Fill Out W2 Online: Steps, Requirements, and Deadlines

W-2 form has great importance for the federal income tax system. Its timely and accurate submission ensures proper tax and wage reporting as well as prevents employers from IRS fines. Even though it’s one of the most common legal forms in the US, you should still take some time to figure out how it works. Since this guide aims to make things simple, we will show you how to fill out a W2 online and submit the form properly to stay compliant with IRS regulations.

What Is W-2 Form?

W-2 is an IRS form which is officially called the Wage and Tax Statement. It’s used to report the amount of taxes withheld from the worker’s paycheck alongside the wages paid during the year. The IRS uses this data to determine the annual income of an employee and verify if they paid the correct amount of federal taxes. In addition, employers must file the form with the Social Security Administration (SSA) so that they can make sure that the correct amount of Social Security and Medicare tax was paid and calculate the future benefits of an employee. Workers receive their copy of the W-2 form as well and use it to file their annual tax return.

Who Fills Out a W2?

It’s an employer who fills out a W-2 form and sends it to their employees and the SSA. This does not include self-employed workers or independent contractors, who are required to file taxes with other forms. Those receiving less than $600 during the year do not get the form either. Please note that incorrect or late W-2s lead to IRS penalties, so you should know how to manage the Wage and Tax Statement properly.

How to Fill Out W2: Step-by-Step Guidelines

The IRS form W-2 has six lettered (a-f) and twenty numeric boxes (1-20). It also consists of six copies:

Copy A for the Social Security Administration
Copies B, C, and 2 for the employee
Copy D for the employer’s records
Copy 1 for the state, city, or local tax department.

Here’s how to fill out W2:

Boxes a-f: the employee’s name, address, and SSN, and the employer’s name, address, EIN, and control number.
Boxes 1-2: taxable employee’s income and the amount of federal taxes withheld.
Boxes 3-4: total wages subject to Social Security tax and the amount of Social Security taxes withheld.
Boxes 5-6: total wages subject to Medicare tax and the amount of Medicare taxes withheld.
Boxes 7-8: the amount of Social Security tips reported by the employee and allocated to them.
Box 9: should be left blank (was previously used to indicate a now-defunct tax perk).
Box 10: any paid benefits the employee received through a dependent care assistance program (if applicable).
Box 11: compensation the employee received through a nonqualified deferred plan (may include 401(k)s, IRAs, and pensions).
Boxes 12a-12d: other forms of compensation specified with a single or double letter code (e.g., ‘J’ for nontaxable sick pay or ‘DD’ for the cost of employer-sponsored health coverage).
Box 13: three sub-boxes showing whether the worker is a statutory employee, received third-party sick pay, or had retirement plan contributions.
Box 14: additional compensations or deductions that do not fit into any other box (e.g., union dues or health insurance premiums).
Boxes 15-20: employer’s state ID number, total amount of employee’s income subject to state and local taxes, and how much was withheld.

How to Fill Out W2 Online

The IRS requires businesses with 10 or more employees to fill out and file W-2 forms electronically, since it saves a lot of time and helps reduce errors. PDF Guru simplifies this process by providing access to a W2 fillable form through any device. The platform implements high security standards and offers an extensive set of editing tools so that you can fill in all the boxes quickly and conveniently while keeping your sensitive information safe. It allows you to write, edit, and remove text, put checkmarks, password-protect your documents, and much more. Here’s how to fill out W2 online:

Visit the platform through any convenient browser and open the W-2 form.
Click on the field you want to fill in and enter the needed information.
Once all the boxes are completed, click Done and choose your preferred format for file download.

W-2 Form Deadlines

Employers must send Copies B, C, and 2 of Form W-2 to their workers by January 31. The same deadline applies to Copy A (and the completed W-3 form) sent to the SSA. If January 31 falls on a weekend or legal holiday, the IRS considers the next business day to be acceptable. At the same time, there’s no need to file W-2 directly with the IRS, since they get wage and tax information from the SSA. Keep in mind that it’s crucial to send the form in time to avoid penalties (from $60 to $660, depending on business size and the length of the delay).

Conclusion

Now that you know how to fill out a W2 form online, the process should not take up a lot of your time and effort. Remember that it’s crucial to provide accurate data and file the form by the end of January. Check out the IRS’s tax topic no. 752 if you need additional information.