zero and letter A). The ASCII-1 decimal values for the two
characters are 13 and 10, respectively.

Do not place more than one record delimiter (more than one carriage return/line feed combination)
following a record.

May I compress the file I send you on a CD-ROM or DVD?

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How do I label my CD-ROM or DVD? 
 
Affix an external label like the one shown.  Label fill-ins must agree with the Code RA record data.  Instructions 
for the label are as follows: 
 
 EIN                           Enter Submitter’s EIN 
 NAME                          Enter Submitter’s name 
 CITY                          Enter Submitter’s city 
 ST                            Enter Submitter’s state 
 ZIP CODE                      Enter Submitter’s zip code 
 PHONE NUMBER                  Enter Submitter’s telephone number 
 
  SSA   AWR    EFW2 
   
  EIN:________________________________________________________ 
  NAME: _____________________________________________________ 
  CITY: ________________________________ ST: __________________ 
  ZIP CODE: ______________  PHONE NUMBER: ___________________ 
   
How should I package my CD-ROM or DVD? 
 
Do not use paper clips, rubber bands, or staples on the CD-ROMs or DVDs. 
Insert each CD-ROM or DVD in its own protective sleeve or case before packaging. 
Send the CD-ROM or DVD in a container to prevent damage in transit. 
Use disposable containers.  Special mailers for CD-ROMs or DVDs are available commercially. 
We will not return special containers. 
 
Where do I send my CD-ROM or DVD? 
 
Using the U.S. Mail Service, send your CD-ROM or DVD to the following address: 
 
          CINCINNATI INCOME TAX DIVISION 
          ELECTRONIC W-2 FILING PROGRAM 
          805 CENTRAL AVENUE SUITE 600 
          CINCINNATI, OH  45202-5799 
 
We suggest that you request a return receipt as part of your mailing process.

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                                                                       CITY OF CINCINNATI 
                                                                       INCOME TAX   DIVISION            
                                                                                   
                                                                       2023  MAGNETIC MEDIA             
                                                                        W-2 TRANSMITTAL FORM                   
                                                                                   
COMPLETE THIS FORM AND SEND IT ALONG WITH YOUR FILE TO: 
 
                                                  CINCINNATI INCOME TAX DIVISION 
                                                  ELECTRONIC W-2 FILING PROGRAM 
                                                  805 CENTRAL AVENUE SUITE 600 
   Click on field and enter information.
                                                  CINCINNATI, OH  45202-5799 
                                                                        
EMPLOYER NAME:                                                         FEDERAL ID NUMBER: 
                                                                         
STREET ADDRESS:                                                        TAX YEAR REPORTED: 
                                                                         
CITY/STATE/ZIP CODE:                                                   NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES REPORTED: 
                                                                         
CONTACT PERSON:                                                        JOB TITLE: 
                                                                         
CONTACT PHONE NUMBER:                                                  CONTACT FAX NUMBER: 
                                                                         
TOTAL LOCAL WAGES:                                                     TOTAL LOCAL TAX WITHHELD: 
                                                                        
            TYPE OF MEDIA ON WHICH INFORMATION WILL BE REPORTED 
                                                                       
                                  CD-ROM / DVD                                   USB / THUMB DRIVE 
                                                                     
 FILE NAME (S):   
 
  DOES YOUR FILE (S) CONTAIN THE CARRIAGE RETURN/LINE FEED RECORD DELIMITERS?                      YES        NO 
 
COMMENTS:

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