How to Submit W-2 to the IRS Online for Employers

To submit W-2s to the federal government online, employers use the Social Security Administration’s Business Services Online (BSO) portal rather than the IRS website. For tax year 2026, the filing deadline is February 1, 2027, and any employer filing 10 or more information returns of any kind must file electronically.¹² The process has three stages: prepare your payroll data, register for a BSO account, and either key each W-2 in through the browser or upload a formatted wage file.

Who Has to File Electronically

The 10-return threshold counts all your information returns together, not each type separately. So if you issue seven W-2s and four 1099-NECs, your total of eleven means every one of them must be filed electronically.¹ W-2s go through the SSA’s BSO system; other information returns go to the IRS through separate channels.³

Employers with fewer than 10 total information returns can still file electronically and usually do. Online filing is faster than paper and produces an immediate confirmation receipt.

What to Have Ready Before You Log In

Correcting a W-2 after submission requires a separate W-2c filing, so accuracy at this stage saves work later.

Employer and Employee Identifiers

You need your nine-digit Employer Identification Number, and it must match the EIN on your quarterly or annual employment tax returns (Form 941, 943, or 944). Your legal business name and address must also match. For each employee, you need a full legal name and correct Social Security number. A wrong name or SSN can trigger a penalty.²

Inside BSO, the free Social Security Number Verification Service lets you check up to 10 name-and-SSN combinations instantly, or upload a larger batch. Running verifications before filing catches mismatches that would otherwise generate error notices from the SSA.⁴

Wage and Tax Amounts

Have every employee’s totals ready for the core boxes:

Box 1, taxable wages for federal income tax, which excludes pre-tax deductions like 401(k) contributions and health premiums.
Box 2, federal income tax withheld.
Boxes 3 and 5, Social Security and Medicare wages. These often differ from Box 1 because some pre-tax deductions reduce federal taxable wages but not Social Security or Medicare wages.
Boxes 4 and 6, Social Security and Medicare tax withheld. For 2026, the employee share of Social Security tax is 6.2% on wages up to $184,500, and Medicare is 1.45% on all covered wages with no cap.⁵
Box 12 codes for items like 401(k) deferrals (D), employer-sponsored health coverage (DD), and 403(b) contributions (E).⁶

Organize this in a spreadsheet or a payroll software export before you start entering data online. Sessions can time out.

Registering for a Business Services Online Account

Access to BSO runs through either a Login.gov account or an ID.me credential. Both require identity verification: you upload a government-issued photo ID and, depending on the service, complete a biometric check such as a selfie scan.⁷

After your identity is confirmed, select the BSO services you need. Choose “Report Wages to Social Security” to unlock the wage filing tools; only users with that role can view or submit W-2 data for your organization.⁸ Register well before the deadline. First-time verification can take several days if the identity service asks for extra documentation.

The Two Ways to Submit W-2s Through BSO

BSO gives you a manual online form and a file upload. Pick based on how many employees you have and whether your payroll software can produce a wage file.

W-2 Online (Manual Entry)

The W-2 Online option lets you type each W-2 into your browser. You can enter up to 50 W-2s per submission, with 50 saved reports at a time.⁹ This suits small employers without payroll software. Enter each employee’s data field by field, and the system generates Form W-3 (the transmittal summary) automatically when you’re done.

Formatted Wage File Upload

Employers with larger payrolls or automated systems usually upload a pre-formatted file. Your payroll software generates a file in EFW2 format, and you submit it through “Upload Formatted Wage File.” The maximum file size is 350 MB, and this route processes faster at the SSA than manual entry.¹⁰

Review, Submit, and Save the Receipt

Either method ends with a review step. Manual entry shows a W-3 Preview page summarizing all the W-2 data you entered. After checking the totals, you move to a Sign and Submit page, read the legal statements, tick the verification box, and click “Submit this Wage Report.”⁹ BSO then displays a confirmation receipt with a tracking number. Save it. You will need it to prove timely filing and to check processing status.

Third-party payroll services and IRS-approved e-file providers can prepare and transmit W-2s on your behalf. They generate the EFW2 file and send it to the SSA, so you never log into BSO yourself. If you use one, confirm that they will file by the deadline and give you the submission confirmation.

Employee Copies Are Due the Same Day

Filing with the SSA is only half the obligation. You must also furnish Copies B, C, and 2 to each employee by February 1, 2027, for tax year 2026, so they can file their own returns.²

Electronic delivery to employees is allowed but requires their prior consent, and you must tell each employee they can withdraw consent and get a paper copy instead. The full electronic delivery rules are in IRS Publication 15-A.¹¹ Without consent, deliver on paper by the deadline.

Fixing a W-2 You Already Filed

To correct a mistake after submission — a wrong SSN, a wrong wage figure, a missing entry — file Form W-2c along with Form W-3c. There is no hard deadline, but the SSA says to file as soon as you discover the error, and you must give the corrected copy to the affected employee promptly.¹²

You can file W-2c forms through BSO by keying them in online or by uploading an EFW2C file. The manual process mirrors an original W-2: select the tax year being corrected, enter the employer information, then enter both the previously reported amount and the corrected amount for each affected field. If the original box was blank, enter $0.00 as the previously reported amount. BSO then generates a W-3c summary, and you sign and submit as before.¹⁰

If You Can’t File Electronically

An employer who meets the 10-return threshold but cannot file electronically can request a waiver on Form 8508, submitted at least 45 days before the due date. The IRS automatically grants a waiver on a first-time request for any form in any tax year, and grants an automatic exemption where electronic filing conflicts with religious beliefs.¹³

For repeat requests based on financial hardship, including lack of internet access or prohibitive cost, attach two current cost estimates comparing electronic filing to paper. Other qualifying reasons include a catastrophic event in a federally declared disaster area, fire or natural disaster affecting operations, or the illness or death of the person responsible for filing.¹³

What Late or Incorrect Filing Costs

Penalties for failing to file a correct W-2 by the deadline scale with how long the problem goes unfixed. The base statutory amounts (which the IRS adjusts for inflation each year):

Corrected within 30 days of the deadline: $50 per form, up to $500,000 per year.
Corrected after 30 days but by August 1: $100 per form, up to $1,500,000 per year.
Not corrected by August 1, or not filed at all: $250 per form, up to $3,000,000 per year.

The actual 2026 figures may be higher after the cost-of-living adjustment. Small businesses, defined as those with average annual gross receipts of $5 million or less over the three most recent tax years, face lower annual caps under the same statute.¹⁴

Intentional disregard is treated separately: at least $500 per form with no annual cap. For W-2s specifically, the penalty can be the greater of $500 or 10 percent of the total amount that should have been reported correctly.¹⁴

1
Internal Revenue Service. E-file Information Returns
2
Internal Revenue Service. General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2026)
3
Internal Revenue Service. E-file Employment Tax Forms
4
Social Security Administration. Social Security Number Verification Service (SSNVS) Handbook – Using SSNVS
5
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 15 (2026), (Circular E), Employer’s Tax Guide
6
Internal Revenue Service. 2026 General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3
7
Social Security Administration. Business Services Online (BSO)
8
Social Security Administration. BSO Suite of Services
9
Social Security Administration. Electronic W-2 Filing User Handbook
10
Social Security Administration. Electronic W-2/W-2C Filing User Handbook for Tax Year 2025
11
Internal Revenue Service. href=”https://www.irs.gov/instructions/iw2w3″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2026)
12
Social Security Administration. Helpful Hints to Forms W-2c/W-3c Filing
13
Internal Revenue Service. Application for a Waiver from Electronic Filing of Information Returns
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6721 – Failure to File Correct Information Returns