Form W-2
Wage and Tax Statement
Agency
IRS
Version
2025 Tax Year
Fee
Free (employer-provided)
Deadline
Employers must furnish to employees by January 31 of the following year.
Official PDF hosted at www.irs.gov · Verified 2026-05-17
Who Needs This Form
- Every US employee paid $600+ in wages
- Employees who had Social Security or Medicare tax withheld
- Anyone filing a federal income tax return for the prior year
- Tipped employees reporting tips to their employer
- Employees with retirement plan contributions or HSA deductions
Step-by-Step Guide
Form W-2 is your annual wage and tax statement. Your employer issues it; you don't fill anything in. You'll use it to prepare your federal and state tax returns. This is not tax advice — for personal situations, consult a qualified tax professional.
Boxes a-f — Identifying information
These are administrative. Verify them before you file your return — errors here cause IRS matching problems.
Box a — Employee's Social Security number
Must match your actual SSN exactly. A single wrong digit can delay your refund or trigger an IRS notice.
Common mistake: Not checking Box a. Compare against your physical Social Security card character-by-character.
Box b — Employer's EIN
The 9-digit Employer Identification Number (XX-XXXXXXX). Required when you e-file.
Box c — Employer's name, address, ZIP
The legal employer entity, not the trade or DBA name.
Box d — Control number
Internal payroll tracking code. Often blank. You usually don't need it for your return.
Boxes e-f — Your name and address
Should match what you reported on your most recent W-4. If you moved, your employer may have an outdated address — fine for tax purposes, but update them so next year's W-2 mails correctly.
Box 1 — Wages, tips, other compensation
The dollar figure your federal return uses. It already excludes pre-tax 401(k) contributions, pre-tax health/dental premiums, HSA contributions, and many flexible-spending elections — so Box 1 is usually smaller than your gross salary.
What's included
Regular wages, overtime, bonuses, commissions, taxable fringe benefits, and most taxable reimbursements.
What's NOT included
Pre-tax retirement (401(k), 403(b)), pre-tax health/dental/vision premiums, HSA payroll contributions, dependent-care FSA contributions, and Section 125 cafeteria-plan elections.
Tip: If Box 1 is meaningfully smaller than your salary, that's usually pre-tax deductions doing their job — not an error.
Box 2 — Federal income tax withheld
Total federal income tax your employer sent to the IRS on your behalf during the year. Drives whether you owe more or get a refund when you file.
Withholding too low?
Common after a raise or when you have a second job. Update your W-4 (Step 2 and Step 4(c)) to add per-paycheck withholding.
Common mistake: Assuming a refund means you withheld 'right.' A large refund means you over-withheld and lent the government money interest-free.
Boxes 3-6 — Social Security and Medicare
Box 3 is Social Security wages (capped each year — $176,100 for 2025). Box 4 is the 6.2% Social Security tax. Box 5 is Medicare wages (no cap). Box 6 is the 1.45% Medicare tax (plus 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax above $200K).
Box 3 lower than Box 1?
Normal if you contributed to a traditional 401(k). Pre-tax 401(k) reduces Box 1 but NOT Box 3, so Box 3 is often higher than Box 1.
Box 3 = Box 5 (usually)
These should match unless your Social Security wages were capped or you had certain pre-tax benefits affecting only one.
Boxes 7-9 — Tips
Used by tipped employees (restaurant servers, baristas, valet, etc.) and a small group with allocated tips.
Box 7 — Social Security tips
Tips you reported to your employer that are subject to Social Security tax.
Box 8 — Allocated tips
Tips your employer allocated to you because reported tips were below 8% of receipts. Report these as additional income on Form 4137 if you didn't actually receive them.
Boxes 10-14 — Specialty items
These boxes carry information your tax software needs but that isn't a simple wage number.
Box 10 — Dependent care benefits
Employer-provided dependent-care assistance. Amounts above $5,000 are taxable and flow back into Box 1.
Box 11 — Nonqualified plans
Distributions from a nonqualified deferred-compensation plan. Usually applies to executives.
Box 12 — Codes
Multi-purpose. Common codes: D = 401(k) contributions, DD = employer cost of health coverage (informational only), W = HSA contributions, AA = Roth 401(k). Each code on a separate line.
Tip: Box 12 code DD is informational — it does NOT reduce your taxable income. It exists so the IRS can track healthcare costs at a population level.
Box 13 — Checkboxes
Statutory employee (rare; affects how income is reported), Retirement plan (active in a retirement plan affects IRA deduction limits), Third-party sick pay.
Box 14 — Other
Free-form. Common entries: state disability insurance (CA SDI, NJ FLI), union dues, after-tax HSA, uniform reimbursements.
Boxes 15-20 — State and local
State copy of wages and tax withheld, plus optional local-income-tax lines. You use these to file your state and local returns.
Boxes 15-17 — State info
State, state ID, state wages, state income tax. If you worked in multiple states, you may have multiple sets of these lines.
Boxes 18-20 — Local info
Local wages, local income tax, locality name (NYC, Philadelphia, Cleveland, etc.). Applies in cities or counties with local income taxes.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Filing without comparing Box 1 to your final pay stub
Box 1 should roughly equal year-to-date wages on your last December pay stub MINUS pre-tax deductions (401(k), health premiums, HSA, etc.). A significant gap means something's off.
Fix: Pull your final pay stub. Subtract YTD pre-tax 401(k), pre-tax health/dental/vision, and HSA contributions from YTD gross wages. The result should match Box 1 within a few dollars (rounding).
Ignoring Box 12 code DD
Code DD shows the employer cost of your health coverage. Some people think it reduces taxable income — it doesn't. It's reporting only, required by the ACA.
Fix: Use Code DD for your own information; don't enter it as a deduction anywhere on your return.
Confusing Box 2 (federal tax) with Box 4 (Social Security tax)
These taxes go to different places and serve different purposes. Box 2 is federal income tax (potentially refundable). Box 4 is Social Security tax (never refundable; it's not advance-paid income tax).
Fix: Box 2 is what affects your federal refund or balance due. Box 4 + Box 6 is FICA — separate accounting.
Not requesting a corrected W-2 when the numbers are wrong
Filing with a wrong W-2 creates an IRS matching mismatch when the employer transmits its W-2 to the SSA. The IRS will eventually notice and send a notice.
Fix: Contact your employer's payroll department immediately. Ask for a Form W-2c (Corrected Wage and Tax Statement). Don't file your return until you have the corrected version, unless April 15 is imminent — in that case, file an extension.
Throwing out the W-2 envelope
Your W-2 envelope is the only proof of the postmark date if a deadline dispute arises. The envelope also sometimes contains the optional Copy C for your records.
Fix: Keep the envelope and the W-2 for at least 4 years (IRS audit window). PDF copies from your employer's portal are fine too.
Multiple W-2s — only reporting one
If you worked for more than one employer during the year — or for the same employer through different entities (acquisition, divestiture, payroll system change) — you'll get a separate W-2 for each. Missing one creates an IRS matching mismatch.
Fix: Add up Box 1 across ALL W-2s and report the combined total. Do the same for Boxes 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. State boxes get listed separately per W-2.
Asking the IRS for a copy when your employer can provide it faster
IRS wage transcripts (Form 4506-T) take 5-10 days and only show the data the SSA received — sometimes missing recent corrections.
Fix: Always ask your employer's payroll first. Most payroll providers (ADP, Paychex, Gusto, Workday) keep W-2s available for 4+ years in their self-service portals.
Download & fill manually
Get the official Form W-2 PDF
For this form, downloading the official PDF and filling it manually is the recommended path. Every field on this page maps to a field in the PDF.
Download Official PDFRelated Forms
See all forms →Forms commonly used alongside this one.
Related Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I receive my W-2?
By January 31 covering the prior calendar year. If you haven't received it by mid-February, contact your employer's payroll department. After February 14, you can also contact the IRS (1-800-829-1040) and they'll prompt the employer.
What if my W-2 is wrong?
Contact your employer's payroll department and request a Form W-2c (Corrected Wage and Tax Statement). Don't file your tax return with incorrect numbers — file an extension if you need more time to get the corrected version.
I have multiple jobs — do I get multiple W-2s?
Yes, one per employer. Combine the wages (Box 1) and taxes withheld (Box 2) across all W-2s when you file your federal return. State boxes stay separate per W-2.
Why is Box 1 smaller than my gross pay?
Pre-tax deductions reduce Box 1 — most commonly 401(k) contributions, health/dental/vision premiums, HSA contributions, and dependent-care FSA. Box 1 is your federal-taxable wages, not your gross.
Why is Box 3 different from Box 1?
Most pre-tax deductions (401(k), HSA, dependent-care FSA) reduce Box 1 but NOT Box 3. Pre-tax health insurance reduces both. So Box 3 (Social Security wages) is often higher than Box 1 (federal-taxable wages) for 401(k) participants.
Can I file my taxes with my last pay stub instead?
Generally no — the IRS expects to match your return against the W-2 your employer files. Filing with pay-stub estimates creates matching errors and may delay refunds. Wait for the W-2 or request a wage transcript from the IRS.
What if I lost my W-2?
Ask your employer for a duplicate first — usually free from the payroll portal. As a last resort, request a wage and income transcript from the IRS using Form 4506-T (free, takes 5-10 business days) or online at irs.gov/transcript.
Are W-2 and 1099 the same thing?
No. W-2 is for employees — your employer withholds taxes and pays half of Social Security/Medicare. 1099 (typically 1099-NEC) is for independent contractors — you receive gross payments and owe self-employment tax on top of income tax. If you're not sure which you are, ask: does your payer withhold taxes? Employees: yes. Contractors: no.
Sources
Disclaimer: Mubboo Editorial Team. This guide is for general information only and is not tax, legal, or immigration advice. Tax and immigration rules change — always confirm with the official agency, a licensed tax professional, or an immigration attorney before relying on these instructions for filing.