What Is a W-2 Form? Wage and Tax Statement Explained
A W-2 is the year-end form employers issue that totals an employee's annual wages and the taxes withheld from them. Here's what's on it, who has to file one, and how to replace a lost W-2.
What is a W-2?
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.
What's the difference between a W-2 and a pay stub?
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).
Who receives a W-2, and who doesn't?
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.
What if you lost your W-2 or never received one?
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.
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Frequently asked questions
Does generating my own W-2 replace filing with the IRS?
No. A self-generated W-2 is useful for your own records or to hand to someone requesting it, but the employer is still the one legally responsible for filing the official W-2/W-3 with the Social Security Administration.
What's in Box 1 vs Box 3 on a W-2?
Box 1 is taxable wages for federal income tax — it's reduced by pre-tax deductions like a 401(k). Box 3 is Social Security wages, which isn't reduced the same way, so the two numbers are often different even though they're both "your pay."
Can a contractor get a W-2 instead of a 1099?
Only if they're reclassified as an employee. Whether someone should be a W-2 employee or a 1099 contractor is a legal/tax classification question, not a preference — it depends on how much control the business has over how the work gets done.