W-2 Wage and Tax Statement

Attention:
This form is provided for informational purposes only. Copy A appears in red, similar
to the official IRS form. Do not file copy A downloaded from this website with the
SSA. The official printed version of this IRS form is scannable, but the online version
of it, printed from this website, is not. A penalty of $50 per information return may be
imposed for filing forms that cannot be scanned.
To order official IRS forms, call 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676) or Order
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forms and other products.

You may file Forms W-2 and W-3 electronically on the SSA’s website at
Employer Reporting Instructions & Information. You can create fill-in versions of
Forms W-2 and W-3 for filing with SSA. You may also print out copies for filing
with state or local governments, distribution to your employees, and for your
records.
See IRS Publications 1141, 1167, 1179 and other IRS resources for information
about printing these tax forms.

22222

Void

a Employee’s social security number

For Official Use Only

©

OMB No. 1545-0008

b Employer identification number (EIN)

1 Wages, tips, other compensation

2 Federal income tax withheld

c Employer’s name, address, and ZIP code

3 Social security wages

4 Social security tax withheld

5 Medicare wages and tips

6 Medicare tax withheld

7 Social security tips

8 Allocated tips

9 Advance EIC payment

d Control number
e Employee’s first name and initial

Last name

10 Dependent care benefits

Suff. 11 Nonqualified plans
13

Statutory
employee

Retirement
plan

12a See instructions for box 12
C
o
d
e

Third-party
sick pay

12b
C
o
d
e

12c

14 Other

C
o
d
e

12d
C
o
d
e

f Employee’s address and ZIP code
15 State

Form

Employer’s state ID number

W-2

16 State wages, tips, etc.

Wage and Tax Statement

17 State income tax

2010

Copy A For Social Security Administration — Send this entire page with
Form W-3 to the Social Security Administration; photocopies are not acceptable.

18 Local wages, tips, etc.

19 Local income tax

20 Locality name

Department of the Treasury—Internal Revenue Service
For Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction
Act Notice, see back of Copy D.
Cat. No. 10134D

Do Not Cut, Fold, or Staple Forms on This Page — Do Not Cut, Fold, or Staple Forms on This Page

22222

a Employee’s social security number

OMB No. 1545-0008

b Employer identification number (EIN)

1 Wages, tips, other compensation

2 Federal income tax withheld

c Employer’s name, address, and ZIP code

3 Social security wages

4 Social security tax withheld

5 Medicare wages and tips

6 Medicare tax withheld

7 Social security tips

8 Allocated tips

9 Advance EIC payment

d Control number
e Employee’s first name and initial

10 Dependent care benefits
12a

Suff. 11 Nonqualified plans

Last name

13

Statutory
employee

Retirement
plan

C
o
d
e

Third-party
sick pay

12b
C
o
d
e

12c

14 Other

C
o
d
e

12d
C
o
d
e

f Employee’s address and ZIP code
15 State

Form

Employer’s state ID number

W-2

16 State wages, tips, etc.

Wage and Tax
Statement

Copy 1—For State, City, or Local Tax Department

17 State income tax

2010

18 Local wages, tips, etc.

19 Local income tax

20 Locality name

Department of the Treasury—Internal Revenue Service

a Employee’s social security number
OMB No. 1545-0008

Safe, accurate,
FAST! Use

Visit the IRS website at
www.irs.gov/efile

b Employer identification number (EIN)

1 Wages, tips, other compensation

2 Federal income tax withheld

c Employer’s name, address, and ZIP code

3 Social security wages

4 Social security tax withheld

5 Medicare wages and tips

6 Medicare tax withheld

7 Social security tips

8 Allocated tips

d Control number

9 Advance EIC payment

e Employee’s first name and initial

10 Dependent care benefits

Suff. 11 Nonqualified plans

Last name

13

Statutory
employee

Retirement
plan

12a See instructions for box 12
C
o
d
e

Third-party
sick pay

12b
C
o
d
e

12c

14 Other

C
o
d
e

12d
C
o
d
e

f Employee’s address and ZIP code
15 State

Form

Employer’s state ID number

W-2

Wage and Tax
Statement

16 State wages, tips, etc.

17 State income tax

2010

Copy B—To Be Filed With Employee’s FEDERAL Tax Return.
This information is being furnished to the Internal Revenue Service.

18 Local wages, tips, etc.

19 Local income tax

20 Locality name

Department of the Treasury—Internal Revenue Service

Notice to Employee
Refund. Even if you do not have to file a tax return, you
should file to get a refund if box 2 shows federal income
tax withheld or if you can take the earned income credit.
Earned income credit (EIC). You must file a tax return if
any amount is shown in box 9.
You may be able to take the EIC for 2010 if (a) you do
not have a qualifying child and you earned less than
$13,460 ($18,470 if married filing jointly), (b) you have one
qualifying child and you earned less than $35,535
($40,545 if married filing jointly), (c) you have two
qualifying children and you earned less than $40,363
($45,373 if married filing jointly), or (d) you have three or
more qualifying children and you earned less than
$43,352 ($48,362 if married filing jointly). You and any
qualifying children must have valid social security
numbers (SSNs). You cannot take the EIC if your
investment income is more than $3,100. Any EIC that is
more than your tax liability is refunded to you, but only
if you file a tax return. If you have at least one qualifying
child, you may get as much as $1,830 of the EIC in
advance by completing Form W-5, Earned Income Credit
Advance Payment Certificate, and giving it to your
employer.
Clergy and religious workers. If you are not subject to
social security and Medicare taxes, see Pub. 517, Social
Security and Other Information for Members of the Clergy
and Religious Workers.

Corrections. If your name, SSN, or address is incorrect,
correct Copies B, C, and 2 and ask your employer to
correct your employment record. Be sure to ask the
employer to file Form W-2c, Corrected Wage and Tax
Statement, with the Social Security Administration (SSA)
to correct any name, SSN, or money amount error
reported to the SSA on Form W-2. If your name and SSN
are correct but are not the same as shown on your social
security card, you should ask for a new card that displays
your correct name at any SSA office or by calling
1-800-772-1213. You also may visit the SSA at
www.socialsecurity.gov.
Credit for excess taxes. If you had more than one
employer in 2010 and more than $6,621.60 in social
security and/or Tier I railroad retirement (RRTA) taxes
were withheld, you may be able to claim a credit for the
excess against your federal income tax. If you had more
than one railroad employer and more than $3,088.80 in
Tier II RRTA tax was withheld, you also may be able to
claim a credit. See your Form 1040 or Form 1040A
instructions and Pub. 505, Tax Withholding and
Estimated Tax.
(Also see Instructions for Employee on the back of Copy C.)

a Employee’s social security number
b Employer identification number (EIN)

This information is being furnished to the Internal Revenue Service. If you
are required to file a tax return, a negligence penalty or other sanction
may be imposed on you if this income is taxable and you fail to report it.
1 Wages, tips, other compensation
2 Federal income tax withheld

c Employer’s name, address, and ZIP code

3 Social security wages

4 Social security tax withheld

5 Medicare wages and tips

6 Medicare tax withheld

7 Social security tips

8 Allocated tips

OMB No. 1545-0008

d Control number

9 Advance EIC payment

e Employee’s first name and initial

10 Dependent care benefits

Suff. 11 Nonqualified plans

Last name

13

Statutory
employee

Retirement
plan

12a See instructions for box 12
C
o
d
e

Third-party
sick pay

12b
C
o
d
e

12c

14 Other

C
o
d
e

12d
C
o
d
e

f Employee’s address and ZIP code
15 State

Form

Employer’s state ID number

W-2

16 State wages, tips, etc.

Wage and Tax
Statement

Copy C—For EMPLOYEE’S RECORDS (See Notice to
Employee on the back of Copy B.)

17 State income tax

2010

18 Local wages, tips, etc.

19 Local income tax

20 Locality name

Department of the Treasury—Internal Revenue Service
Safe, accurate
FAST! Use

Instructions for Employee (Also see Notice to
Employee, on the back of Copy B.)

Box 1. Enter this amount on the wages line of your tax return.
Box 2. Enter this amount on the federal income tax withheld line
of your tax return.
Box 8. This amount is not included in boxes 1, 3, 5, or 7. For
information on how to report tips on your tax return, see your
Form 1040 instructions.
Box 9. Enter this amount on the advance earned income credit
payments line of your Form 1040 or Form 1040A.
Box 10. This amount is the total dependent care benefits that
your employer paid to you or incurred on your behalf (including
amounts from a section 125 (cafeteria) plan). Any amount over
$5,000 is also included in box 1. Complete Form 2441, Child
and Dependent Care Expenses, to compute any taxable and
nontaxable amounts.
Box 11. This amount is (a) reported in box 1 if it is a distribution
made to you from a nonqualified deferred compensation or
nongovernmental section 457(b) plan or (b) included in box 3
and/or 5 if it is a prior year deferral under a nonqualified or
section 457(b) plan that became taxable for social security and
Medicare taxes this year because there is no longer a
substantial risk of forfeiture of your right to the deferred amount.
Box 12. The following list explains the codes shown in box 12.
You may need this information to complete your tax return.
Elective deferrals (codes D, E, F, and S) and designated Roth
contributions (codes AA and BB) under all plans are generally
limited to a total of $16,500 ($11,500 if you only have SIMPLE
plans; $19,500 for section 403(b) plans if you qualify for the

15-year rule explained in Pub. 571). Deferrals under code G are
limited to $16,500. Deferrals under code H are limited to $7,000.
However, if you were at least age 50 in 2010, your employer
may have allowed an additional deferral of up to $5,500 ($2,500
for section 401(k)(11) and 408(p) SIMPLE plans). This additional
deferral amount is not subject to the overall limit on elective
deferrals. For code G, the limit on elective deferrals may be
higher for the last 3 years before you reach retirement age.
Contact your plan administrator for more information. Amounts
in excess of the overall elective deferral limit must be included in
income. See the “Wages, Salaries, Tips, etc.” line instructions
for Form 1040.
Note. If a year follows code D through H, S, Y, AA, or BB, you
made a make-up pension contribution for a prior year(s) when
you were in military service. To figure whether you made excess
deferrals, consider these amounts for the year shown, not the
current year. If no year is shown, the contributions are for the
current year.
A—Uncollected social security or RRTA tax on tips. Include this
tax on Form 1040. See “Total Tax” in the Form 1040 instructions.
B—Uncollected Medicare tax on tips. Include this tax on Form
1040. See “Total Tax” in the Form 1040 instructions.
C—Taxable cost of group-term life insurance over $50,000
(included in boxes 1, 3 (up to social security wage base), and 5)
D—Elective deferrals to a section 401(k) cash or deferred
arrangement. Also includes deferrals under a SIMPLE retirement
account that is part of a section 401(k) arrangement.
E—Elective deferrals under a section 403(b) salary reduction
agreement
(continued on back of Copy 2)

a Employee’s social security number
OMB No. 1545-0008
b Employer identification number (EIN)

1 Wages, tips, other compensation

2 Federal income tax withheld

c Employer’s name, address, and ZIP code

3 Social security wages

4 Social security tax withheld

5 Medicare wages and tips

6 Medicare tax withheld

7 Social security tips

8 Allocated tips

d Control number

10 Dependent care benefits

9 Advance EIC payment

e Employee’s first name and initial

12a

Suff. 11 Nonqualified plans

Last name

13

Statutory
employee

Retirement
plan

C
o
d
e

Third-party
sick pay

12b
C
o
d
e

12c

14 Other

C
o
d
e

12d
C
o
d
e

f Employee’s address and ZIP code
15 State

Form

Employer’s state ID number

W-2

16 State wages, tips, etc.

Wage and Tax
Statement

Copy 2—To Be Filed With Employee’s State, City, or Local
Income Tax Return.

17 State income tax

2010

18 Local wages, tips, etc.

19 Local income tax

20 Locality name

Department of the Treasury—Internal Revenue Service

Instructions for Employee (continued from back of
Copy C)

F—Elective deferrals under a section 408(k)(6) salary reduction
SEP
G—Elective deferrals and employer contributions (including
nonelective deferrals) to a section 457(b) deferred compensation
plan
H—Elective deferrals to a section 501(c)(18)(D) tax-exempt
organization plan. See “Adjusted Gross Income” in the Form
1040 instructions for how to deduct.
J—Nontaxable sick pay (information only, not included in boxes
1, 3, or 5)
K—20% excise tax on excess golden parachute payments. See
“Total Tax” in the Form 1040 instructions.
L—Substantiated employee business expense reimbursements
(nontaxable)
M—Uncollected social security or RRTA tax on taxable cost of
group-term life insurance over $50,000 (former employees only).
See “Total Tax” in the Form 1040 instructions.

T—Adoption benefits (not included in box 1). Complete Form
8839, Qualified Adoption Expenses, to compute any taxable and
nontaxable amounts.
V—Income from exercise of nonstatutory stock option(s)
(included in boxes 1, 3 (up to social security wage base), and 5).
See Pub. 525 and instructions for Schedule D (Form 1040) for
reporting requirements.
W—Employer contributions (including amounts the employee
elected to contribute using a section 125 (cafeteria) plan) to your
health savings account. Report on Form 8889, Health Savings
Accounts (HSAs).
Y—Deferrals under a section 409A nonqualified deferred
compensation plan
Z—Income under section 409A on a nonqualified deferred
compensation plan. This amount is also included in box 1. It is
subject to an additional 20% tax plus interest. See “Total Tax” in
the Form 1040 instructions.
AA—Designated Roth contributions under a section 401(k) plan
BB—Designated Roth contributions under a section 403(b) plan
CC (For employer use only)—HIRE exempt wages and tips

N—Uncollected Medicare tax on taxable cost of group-term life
insurance over $50,000 (former employees only). See “Total Tax”
in the Form 1040 instructions.

Box 13. If the “Retirement plan” box is checked, special limits
may apply to the amount of traditional IRA contributions that
you may deduct.

P—Excludable moving expense reimbursements paid directly to
employee (not included in boxes 1, 3, or 5)
Q—Nontaxable combat pay. See the instructions for Form 1040
or Form 1040A for details on reporting this amount.
R—Employer contributions to your Archer MSA. Report on Form
8853, Archer MSAs and Long-Term Care Insurance Contracts.

Note. Keep Copy C of Form W-2 for at least 3 years after the
due date for filing your income tax return. However, to help
protect your social security benefits, keep Copy C until you
begin receiving social security benefits, just in case there is a
question about your work record and/or earnings in a particular
year. Compare the Social Security wages and the Medicare
wages to the information shown on your annual (for workers
over 25) Social Security Statement.

S—Employee salary reduction contributions under a section
408(p) SIMPLE (not included in box 1)

Void

a Employee’s social security number
OMB No. 1545-0008

b Employer identification number (EIN)

1 Wages, tips, other compensation

2 Federal income tax withheld

c Employer’s name, address, and ZIP code

3 Social security wages

4 Social security tax withheld

5 Medicare wages and tips

6 Medicare tax withheld

7 Social security tips

8 Allocated tips

d Control number

9 Advance EIC payment

e Employee’s first name and initial

10 Dependent care benefits

Suff. 11 Nonqualified plans

Last name

13

Statutory
employee

Retirement
plan

12a See instructions for box 12
C
o
d
e

Third-party
sick pay

12b
C
o
d
e

12c

14 Other

C
o
d
e

12d
C
o
d
e

f Employee’s address and ZIP code
15 State

Form

Employer’s state ID number

W-2

Wage and Tax
Statement

Copy D — For Employer.

16 State wages, tips, etc.

17 State income tax

2010

18 Local wages, tips, etc.

19 Local income tax

20 Locality name

Department of the Treasury—Internal Revenue Service
For Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction
Act Notice, see back of Copy D.

Employers, Please Note—
Specific information needed to complete Form W-2 is available
in a separate booklet titled 2010 Instructions for Forms W-2 and
W-3. You can order those instructions and additional forms by
calling 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676). You can also get
forms and instructions from the IRS website at www.irs.gov.
Caution. You cannot file Forms W-2/W-2c and W-3/W-3c that
you print from the IRS website with SSA because they process
paper forms by machine. Instead, you can use the SSA website
at www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/bsohbnew.htm to create
and file electronic fill-in versions of Forms W-2/W-2c and W-3/
W-3c. If you use SSA’s online application to create W-2 or
W-2c, the W-3 or W-3c will be automatically created.
Due dates. Furnish Copies B, C, and 2 to the employee
generally by January 31, 2011.
File Copy A with the SSA by February 28, 2011. Send all
Copies A with Form W-3, Transmittal of Wage and Tax
Statements. If you file electronically (required if submitting 250
or more Forms W-2), the due date is March 31, 2011.
Need Help? If you have questions about reporting on Form
W-2, call the information reporting customer service site toll free
at 1-866-455-7438 or 304-263-8700 (not toll free). For TTY/TDD
equipment, call 304-579-4827 (not toll free). The hours of
operation are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Eastern time.
Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We ask for
the information on Forms W-2 and W-3 to carry out the Internal
Revenue laws of the United States. We need it to figure and
collect the right amount of tax. Section 6051 and its regulations
require you to furnish wage and tax statements to employees
and to the Social Security Administration. Section 6109 requires
you to provide your employer identification number (EIN). If you
fail to provide this information in a timely manner, you may be
subject to penalties.

You are not required to provide the information requested on
a form that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act unless
the form displays a valid OMB control number. Books or
records relating to a form or its instructions must be retained as
long as their contents may become material in the
administration of any Internal Revenue law.
Generally, tax returns and return information are confidential,
as required by section 6103. However, section 6103 allows or
requires the Internal Revenue Service to disclose or give the
information shown on your return to others as described in the
Code. For example, we may disclose your tax information to the
Department of Justice for civil and/or criminal litigation, and to
cities, states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. commonwealths
and possessions for use in administering their tax laws. We may
also disclose this information to other countries under a tax
treaty, to federal and state agencies to enforce federal nontax
criminal laws, or to federal law enforcement and intelligence
agencies to combat terrorism.
The time needed to complete and file these forms will vary
depending on individual circumstances. The estimated average
times are: Form W-2—30 minutes, and Form W-3—28 minutes.
If you have comments concerning the accuracy of these time
estimates or suggestions for making these forms simpler, we
would be happy to hear from you. You can write to the Internal
Revenue Service, Tax Products Coordinating Committee,
SE:W:CAR:MP:T:T:SP, 1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6526,
Washington, DC 20224. Do not send Forms W-2 and W-3 to
this address. Instead, see Where to file paper forms in the
Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3.