What a W-2 is, in plain words
If a company put you on payroll and took taxes out of every check, you were an employee, and you get a W-2 from every employer you worked for during the year. Even a job you held for a week.
Your employer sends the same numbers to the IRS and to Social Security. That's why your return has to match it: the IRS already knows what's on it.
Most of a typical return starts here. Box 1 is your income. Box 2 is tax you've already paid. Whether you get a refund or owe mostly comes down to those two numbers.
W-2 or 1099? It depends how you were paid
W-2This form
- You were
- An employee on payroll
- Taxes taken out
- Yes, from every paycheck
- Social Security and Medicare
- Split with your employer: you pay 7.65%
- At tax time
- Often a refund, or a small bill
1099-NEC→
- You were
- A contractor or freelancer
- Taxes taken out
- Nothing
- Social Security and Medicare
- You pay both halves: 15.3%
- At tax time
- You owe it. Paying four times a year avoids a surprise
1099-K→
- You were
- Paid through an app or card processor
- Taxes taken out
- Nothing
- Social Security and Medicare
- You pay both halves: 15.3%
- At tax time
- Like a contractor. Your costs come off first
Form W-2
What every box means
Tap any box. The ones marked red end up on your tax return.
Form W-2 Wage and Tax Statement
2025
Ends up on your return Private: keep it safe
Read all 22 boxes as a list
- a Employee's SSN
- Your Social Security number. Nothing on your return comes from this box, but check every digit. It's how your pay gets credited to your Social Security record. If it's wrong, ask for a corrected W-2.
- b Employer ID (EIN)
- Your employer's tax ID number. It ties the form to your employer at the IRS. You don't add it to anything.
- c Employer's name, address
- Who paid you. If you had more than one job, each employer sends its own W-2. All of them go on your return.
- d Control number
- The employer's own internal number. Often blank. Nothing on your return uses it.
- e/f Employee's name, address
- You. On a joint return, it shows whose job this was. That matters for retirement and Social Security limits.
- Box 1 Wages, tips, other comp.
- Your taxable pay. It is usually less than your salary, because 401(k), health insurance and other pre-tax money already came out. This is the number your income tax is figured on.Goes on: Form 1040, line 1a
- Box 2 Federal income tax withheld
- Federal income tax that already came out of your paychecks. It counts as already paid. Owe less than this and you get the difference back as a refund.Goes on: Form 1040, line 25a
- Box 3 Social Security wages
- Pay that Social Security tax applies to. It stops at a yearly cap ($176,100 for 2025). It doesn't go on your return directly. It shows up only if you had two jobs and paid too much Social Security tax.
- Box 4 Social Security tax withheld
- 6.2% of box 3. Two employers can each take the full amount. What's over the cap comes back to you as a credit.Goes on: Schedule 3, line 11 (only if two jobs went over the cap)
- Box 5 Medicare wages and tips
- Pay that Medicare tax applies to. No cap. Over $200,000 ($250,000 married together), an extra 0.9% Medicare tax applies.Goes on: Form 8959, line 1 (over $200,000)
- Box 6 Medicare tax withheld
- 1.45% of box 5, plus 0.9% on pay over $200,000 at this employer. If your employer held back the extra 0.9%, it counts as paid.Goes on: Form 8959, line 19
- Box 7 Social Security tips
- Tips you reported to your employer. Already inside box 1.
- Box 8 Allocated tips
- Tips your employer assigned to you that you didn't report. Not included in box 1, so it gets added to your income on Form 4137. Rare.
- Box 10 Dependent care benefits
- Child care money your employer paid or let you set aside. Up to $5,000 is tax-free. Anything over that becomes taxable (Form 2441).
- Box 11 Nonqualified plans
- Deferred pay paid out from a plan that isn't a 401(k). Already inside box 1.
- Box 12 Codes (D, W, DD...)
- A letter and an amount. D is your 401(k), W is money into an HSA, DD is what your health insurance cost (not taxable, just information). Your 401(k) can earn a credit at lower incomes. Code W has to match your HSA paperwork.Goes on: Form 8880 (saver's credit) and Form 8889 for HSA
- Box 13 Checkboxes
- Statutory employee, retirement plan, third-party sick pay. The retirement plan box limits whether a regular IRA contribution is deductible.
- Box 14 Other
- Anything else the employer wants you to see: union dues, state disability tax, car use. Usually nothing to do. Some states use it.
- Box 15 State
- The state, and the employer's state ID. It shows which state return this job belongs on.
- Box 16 State wages
- Pay that state taxes. Goes on your state return.
- Box 17 State income tax
- State income tax that came out of your pay. It's paid toward your state tax. If you itemize, it's also a federal deduction (capped).Goes on: Schedule A, line 5a (if you itemize), and your state return
- Box 18-20 Local wages, tax, name
- City or county income tax. Goes on a city or county return, if yours has one.
Where it goes on your tax return
The boxes that become numbers on your return, and the line each one lands on. Tap one to see why.
Box 1Wages, tips, other comp.Form 1040, line 1a
Your taxable pay. It is usually less than your salary, because 401(k), health insurance and other pre-tax money already came out. This is the number your income tax is figured on.
Box 2Federal income tax withheldForm 1040, line 25a
Federal income tax that already came out of your paychecks. It counts as already paid. Owe less than this and you get the difference back as a refund.
Why do I owe with a W-2?Box 4Social Security tax withheldSchedule 3, line 11 (only if two jobs went over the cap)
6.2% of box 3. Two employers can each take the full amount. What's over the cap comes back to you as a credit.
Box 5Medicare wages and tipsForm 8959, line 1 (over $200,000)
Pay that Medicare tax applies to. No cap. Over $200,000 ($250,000 married together), an extra 0.9% Medicare tax applies.
Do I owe the extra Medicare tax?Box 6Medicare tax withheldForm 8959, line 19
1.45% of box 5, plus 0.9% on pay over $200,000 at this employer. If your employer held back the extra 0.9%, it counts as paid.
Check it on the calculatorBox 12Codes (D, W, DD...)Form 8880 (saver's credit) and Form 8889 for HSA
A letter and an amount. D is your 401(k), W is money into an HSA, DD is what your health insurance cost (not taxable, just information). Your 401(k) can earn a credit at lower incomes. Code W has to match your HSA paperwork.
Box 17State income taxSchedule A, line 5a (if you itemize), and your state return
State income tax that came out of your pay. It's paid toward your state tax. If you itemize, it's also a federal deduction (capped).
What do I do with it?
Do I have to do anything with it?
Yes. Every W-2 goes on your return, even from a job you held for a week. If you have three, add the three box 1s together.
It's wrong
Ask the employer for a corrected one, a W-2c. Don't file with numbers you know are wrong. If they won't fix it by the end of February, the IRS will contact them for you (call 800-829-1040).
I got two from the same employer
That happens after a payroll change or a company sale. Both go on your return. Make sure they aren't the same form printed twice.
I never got one
Employers must send it by January 31. Check your payroll site first (ADP, Workday, Gusto, Paychex). Still nothing by mid-February: ask the employer, then the IRS. You can file with Form 4852 if it never comes.
Lost it, or it never came?
The IRS has a copy of every W-2 filed under your name, going back about ten years.
How to get old W-2s, step by step- 1This year: your employer's payroll site, or ask HR. Most keep W-2s online even after you leave.
- 2Past years: your IRS Wage & Income transcript. Free, online at IRS.gov with an account, or by mail with Form 4506-T.
- 3A copy of the actual form (for a state return, say): Form 4506 to the IRS, or Social Security, which keeps W-2s even longer.
Free tool
Need the numbers off your W-2 in a spreadsheet?
Drop the PDF or a photo. Every box comes back as an Excel column. No account, and we keep nothing.
Questions people ask
Why is box 1 less than my salary?
Pre-tax money comes out first: 401(k) and 403(b) contributions, health and dental premiums, HSA and commuter benefits. Boxes 3 and 5 are often higher than box 1 because 401(k) money still pays Social Security and Medicare tax.
When do W-2s come out?
Employers must send them by January 31. Many post them online a week or two earlier.
How many years back can I get a W-2?
The IRS keeps about ten years of W-2 information on your Wage & Income transcript. Social Security keeps wage records for your whole working life.
Is a W-2 the same as a 1099?
No. A W-2 means you were an employee and taxes came out of your pay. A 1099-NEC means you were paid as a contractor and nothing came out; you owe the tax yourself.
Hand it over
Drop your W-2. We put every box where it goes.
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