What Is a W-2 Tax Form and How Do You Use It?

A W-2, formally the Wage and Tax Statement, is the form your employer sends you each January showing what you earned during the year and how much was withheld for federal, state, and local taxes, plus Social Security and Medicare. You use it to file your income tax return, and the IRS uses its own copy, filed by your employer with the Social Security Administration, to check that what you report matches what your employer reported. For the 2026 tax year, employers must deliver W-2s to employees and file them with the SSA by January 31, 2027.1Internal Revenue Service. Jan. 31 Filing Deadline Remains for Employer Wage Statements, Independent Contractor Forms

You should get a W-2 from any employer that paid you $600 or more during the year, or any amount from which income, Social Security, or Medicare tax was withheld.2Internal Revenue Service. About Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement Independent contractors don’t get a W-2; they get a 1099-NEC instead.

What the Boxes on Your W-2 Actually Show

The top of the form identifies your employer by its Employer Identification Number (EIN) and you by your Social Security Number. The IRS matches these against your return.3Internal Revenue Service. General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3

The numbered boxes each do a specific job:

  • Box 1 shows your total taxable wages for the year. This is your pay before income tax was taken out, but after pre-tax deductions like traditional 401(k) contributions. It usually does not match your gross pay for exactly that reason.4Internal Revenue Service. 2026 General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3
  • Box 2 shows the total federal income tax your employer withheld across the year.4Internal Revenue Service. 2026 General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3
  • Box 3 shows wages subject to Social Security tax, capped at $184,500 for 2026. Box 4 shows the 6.2% employee share of Social Security tax withheld on those wages.5Social Security Administration. Contribution and Benefit Base
  • Box 5 shows wages subject to Medicare tax, which has no cap, and Box 6 shows the 1.45% Medicare tax withheld. If your wages passed $200,000, your employer also withheld an extra 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on the amount above that threshold, regardless of your filing status. Married joint filers whose combined income sits differently from the withholding rule sometimes reconcile that on their return.4Internal Revenue Service. 2026 General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-36Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 560, Additional Medicare Tax
  • Boxes 16 through 20 cover state and local taxes. Box 16 is wages subject to state income tax, Box 17 is state tax withheld, and Boxes 18 through 20 do the same for local or municipal income taxes. If you worked in two states during the year, you may receive a second W-2 covering the second state.4Internal Revenue Service. 2026 General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3

Your employer also pays a matching 6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare on top of what’s deducted from your paycheck. Those amounts don’t appear on your W-2 because they aren’t your money.

Box 12 Codes You’ll Probably See

Box 12 uses two-letter codes for items that don’t fit elsewhere. A handful show up on most W-2s and affect either your taxes or what you can claim elsewhere:

The Retirement Plan Checkbox in Box 13

Box 13 has a small checkbox labeled “Retirement plan.” If it’s checked, your employer considers you an active participant in a workplace retirement plan, and that status can limit or eliminate your deduction for traditional IRA contributions depending on your filing status and income.8Internal Revenue Service. Common Errors on Form W-2 Codes for Retirement Plans It’s easy to miss. If you think it’s checked in error, ask payroll to review before you file.

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

If February is passing and your W-2 hasn’t shown up, start with your employer’s payroll department. Confirm your mailing address is right, and check whether an electronic copy is waiting in a payroll portal. Many employers deliver W-2s electronically if you opted in during the year.

If your employer won’t help, has closed, or ignores you, the IRS says to wait until the end of February and then call 800-829-1040. The agency will contact the employer and remind them of their obligation.9Internal Revenue Service. What to Do When a W-2 or Form 1099 Is Missing or Incorrect For an employer that closed or went through bankruptcy, the IRS can help you get a substitute.10Internal Revenue Service. What if My Employer Goes Out of Business or Into Bankruptcy?

If a name, Social Security Number, or dollar amount is wrong, your employer needs to issue a Form W-2c, the corrected version.11Internal Revenue Service. About Form W-2 C, Corrected Wage and Tax Statements Don’t file with numbers you know are wrong. Get the correction first if there’s still time.

If the April filing deadline is close and no W-2 has arrived, you can file using Form 4852 as a substitute, estimating wages and withholding from your final pay stub for the year.12Internal Revenue Service. About Form 4852, Substitute for Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement That keeps you compliant, but expect a slower refund while the IRS verifies your estimates, and expect to file an amended return if a real W-2 shows up with different numbers.

How to Use It When You File

Your W-2 comes in multiple copies for a reason. If you file a paper return, attach Copy B to your Form 1040 and send Copy 2 with any state or local return that requires it. Keep Copy C for your records.3Internal Revenue Service. General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3

If you e-file, your tax software pulls the numbers off the W-2 and transmits them digitally. Nothing gets mailed, but hold onto the original in case the IRS ever asks. The agency compares your reported income against the W-2 data your employer filed with the SSA, and mismatches can generate an automated notice months later.

How Long to Keep It

Keep tax records for at least three years from the date you filed the return, which covers the standard audit window. If you underreported income by more than 25%, the IRS has six years to review. Employment tax records should be kept for at least four years.13Internal Revenue Service. How Long Should I Keep Records? Your W-2 also documents your Social Security earnings history, so keeping the originals indefinitely is worth the small amount of space it takes, especially if you ever need to dispute the credits SSA has on file for you.