Deceased Employee's Wages Paid to Estate or Beneficiary Payments Made Within the Same Year of Employee's Death Policy
Accrued wages, vacation pay, and other compensation paid to a deceased employee after the date of death, but within the same year the employee died, are subject to social security and Medicare taxes and should be reported on the employee's Form W-2. Report the amount paid in box 3, Social Security Wages, and box 5, Medicare Wages and Tips. The associated taxes should be reported in boxes 4 and 6 respectively. Under no circumstances should wages paid to a deceased employee be reported in box I on Form W-2.