For employers, the approaching tax season means handling the task of completing W2 forms for each employee. If you are a novice entrepreneur facing your first filing, this guide will help you figure out the intricacies of the process so that you can cope with it with no hassle.
So what is a W2 form, and why is it needed? We are going to break down the procedure of filling it out box-by-box and reveal the easiest way to do this online to ensure your peace of mind when the tax time comes.
What Is a W2 Form Used for?
The W-2 form, also referred to as the Wage and Tax Statement, is an official document a business owner sends to each worker and the Social Security Administration (SSA) showing how much they have paid in wages throughout the year and the amount of taxes withheld from each employee. Also, there is information about Social Security and Medicare wages, third-party sick pay, the employee’s retirement plan, pre-tax benefits, and other compensation. However, this does not include self-employed workers and independent contractors, as they need a 1099 form instead.
In total, an employer produces six copies of a W2 form and keeps one of them (Copy D) for their own records for 4 years. Copy A is sent to the Social Security Administration along with a W3 form, and Copy 1, if applicable, goes to the appropriate city, state, or local tax department. The other three copies (B, C, and 2) are furnished to the employee. All the forms must be submitted by January 31, 2025, and employers with more than ten W2 tax forms are encouraged to do this electronically.
W2 Form Explained Box-By-Box
W2 forms 2024 have 25 lettered and numbered boxes that must be filled out correctly:
- Boxes a-f: the lettered fields on the upper-left side of the form list basic identifying information about both an employer and their employee, including name, address, and ZIP code, control number of a company, the employee’s SSN, and the employer’s EIN.
- Boxes 1-2: denote how many federal taxes were withheld alongside the total taxable income a business owner paid to the worker, including salary, tips, wages, and bonuses.
- Boxes 3-6: contain information on how much of the employee’s earnings were subject to Medicare and Social Security taxes and what amount was withheld.
- Boxes 7-8: must be filled out if an employee earns tips; the actual amount allocated to them is recorded in box 8, while box 7 shows how much was subject to Social Security tax.
- Box 9: the box is set blank in the W2 form 2024 and there is no need to fill it out.
- Box 10: denotes how much dependent care benefits a worker has received.
- Box 11: shows the amount of deferred compensation a worker received in a nonqualified plan.
- Box 12: consists of four sub-boxes (12a, 12b, 12c, and 12d) and requires an employer to report other types of compensation a worker has received by denoting them with single or double letter codes. The code must be specified on the left line, while the amount – on the right. All the codes can be found in the IRS’ W-2 instructions.
- Box 13: consists of three checkboxes designed to indicate whether an employee is a statutory worker, received third-party sick pay, or participated in a retirement plan.
- Box 14: intended for reporting additional tax information that does not fit into other form sections (union dues, tuition assistance, uniform payments, etc.).
- Box 15-20: relate to local and state taxes, including the amount of employee’s income subject to these taxes and the amount that was withheld.
How to Fill Out Form W2 Online
Learning how to complete a W2 form may seem challenging, although it’s an essential step toward a hassle-free tax season. You can submit the document electronically at the SSA’s website or fill out the W2 form 2024 PDF using PDF Guru, a convenient online editor to make the process easier and quicker.
The service operates on any device and allows you not only to add, edit, and remove text but also to change the font style and size to ensure the document is completed correctly. With its help, you can fill out and then download the form for further printing in case you want to keep it for your records, distribute it to employees, or send copies to local or state governments. Moreover, you can mail the W-2 copy to SSA if submitting it on the web is not an option. Completing the form online using the PDF editor is easy:
- Open the editor using any browser installed on your device.
- Go to the Forms tab and type W-2 in the search field -> select ‘w-2 form’.
- Click the ‘Fill Form’ button, and the W2 form template will open.
- Fill in the form by clicking on the needed boxes and typing your data there.
- Review the information for correctness, click ‘Done,’ and download the completed form on your device.
Tips for Filling Out W2 Form
- Enter all information using black ink in a 12pt Courier font.
- Do not use the ‘$’ sign or commas when making dollar entries; all the numbers must be entered with the decimal point (e.g. 1000.00) and zeros if there are no cents.
- Do not make cross-outs, erasures, or whiteouts if you notice a mistake while completing the form – it must be error-free.
- Leave a box blank in case it does not apply.
- Do not fold or cut the Copy A page, and never staple the W-2 and W-3 forms to each other.
Final Thoughts
Keep in mind that a correctly and timely submitted W2 form not only ensures smooth tax and wage reporting to the Internal Revenue Service but also empowers your workers to file their own taxes accurately. This guide will help you go through the process smoothly, whether you want to submit the W-2 online or by mail. Check out the General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 if you need additional information.