New Code On 2016 W-2

IRS, Partners Move to Strengthen Anti-Fraud Effort with Form W-2 Verification Code

When you get your Form W-2 in early 2017, you may notice a new entry – a 16-digit verification code. This is part of an effort conducted by the Internal Revenue Service to protect taxpayers and strengthen anti-fraud efforts.

The expanded use of the W-2 Verification Code is a way to validate the wage and tax withholding information on the tax form. For taxpayers, taking a moment to add this code when filling out their taxes helps the IRS authenticate the information. This in turn helps protect against identity theft and unnecessary refund delays. [if !supportLineBreakNewLine] [endif]If the code is not included, your tax return will still be accepted. However, initial results indicate the verification code shows promise in reducing tax fraud. It helps IRS processing systems authenticate the real taxpayer. Identity thieves sometimes file false Forms W-2 to support their fraudulent tax returns.

(source: https://www.irs.gov/uac/irs-partners-move-to-strengthen-anti-fraud-effort-with-form-w-2-verification-code