What Is a W-2 Form? Wage and Tax Statement Explained

A W-2, officially the "Wage and Tax Statement," is a form every employer sends each employee (and the Social Security Administration) after the end of the calendar year. It totals everything the employee was paid during that year and everything withheld from it — federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and state and local taxes where they apply.

It's the document employees use to file their personal income tax return. Employers are legally required to send W-2s by January 31 for the prior year.

A pay stub covers a single pay period — one week, two weeks, or a month. A W-2 is the annual summary: it's essentially every pay stub's numbers added together for the full year, formatted onto the IRS's standard boxes (Box 1 for wages, Box 2 for federal tax withheld, Box 3–6 for Social Security and Medicare, and so on).

W-2 employees receive one — anyone on a company's payroll where taxes are withheld throughout the year. Independent contractors and freelancers don't get a W-2 at all; they receive a 1099 instead, because no taxes are withheld from contractor payments during the year.

First ask your employer or former employer for a reissue — most payroll systems can regenerate one instantly. If the company no longer exists or won't respond, the IRS can supply wage and income transcripts. For your own records in the meantime — say, to estimate what a replacement will show, or to document income while waiting — a W-2 built from your own actual year-end totals covers the same information.

Box 1 shows your taxable wages, and Box 2 shows the federal income tax withheld from them. Boxes 3 and 4 show Social Security wages and the tax withheld, and Boxes 5 and 6 show Medicare wages and the tax withheld. Boxes 15 to 17 show your state, your state wages and the state income tax withheld.

Box 12 uses letter codes for items such as 401(k) contributions, and Box 13 has checkboxes such as whether you were covered by a retirement plan at work.

Box 1 only counts wages that are subject to federal income tax. Pre-tax deductions such as 401(k) contributions and some health insurance premiums are left out, so Box 1 can be noticeably lower than the gross pay on your pay stubs. Social Security and Medicare wages in Boxes 3 and 5 are usually higher, because 401(k) contributions still count for those taxes.

Employers must send W-2s to employees by January 31 for the previous tax year. If you have not received yours by mid-February, contact your employer or payroll provider first. If you still have no W-2, the IRS has steps for getting help, including using Form 4852 as a substitute.

Check the name, the last 4 digits of your Social Security number, the tax year and the amounts against your final pay stub of the year. If something is wrong, ask your employer to issue a corrected form, called a W-2c, before you file your return.

Keep your W-2s with your tax return records for at least three years. Employers should keep copies of the W-2s they issue, along with their other employment tax records, for at least four years.