Also enter your state- or territory-assigned ID number. If the Forms W-2 being submitted with this Form W-3 contain wage and income tax information from more than one state or territory, enter an “X” under “State” and do not enter any state or territory ID number. Check this box if you are a third-party sick pay payer (or are reporting sick pay payments made by a third party) filing Forms W-2 with the “Third-party sick pay” checkbox in box 13 checked.

An agent files one Form W-3 for all of the Forms W-2 and enters its own information in boxes e, f, and g of Form W-3 as it appears on the agent’s related employment tax returns (for example, Form 941). Enter the client-employer’s EIN in box h of Form W-3 if the Forms W-2 relate to only one employer (other than the agent); if not, leave box h blank. If you’re an employee, Form W-2 is one of the most important forms you’ll receive at tax time. It includes information about the income and benefits you received during the tax year, so you’ll need it when preparing your tax return. With that in mind, here’s a breakdown of what a W-2 form is and how it works. However, as noted above, you can still be issued a W-2 form if you earn less than $600 for the year.

• (The “Third-party sick pay” indicator box does not designate a separate kind of payer or employer.) Make a copy of Form W-3c for your records.
• Understanding your Form W-2 is a key part of accurate tax filing.
• Also, note that any W-2s which are returned as undeliverable must be kept on file for four years.
• Complete these boxes to correct any of the coded items shown on Forms W-2.

Credits & Deductions

Check our One Big Beautiful Bill article for more information. The deadline for employers to send out W-2 forms is Jan. 31, meaning you should receive a Form W-2 Wage and Tax Statement from your employer in January or early February every tax filing season. For businesses with more than 250 employees, you will need to submit your W-2s electronically to the SSA along with your W-3. If your only changes to the Forms W-2c and W-3c are to the state and local data, do not send either Copy A of Form W-2c or Form W-3c to the SSA. Instead, send the forms to the appropriate state or local agency and furnish copies of Form W-2c to your employees. This number is assigned by the individual state where your business is located.

How and when are W2 tax forms issued?

Federal, state, and local governmental agencies have two options for reporting their employees’ wages that are subject to only Medicare tax for part of the year and both social security and Medicare taxes for part of the year. Report on Form W-2 payments of $600 or more to election workers for services performed in state, county, and municipal elections. File Form W-2 for payments of less than $600 paid to election workers if social security and Medicare taxes were withheld under a section 218 (Social Security Act) agreement. Do not report election worker payments on Form 1099-MISC. For certain members of the clergy and religious workers who are not subject to social security and Medicare taxes as employees, boxes 3 and 5 of Form W-2 should be left blank.

Show the total that you paid or reimbursed for qualified adoption expenses furnished to your employee under an adoption assistance program. Also include adoption benefits paid or reimbursed from the pre-tax contributions made by the employee under a section 125 (cafeteria) plan. However, do not include adoption benefits forfeited from a section 125 (cafeteria) plan. Report all amounts including those in excess of the $17,280 exclusion. Generally, section 409A is effective with respect to amounts deferred in tax years beginning after December 31, 2004, but deferrals made before that year may be subject to section 409A under some circumstances. Each Form W-2 should reflect the EIN of the agent in box b.

Do expats receive W-2 forms?

Most of the details you need, like your wages and taxes withheld, are already on your payroll and employee records. You’ll just need a bit of extra information about your employer, such as their Employer Identification Number (EIN) and, in most cases, their State ID Number. Form W-4 is completed by employees when they start working for a company. The employer uses the information on Form W-4 to determine how much income to withhold from paychecks for taxes.

These payments are subject to federal income tax withholding. However, their taxability for social security and Medicare taxes (or railroad retirement taxes, if applicable) depends on the nature of the employment and the status of the organization. See Students, scholars, trainees, teachers, etc., in section 15 of Pub. In these instructions, reference to Forms W-2 and W-3 includes Forms W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, W-2VI, and W-3SS, unless otherwise noted. These instructions are not applicable to wage and tax statements for Puerto Rico.

How to update withholding to account for tax law changes for 2025

If approved, an extension will generally be granted for no more than 15 days from the due date, unless the need for up to a total of 30 days is clearly shown. If you file more than one type of employment tax form, group Forms W-2 of the same type with a separate Form W-3 for each type, and send them in separate groups. See the specific instructions for Box b—Kind of Payer and Box b—Kind of Employer in Specific Instructions for Form W-3. Send Copy 1 of Form W-2, if required, to your state, city, or local tax department.

• Do not send undeliverable employee copies of Forms W-2 to the Social Security Administration (SSA).
• The form also includes information about certain employer-provided benefits, such as health insurance, adoption and dependent care assistance, health savings account contributions, and more.
• Check this box if you are a railroad employer sending Forms W-2 for employees covered under the RRTA.
• If you are unable to determine the correct last name, use of the SSA’s Social Security Number Verification System may be helpful.
• We have a helpful table of all W-2 Box 12 letter codes here.

Amounts paid or expenses incurred by an employer for qualified adoption expenses under an adoption assistance program are not subject to federal income tax withholding and are not reportable in box 1. (Use box 14 if railroad retirement taxes apply.) Also, the total amount, including any amount in excess of the $17,280 exclusion, must be reported in box 12 with code T. For more information on reporting adoption benefits in box 12, see Code T—Adoption benefits , later. You must include in boxes 1, 3, and 5 (or 14, if railroad retirement taxes apply) the cost of group-term life insurance that is more than the cost of $50,000 of coverage, reduced by the amount the employee paid toward the insurance. For employees, you must withhold social security and Medicare taxes, but not federal income tax.

Code P—Excludable moving expense reimbursements paid directly to a member of the U.S. Armed Forces.

The form reports an employee’s annual wages and the taxes withheld. The employer must send the employee the W-2 form on or before Jan. 31 each year so that the employee has the information they need to file an income tax return before the deadline, commonly April 15. If you see Cafe 125 on your W-2 form (typically in Box 14), this should not change how you prepare your tax return. The money set aside for benefits you selected from your employer’s cafeteria plan should already be subtracted from the total amount of your compensation reported in Box 1 of your W-2. First and foremost, W-2 forms are essential for filing your taxes accurately.

See Correcting an incorrect tax year and/or EIN incorrectly reported on Form W-2 or Form W-3 , later, if an error was made on a previously filed Form W-3. Check this box only if you are a third-party sick pay payer filing a Form W-2 for an insured’s employee or are an employer reporting sick pay payments made by a third party. On Copy A (Form W-2), do not enter more than four items in box 12.

Special due dates apply if you have terminated your business. A practical guide for employers to build attendance w2 form policies that promote consistency, compliance, and a productive work culture. Remember that you’ll need to prepare and deliver a different W-2 form for each employee. Also, note that any W-2s which are returned as undeliverable must be kept on file for four years.

Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice.

You must report compensation of $600 or more paid in a calendar year to an H-2A visa agricultural worker for agricultural labor. If the H-2A visa agricultural worker furnishes a valid taxpayer identification number, report these payments in box 1 of Form W-2. If the worker does not furnish a valid taxpayer identification number, report the payments on Form 1099-MISC. If Sam’s employer made the payment after the year of death, the $3,000 would not be subject to social security and Medicare taxes and would not be shown on Form W-2. However, the employer would still file Form 1099-MISC. Requests for an extension of time to furnish Forms W-2 to employees are not automatically granted.