Filing Form W-2 for the first time might not be all that tempting as it’s the most important IRS Form that all businesses must complete and submit to their employees. Although you might have some worries, completing W-2 is actually easy. However, it might take some time since it must be completed differently for every employee. So employers might have it hard during their first time.
You can complete Form W-2 online but it’s a must if you need to file 250 or more forms. The employers must register to Social Security’s Business Services Online to file Form W-2 online. It is a quick process and you’ll provide the following information on your end.
- Full Name
- Date of Birth
- SSN
- Home Street Address
- Daytime PhoneNumber
- e-Mail address
From there on, you’ll be able to verify your employees’ Social Security Numbers so you can start reporting their wages through Form W-2.
There are seven boxes that you need to complete the form. The below list guides through what each box means and its purpose.
Guide to Filing Form W-2
Employee’s Earnings
| Box 1 | Total compensation paid to the employee (wages, tips, and other compensation) |
| Box 2 | Total amount of taxes withheld from the employee |
| Box 3 | Total amount of Social Security wages |
| Box 4 | Total amount of Social Security tax withholdings |
| Box 5 | Total Medicare tips and wages |
| Box 6 | Total amount of Medicare taxes withheld from the employee |
| Box 7 | Social Security tips |
| Box 8 | Allocated Tips |
Box 9 and 10 reports other payments such as earned income credit on Box 9 and dependent care benefits on Box 10.
Employee’s Retirement Plan Participation
If the employees participate in a retirement plan, check the appropriate boxes.
Box 11 Non-qualified plans
Box 12 on the Form W-2 is for the other compensation or reporting amounts. You can enter up to four types of compensation. These compensations include payments like non-taxable sick pay, non-statutory employee stock options, contributions to HSA or Medical Savings Accounts, or designated Roth contributions to 401k or 403b plans.
Box 13 You’ll select if the employee participates in a retirement plan, if the employee is a statutory employee, or if the employee is has received a third-party-sick pay.
Box 14 Enter other deductions or compensation that can’t be taxed on the employee’s tax return. These include deductions like uniform deductions, union dues deductions, health insurance deductions and income like auto reimbursements, nontaxable income, and charitable contributions. The rest of the boxes speak for themselves.
| Box 15 | Employer’s State ID Number |
| Box 16 | State Wages |
| Box 17 | State Income Tax |
| Box 18 | Local Wages |
| Box 19 | Local Income Tax |
| Box 20 | Locality Name |