W-2 Wage and Tax Statement: Boxes, Codes, and Filing

A W-2 Wage and Tax Statement is the form your employer sends you each January that reports how much you earned during the prior calendar year and how much was withheld from your pay for federal, state, and local taxes. You need it to file an accurate return, because the IRS receives its own copy and matches the numbers against what you report. Any employer who paid you wages or withheld taxes must furnish this statement.¹

The top of the form carries identifying information: your employer’s name, address, and Employer Identification Number, along with your name, address, and Social Security number. The rest is a grid of numbered boxes. Most of them fall into one of three groups: wages and federal tax, benefits and retirement, and state and local tax.

What the Wage and Withholding Boxes Mean

Boxes 1 through 6 are the ones you look at first. They tell you what you earned and what your employer already paid the federal government on your behalf.

Box 1 — Wages, tips, other compensation. Your total taxable pay for federal income tax purposes. It is usually lower than your gross pay because pre-tax items like traditional 401(k) contributions and health premiums paid through a cafeteria plan are excluded.
Box 2 — Federal income tax withheld. The federal income tax your employer already sent to the IRS. This is the figure that decides whether you get a refund or owe more when you file.
Box 3 — Social Security wages. The portion of your pay subject to Social Security tax. For 2026, this is capped at $184,500; wages above that ceiling are not taxed for Social Security.²
Box 4 — Social Security tax withheld. 6.2% of Box 3.³
Box 5 — Medicare wages. Your earnings subject to Medicare tax. There is no cap; every dollar you earn is taxed.
Box 6 — Medicare tax withheld. 1.45% of Box 5, plus any Additional Medicare Tax withheld for high earners.³

Box 1 and Box 3 often show different amounts. That is normal. Some pre-tax deductions reduce your federal taxable wages but not your Social Security wages, or the reverse. If all three wage boxes match exactly, you probably have no pre-tax deductions.

The Extra 0.9% for High Earners

If your wages from a single employer exceed $200,000 in a year, your employer must withhold an extra 0.9% Medicare tax on the amount above that threshold, bringing the total Medicare rate on those wages to 2.35%. The $200,000 trigger applies to withholding regardless of your filing status, but the actual liability threshold on your return is $250,000 for married couples filing jointly and $125,000 for married filing separately.⁴ The extra amount shows up inside Box 6 rather than in a separate box, so you may need to reconcile it on your return if your filing-status threshold differs from the flat $200,000 your employer used.

Box 12 Codes You Are Likely to See

Box 12 uses letter codes to report benefits and deferrals that either reduce your taxable wages or need to be reported for informational purposes. Up to four codes can appear. These are the codes most workers encounter:

Code D — Traditional 401(k) contributions. Your pre-tax elective deferrals. For 2026, the standard limit is $24,500. Workers 50 and older can add an $8,000 catch-up, and those aged 60 through 63 qualify for an enhanced catch-up of $11,250, for a maximum of $35,750.⁵
Code AA — Roth 401(k) contributions. After-tax deferrals into a designated Roth account. Unlike Code D, these do not reduce Box 1.⁶
Code W — Health Savings Account contributions. The combined total of employer contributions and any employee contributions made through a cafeteria plan. For 2026, the total HSA contribution limit is $4,400 for self-only coverage and $8,750 for family coverage. These amounts are generally excluded from Box 1.⁷
Code DD — Cost of employer-sponsored health coverage. The combined cost of your employer-provided health insurance. It is informational only, not taxable, and does not affect your return.⁶

Any code you do not recognize is defined in the instructions that come with your W-2. Most of the common ones aren’t taxable; they exist so the IRS can verify the exclusions your employer applied.

The Other Boxes

Box 10: Dependent Care Benefits

If your employer runs a dependent care assistance program, Box 10 shows the total benefits paid on your behalf. Up to $5,000 per year ($2,500 if married filing separately) can be excluded from taxable income; anything above that gets added back to your wages.⁶ If Box 10 shows an amount, complete Part III of Form 2441 with your return to calculate the taxable portion.

Box 13: Three Checkboxes

Box 13 contains three checkboxes. The Statutory employee box changes how you file: a statutory employee reports income and deducts business expenses on Schedule C. The category covers specific occupations such as full-time life insurance sales agents and certain traveling salespeople.⁸ The Retirement plan box signals that your employer offered a qualified plan during the year, which can limit your ability to deduct traditional IRA contributions. The Third-party sick pay box appears when your sick pay came from an insurer or other third party rather than directly from your employer.

Box 14: Miscellaneous

Box 14 is a catch-all for items without a dedicated box, such as union dues, uniform payments, state disability insurance withholdings, or educational assistance. For 2026 the box has been split: Box 14a handles the traditional miscellaneous items, and a new Box 14b reports Treasury Tipped Occupation Codes for workers who receive tips.⁶ Labels in Box 14 are not standardized, so ask your payroll department if you cannot decipher an abbreviation.

Boxes 15 Through 20: State and Local Tax

The bottom section reports state and local tax data. Box 15 lists the state and the employer’s state ID number, Box 16 shows your state taxable wages, Box 17 shows state income tax withheld, and Boxes 18 through 20 mirror those for local taxes. One W-2 can carry data for up to two states and two localities; if you worked in more than two states, your employer should issue an additional W-2 for the extras.

Using Your W-2 to File

The numbers flow directly onto Form 1040. Box 1 wages go on the income line. Box 2 federal tax withheld goes on the payments line. The difference between what you owe and what was already withheld determines your refund or balance due. If you held multiple jobs during the year, you will get a W-2 from each employer, and every one has to be entered. The IRS receives copies of all of them and will flag any you leave off.

Tax software walks you through each box, and some services can import the data using your employer’s EIN or by scanning the form. If you file on paper, attach Copy B to the front of your Form 1040. Keep Copy C (or a digital scan) for at least three years, the general window during which the IRS can audit your return.⁹ If you underreported income by more than 25%, that window stretches to six years.

One boundary worth naming: only employees get a W-2. Independent contractors receive a 1099 instead. The line between the two rests on how much control the business exercises over the work, not on what the parties call the arrangement.

If Your W-2 Is Missing, Wrong, or Lost

Your employer must furnish your W-2 no later than January 31 following the tax year.¹⁰ If January 31 passes without one, contact your employer’s payroll department first; address errors and processing delays are the usual causes. If you still do not have it by the end of February, call the IRS at 800-829-1040 with your Social Security number, your employer’s name and address, and approximate dates of employment. The IRS will contact your employer and send you Form 4852, a substitute you can file using estimates from your final pay stub.¹¹ If the real W-2 shows up later and the numbers differ, file an amended return on Form 1040-X.¹²

If the W-2 arrives with wrong information (a misspelled name, an incorrect Social Security number, a wage figure that does not match your records) ask your employer to issue a corrected Form W-2c. Employers are supposed to file W-2c forms as soon as they discover an error and provide you with a corrected copy.¹³ Do not shrug off a wrong Social Security number as minor. The Social Security Administration uses your W-2 data to calculate future retirement, disability, and survivor benefits, and incorrect earnings on your record can mean smaller payments later.¹⁴

If you have lost a W-2 from a prior year, log into your IRS online account and request a Wage and Income Transcript. It shows the data reported on W-2s and other information returns for the past ten tax years. It will not look like a W-2 and will not include state or local tax details, but it carries the federal figures you need for filing or verification.¹⁵ You can also request one by mail using Form 4506-T. Data for the most recent tax year may not appear until several months after employers submit their filings.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6051 – Receipts for Employees
2
Social Security Administration. Contribution and Benefit Base
3
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 751, Social Security and Medicare Withholding Rates
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 3101 – Rate of Tax
5
Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Limit Increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA Limit Increases to $7,500
6
Internal Revenue Service. 2026 General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3
7
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Notice 2026-05
8
Internal Revenue Service. Statutory Employees
9
Internal Revenue Service. How Long Should I Keep Records
10
Social Security Administration. Deadline Dates to File W-2s
11
Internal Revenue Service. If You Don’t Get a W-2 or Your W-2 Is Wrong
12
Internal Revenue Service. File an Amended Return
13
Social Security Administration. Helpful Hints to Forms W-2c/W-3c Filing
14
Social Security Administration. How to Correct Your Social Security Earnings Record
15
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 159, How to Get a Wage and Income Transcript