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Excel Upload Instructions

 

File Format Instructions for Uploading Wage and Withholding Detail

Maine Revenue Service’s Internet Filing System offers CQR and withholding filers the convenience of uploading wage and withholding information rather than typing this data in manually. To utilize this feature, users organize the required data in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet file, which is then uploaded into Maine Revenue’s internet filing system. When the file is uploaded, the system will read the data in the first Worksheet in the file and place that data in the appropriate fields on the wage and withholding detail screen. The user should then review the data in the fields to verify its accuracy.

To take advantage of this feature, users must upload a file that conforms to the specifications below. Failing to format the file correctly will result in processing errors or inaccurate reporting.

General File Specifications

  • Only Microsoft Excel spreadsheet files will be accepted.
  • The file will contain only data; no headers, titles, or footers of any kind are to be entered.
  • The data must be on the first Worksheet in the Workbook.
  • The Worksheet within the file must contain exactly six (6) columns as described below. (NOTE: this applies to CQR, withholding only and Pass-through Entity Withholding accounts. The data in some columns will be ignored if the filer type is inappropriate for that type of information.)
  • The rows are to be contiguous; no empty rows are allowed.
  • Hidden columns are not allowed.
  • Formulas are not to be used.

The six required columns are as follows:

 

  1. Employee or payee’s Social Security number (SSN) or EIN.
  2. Wages paid to employees.
  3. Maine income tax withheld.
  4. Employee or payee’s name.
  5. Seasonal indicator.
  6. EIN/SSN indicator.

Specifications for Each Column

Column 1- SSN or EIN

Column One contains the Social Security numbers of employees/payees or Employer Identification numbers of entities. IMPORTANT: Be sure this column is formatted as text before any entries are made. To do this, highlight Column One and then in your Excel toolbar click "Format" and then "Cells". You will then need to click "Text" and then "OK". It is important this is done in advance, otherwise any entries you make which start with zero (e.g. 001223333) will drop the leading zeroes. Numbers can be entered with or without hyphens. (e.g. 001223333 or 001-22-3333) Column One data cannot contain any duplicate Social Security numbers except in the case of seasonal filers, in which case you may enter the same Social Security number twice (once for seasonal and once for non seasonal). 

Column Two- Wages Paid to Employees

This column is to report wages only; do not include nonwage distributions. Enter numbers only; do not include a dollar sign. Either whole numbers or numbers containing dollars and cents are acceptable. If the data has cents to report then the cents must be preceded with the decimal point and the value may not contain embedded spaces. Withholding only and Pass-through Entity Withholding filers leave this column blank.

Column Three- Maine Income Tax Withheld

Enter the amount of Maine income tax withheld for this employee or payee. Otherwise, this column has the same formatting as the wages column.

Column Four- Employee or Payee’s Name

This column must contain a valid name.  Enter each employee or payee’s last name, first name, and middle initial. Commas are not necessary and will be ignored if included. Enter the name of an employee with both non-seasonal and seasonal wages on two separate lines.

Column Five- Seasonal indicator

This column may contain a Boolean true for ‘is a seasonal’ or false for ‘is not a seasonal’. It may also contain a ‘1’, having the same meaning as the Boolean true, or a ‘0’, having the same meaning as the Boolean false. In addition, it may also contain a ‘Y’, having the same meaning as the Boolean true an ‘N’, having the same value as the Boolean false. The ‘Y’ and ‘N’ may be upper or lower case. Column 5 data will be ignored if the filer is non-seasonal. Withholding only and Pass-through Entity Withholding filers leave this column blank.

Column Six- EIN/SSN Indicator

This column applies to Pass-through Entity Withholding filers only; all others should leave this column blank. Enter an ‘S’ if the identification number in Column one is a Social Security number. Enter an ‘E’ if the identification number in Column one is an EIN. The ‘S’ and ‘E’ may be upper or lower case.

Additional Information

For more information about calculating the amount to report for each employee or payee, see the instructions to the form that is applicable to you (form 941-ME, 941/C1-ME or 941P-ME). Forms and instructions are available on Maine Revenue Services website at www.maine.gov/revenue. For additional assistance completing your return or filing your return over the internet contact Maine Revenue Services Withholding Unit by phone at 207-626-8475, press 1 for touchtone phones, select option 4.