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Internal Revenue Service

Fill out Form W-2 online

Wage and Tax Statement

Form W-2 is the yearly statement an employer prepares for an employee to report wages, tips and other pay, and the federal, state and local taxes withheld from them. The employer files Copy A with the Social Security Administration (SSA) and gives the employee Copies B, C and 2 for their tax returns and records. This is the 2026 form, for wages paid during calendar year 2026.

Fill out Form W-2Blank form from the IRS

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Edition
2026
Pages
11
Fillable fields
568
Checked against the IRS
November 8, 2026

GuruPDF is not affiliated with the Internal Revenue Service. This page explains the form in plain words; it is not legal or tax advice. Always check the official instructions before you file.

Who uses Form W-2

  • Employers who paid wages, including noncash pay, to an employee for services in their trade or business
  • Household employers, even with only one household employee
  • Agents with an approved Form 2678 who report wages on behalf of an employer
  • Third-party payers of sick pay who file a W-2 for an insured's employee
  • Employees, who use Copies B and 2 to file their federal, state and local tax returns

Before you start

  • Your employer identification number (EIN), the same one used on your Form 941, 943, 944, CT-1 or Schedule H
  • Your business name and address as shown on those employment tax returns
  • Each employee's name and social security number exactly as shown on their social security card, and their mailing address
  • Payroll totals for the calendar year: wages, tips, other pay, and the federal income, social security and Medicare tax withheld
  • Amounts that go in box 12 with a code, such as retirement plan deferrals, the cost of employer health coverage, cash tips reported to you and qualified overtime
  • Your state employer ID number and the state and local wages and taxes for each employee

How to fill out Form W-2

  1. VOID, box a and box b

    Check VOID only when you made an error and are replacing that form with a new one. In box a, enter the employee's SSN from their social security card; on a paper Copy A, write "Applied For" if the employee has applied for a number but not received it yet. Never enter an ITIN in box a. In box b, enter your full EIN (00-0000000), or "Applied For" if you do not have one yet; do not use your SSN or a prior owner's EIN.

  2. Boxes c to f: employer and employee details

    Box c is your name, address and ZIP code as shown on your employment tax returns. Box d is an optional control number for your own use. In box e, enter the employee's first name and middle initial, then last name, as shown on the social security card, without titles or degrees such as "Dr." Keep compound last names apart with a hyphen or a space. The suffix box is optional, and the SSA prefers that you leave it blank on Copy A. Box f is the employee's address, including any apartment or suite number.

  3. Boxes 1 to 6: wages and federal taxes

    Box 1 is total taxable wages, tips and other compensation. Elective deferrals, such as employee contributions to a 401(k) or 403(b) plan, are left out of box 1, but designated Roth contributions are included. Box 2 is federal income tax withheld. Box 3 is social security wages (up to the yearly wage base) and box 4 the employee's social security tax withheld, not your share. Box 5 is Medicare wages and tips, which have no limit, and box 6 the employee's Medicare tax withheld, including any Additional Medicare Tax. Enter amounts with a decimal point and cents, without dollar signs or commas (for example, 5300.00).

  4. Boxes 7 to 11: tips, benefits and nonqualified plans

    Box 7 is the tips the employee reported to you, and box 5 must be at least the total of boxes 3 and 7. Box 8 is for tips allocated to the employee if you operate a large food or beverage establishment; it is not included in boxes 1, 3, 5 or 7. Box 9 has no label on this edition, and the Form W-2 instructions give no entry for it. Box 10 is the total dependent care benefits you paid or incurred for the employee. Box 11 is distributions to the employee from a nonqualified plan or a nongovernmental section 457(b) plan, which are also included in box 1.

  5. Box 12: coded items

    Enter the IRS code in capital letters to the left of the vertical line and the amount to the right, for example D 5300.00. Boxes 12a to 12d hold up to four items on Copy A; if you have more, use a second Form W-2. The codes are explained in the Instructions for Employee that follow Copy C and Copy 2. New for 2026 are code TA (employer contributions to a Trump account), TP (total cash tips reported to the employer) and TT (qualified overtime, only the part above the regular rate, such as the "half" of time-and-a-half).

  6. Boxes 13, 14a and 14b

    In box 13, check Statutory employee, Retirement plan (the employee was an active participant in a plan such as a 401(k) for any part of the year) or Third-party sick pay, as they apply. Box 14a, Other, is for labeled items you want the employee to know about, such as state disability insurance tax withheld or union dues. If you report cash tips with code TP, enter up to two Treasury Tipped Occupation Codes in box 14b; if any tips came from an occupation that does not qualify, one of the codes must be 000.

  7. Boxes 15 to 20: state and local taxes

    Enter the two-letter state abbreviation and your state ID number in box 15, then state wages and state income tax in boxes 16 and 17, and local wages, local income tax and the locality name in boxes 18 to 20. Each form has room for two states and two localities, kept apart by the broken line; use a second Form W-2 for more. Ask your state or local tax department how it wants these boxes completed.

After you fill it out

Give Copies B, C and 2 to the employee and file Copy A with the Social Security Administration; for 2026 wages both are due by February 1, 2027. You can file electronically through SSA's Business Services Online, which creates Form W-3 for you and is required if you file 10 or more information returns in total, or mail the official scannable paper Copy A ordered from the IRS together with Form W-3. Send Copy 1 to your state, city or local tax department if it requires one, and keep a copy of Copy A and of Form W-3 for at least 4 years. Check the current SSA filing address and e-filing steps on the official pages.

Signing: Form W-2 has no signature line. When Copy A is filed on paper, it goes with Form W-3, the transmittal form, which the employer or an authorized agent signs.

Watch out for

  • Do not print Copy A from this PDF and file it with the SSA. The IRS says the downloadable Copy A cannot be scanned and you may be charged a penalty for forms that can't be scanned. Copies 1, B, C, 2 and D may be printed and used.
  • This is the 2026 form. Use it only for wages paid during calendar year 2026; wages paid in January 2027 go on the 2027 form, even if they were earned in December 2026.
  • Never shorten the employer's EIN, and never shorten the employee's SSN on Copy A. Employers may, but do not have to, show only the last four digits of the SSN on the employee's copies.
  • If an employee loses a Form W-2, write "REISSUED STATEMENT" on the new copy you give them. Do not send Copy A of a reissued form to the SSA.

Questions about Form W-2

Can I print Copy A from this PDF and mail it to the SSA?

No. The IRS posts Copy A for information only, and the SSA accepts only e-filed reports or the official red-ink forms (or approved substitutes). You can e-file through SSA's Business Services Online or order the scannable forms from the IRS.

When are the 2026 Forms W-2 due?

Employers generally must furnish Copies B, C and 2 to employees by February 1, 2027, and Copy A must be filed with the SSA, with Form W-3, by the same date. An extension of time to file with the SSA is not automatic and is requested on Form 8809; an extension to furnish employee copies is requested on Form 15397.

How do I correct a Form W-2 that was already filed?

Use Form W-2c to correct errors such as a wrong name, SSN or amount, and file it with Form W-3c. If you find the error after giving the form to the employee but before sending it to the SSA, check VOID on the wrong Copy A, prepare a new Form W-2, and write "CORRECTED" on the employee's new copies.

I am an employee and my W-2 is missing or wrong. What should I do?

Contact your employer first. If you still have not received the missing or corrected form by the end of February, you can call the IRS, which will contact the employer for you and send you Form 4852 to use if the W-2 does not arrive in time. If the real W-2 later shows amounts different from your estimates, you must file Form 1040-X.

How long should an employee keep Copy C?

The form says to keep Copy C for at least 3 years after the due date for filing your income tax return. To help protect your social security benefits, it suggests keeping it until you begin receiving those benefits.

Official information

Page text last reviewed November 7, 2026.

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