How to Complete and File Kentucky Form K-5: Deadlines, Filing, and Corrections

Kentucky Form K-5 is the Employer’s Report of Withholding Statements, and you file it by January 31 to send the state the W-2, W-2G, and 1099 withholding data for everyone you paid during the tax year. If you issued 25 or fewer statements and aren’t submitting an electronic file, you can complete the K-5 through the MyTaxes portal at MyTaxes.ky.gov or print and mail it to the Department of Revenue in Frankfort.¹

Who Has To File the K-5

Any employer or payer that issued 25 or fewer withholding statements for the year and isn’t submitting the data in an accepted electronic file format uses Form K-5. One submission covers all three statement types: W-2, W-2G, and 1099.²

A key limit on 1099s: only include a 1099 payee on the K-5 if Kentucky tax was actually withheld. If no Kentucky withholding appears on the 1099, leave it off.¹

If you have 26 or more statements, the paper print-and-mail option is off the table. You file through the MyTaxes portal or submit an accepted electronic file using the SSA’s EFW2 format or the IRS Publication 1220 format. Those electronic file submissions replace the K-5 entirely, so you don’t file both.¹

When It Is Due

Form K-5 is due on or before January 31 following the end of the tax year. That matches the federal W-2 filing deadline, so the numbers you’ve already pulled together for the SSA feed straight into the Kentucky filing.³

Form K-3, the annual reconciliation return, carries the same January 31 due date but is a separate filing. Both must be submitted; one does not satisfy the other, and if the total Kentucky tax withheld on the K-5 doesn’t match the K-3, the DOR will follow up.

Filing in the MyTaxes Portal

You’ll need an active MyTaxes account linked to your Employer’s Withholding Tax account before you start.¹ Log in at MyTaxes.ky.gov and select the “Employers Withholding Tax/Withholding Reconciliation” link. Click “Transactions” in the header, then “File a Form.”

On the filing page, confirm the account is Employers Withholding Tax/Withholding Reconciliation and that the system-populated account ID and business name are correct. Choose form type 42A805 (K-5), return type Informational Return, and leave the filing method as Data Entry. For the period end date, select the full calendar year you are reporting, January 1 through December 31. Click “Next.”⁴

The Withholding Statements tab opens. For each employee or payee, click “Add Row” and enter the 9-digit SSN or FEIN, the last name exactly as it appears on the W-2 or 1099, the Kentucky wages or payments, and the Kentucky income tax withheld. Check the confirm statement box after verifying the row. Repeat until every statement is entered, then click “Next” to move to the Totals tab.⁴

On the Totals tab, pick the withholding statement form type you are reporting (W-2, W-2G, or 1099), then enter the number of statements, total Kentucky wages or payments, and total Kentucky income tax withheld. Click “Calculate,” then “Submit.” Review the summary the portal shows you. The signature statement notes that filing a return without the taxpayer’s authorization can trigger criminal penalties under KRS 516.030 and KRS 516.040. Click “Yes” to finalize.⁴

Print the confirmation page right away. The confirmation number is your proof of filing.

Printing and Mailing the Paper Form

Paper filing is only an option if you have fewer than 26 withholding statements. The fillable PDF lives on the DOR’s Employer Payroll Withholding page; complete it on screen, then print.¹

Do not mail paper copies of the actual W-2, W-2G, or 1099 forms with the K-5. The department will not process loose paper withholding statements, and sending them does not count as filing. Keep those originals in your own records and provide them only if the DOR specifically asks.³

Mail the completed K-5 to:

Kentucky Department of Revenue
501 High Street, Sta. 57
Frankfort, KY 40601¹

Fixing a Mistake After You File

If you spot an error after submitting the K-5, use Form K-5C to correct it. The K-5C can fix the tax year, employee or payee SSN/FEIN, last name, wages or payments, and Kentucky tax withheld from the original filing.⁵

The K-5C cannot change your account number, FEIN, or business name. Those fields are verified during processing, so contact the DOR directly if any of them was wrong on the original. The K-5C also does not handle W-2Cs. Mail the state copy of a corrected W-2C to Department of Revenue, Withholding Tax, W-2C Processing, 501 High Street, Frankfort, KY 40601. Corrected W-2s, 1099s, and W-2Gs generally have to be submitted on paper for now.⁵¹

Why the Deadline Matters: Personal Liability

Under KRS 141.340, the employer is personally liable for all tax that should have been withheld from employee wages, whether or not the withholding actually happened. The liability doesn’t stop with the business entity. Corporate officers (president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, or anyone in an equivalent role) are personally and individually liable for unpaid withholding tax. The same personal liability reaches managers of LLCs, partners in limited liability partnerships, and general partners of limited liability limited partnerships.⁶

Dissolving the business or leaving your officer position does not discharge this liability. If the tax was owed while you held the role, you remain on the hook. The only defense is proving you had no authority to collect, account for, or pay the withholding tax at the time it came due. The liability covers the unpaid tax, interest, and any applicable penalties.⁶

1
Kentucky Department of Revenue. Employer Payroll Withholding
2
Kentucky Department of Revenue. Withholding Tax Changes
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Kentucky Department of Revenue. Withholding Kentucky Income Tax
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Kentucky Department of Revenue. K-5 Filing in MyTaxes Portal
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Kentucky Department of Revenue. Form K-5C Instructions
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Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Code 141.340 – Liability of Employer for Tax Payment