Wage and Tax Statements W-2/W-3 series

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Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2010)

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2010

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Instructions for Forms W-2
and W-3
Wage and Tax Statement and
Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements
Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless
otherwise noted.
Contents
What’s New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Reminders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Need Help? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
How To Get Forms and Publications . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Common Errors on Forms W-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 . . . . . . .
Special Reporting Situations for Form W-2 . . . . . . . . .
Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specific Instructions for Form W-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specific Instructions for Form W-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Reconciling Forms W-2, W-3, 941, 943, 944, CT-1, and
Schedule H (Form 1040) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Form W-2 Reference Guide for Box 12 Codes . . . . . . .
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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What’s New
HIRE wages and tips paid to qualified employees. The Hiring
Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act exempts employers
from the employer’s share of social security tax (referred to as the
payroll tax exemption) on wages paid to qualified employees from
March 19, 2010, through December 31, 2010. For employers to
report the amount of wages and tips covered by the payroll tax
exemption, we added a new code for box 12, Code CC, for HIRE
exempt wages and tips. The total of code CC is reported in new
box 12b on Form W-3. The total of deferred compensation
amounts, previously reported in box 12, is now reported in new box
12a on Form W-3. See HIRE wages and tips paid to qualified
employees on page 3.
Military differential pay. Employers paying their employees while
they are on active duty in United States uniformed services should
treat these payments as wages subject to income tax withholding.
See Military differential pay on page 3.

Reminders
Reporting for nonqualified deferred compensation plans. You
are not required to complete box 12 with code Y (deferrals under
nonqualified plans subject to section 409A).
Distributions from governmental section 457(b) plans of state
and local agencies. Generally, report distributions from section
457(b) plans of state and local agencies on Form 1099-R,
Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or
Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc. See Notice
2003-20 for details. You can find Notice 2003-20 on page 894 of
Internal Revenue Bulletin 2003-19 at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/
irb03-19.pdf.
Earned income credit (EIC) notice. You must notify employees
who have no income tax withheld that they may be able to claim an
income tax refund because of the EIC. You can do this by using the
official IRS Form W-2 with the EIC notice on the back of Copy B or
a substitute Form W-2 with the same statement. You must give
your employee Notice 797, Possible Federal Tax Refund Due to the
Earned Income Credit (EIC), or your own statement that contains
the same wording if (a) you use a substitute Form W-2 that does
not contain the EIC notice, (b) you are not required to furnish Form

W-2, or (c) you do not furnish a timely Form W-2 to your employee.
For more information, see section 10 in Pub. 15 (Circular E),
Employer’s Tax Guide.
Electronic payee statements. If your employees give their
consent, you may be able to furnish Copies B, C, and 2 of Forms
W-2 to your employees electronically. See Pub. 15-A, Employer’s
Supplemental Tax Guide, for additional information.
Extended due date for electronic filers. If you file your 2010
Forms W-2 with the Social Security Administration (SSA)
electronically, the due date is extended to March 31, 2011. For
information on how to file electronically, see Online filing of Forms
W-2 and W-3 below and Electronic reporting on page 3.
Form 944. Use the “944” checkbox in box b of Form W-3 if you
filed Form 944, Employer’s ANNUAL Federal Tax Return. Also use
the “944” checkbox if you filed Formulario 944(SP), the Spanish
version of Form 944.
Nonqualified deferred compensation plans. Section 409A
provides that all amounts deferred under a nonqualified deferred
compensation (NQDC) plan for all taxable years are includible in
gross income unless certain requirements are satisfied. See
Nonqualified deferred compensation plans on page 6.
Online filing of Forms W-2 and W-3. You may file Forms W-2
and W-3 electronically by visiting the SSA’s website at www.
socialsecurity.gov/employer, and selecting “Business Services
Online (BSO).” Once registered, you can upload electronic wage
files or use the SSA’s “Create Forms W-2 Online” to send electronic
information to Social Security. W-2 Online allows you to create
“fill-in” versions of Forms W-2 to file with the SSA and to print
copies of the forms to file with state or local governments, distribute
to your employees, and keep for your records. Form W-3 will be
figured for you based on your Forms W-2, excluding state and local
totals. For more information, see Online wage reporting below.
Substitute forms. If you are not using the official IRS form to
furnish Form W-2 to employees or to file with the SSA, you may
use an acceptable substitute form that complies with the rules in
Pub. 1141, General Rules and Specifications for Substitute Forms
W-2 and W-3. Pub. 1141, which is revised annually, is a revenue
procedure that explains the requirements for format and content of
substitute Forms W-2 and W-3. Your substitute forms must comply
with the requirements in Pub. 1141.

Need Help?
Information reporting customer service site. The IRS operates
a centralized customer service site to answer questions about
reporting on Forms W-2, W-3, 1099, and other information returns.
If you have questions about reporting on these forms, call
1-866-455-7438 (toll free). The hours of operation are Monday
through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Eastern time. If you
have questions about electronic filing of Forms W-2, contact the
SSA at 1-800-772-6270 or visit the SSA website at www.
socialsecurity.gov/employer.
Hearing impaired TTY/TDD. Telephone help is available using
TTY/TDD equipment. If you have questions about reporting on
information returns (Forms 1096, 1098, 1099, 3921, 3922, 5498,
W-2, W-2G, and W-3) you may call 1-304-579-4827. For any other
tax information, call 1-800-829-4059.
Online wage reporting. Using a personal computer, you can
access SSA’s Business Services Online (BSO) to electronically
report wage data. To obtain information regarding filing wage data
electronically with the SSA or to access BSO, visit the SSA’s

Cat. No. 25979S

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Employer W-2 Filing Instructions and Information website at www.
socialsecurity.gov/employer. Corrections to previously filed wage
data can be made by accessing BSO. Call the SSA at
1-888-772-2970 if you experience problems using any of the
services within BSO.
The website includes information on electronic filing, some IRS
and SSA publications, and general topics of interest about annual
wage reporting. You can also use BSO to ask questions about
wage reporting.
Employers also can electronically file EFW2 wage reports. See
Electronic reporting on page 3.
Employment tax information. Detailed employment tax
information is given in:
• Pub. 15 (Circular E), Employer’s Tax Guide,
• Pub. 15-A, Employer’s Supplemental Tax Guide,
• Pub. 15-B, Employer’s Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits, and
• Pub. 51 (Circular A), Agricultural Employer’s Tax Guide.
You also can call the IRS with your employment tax questions at
1-800-829-4933 or visit IRS.gov and type “Employment Taxes” in
the Keyword/Search Terms box.

General Instructions for Forms
W-2 and W-3
Who must file Form W-2. Employers must file Form W-2 for
wages paid to each employee from whom:
• Income, social security, or Medicare tax was withheld or
• Income tax would have been withheld if the employee had
claimed no more than one withholding allowance or had not
claimed exemption from withholding on Form W-4, Employee’s
Withholding Allowance Certificate.
Also, every employer engaged in a trade or business who pays
remuneration for services performed by an employee, including
noncash payments, must file a Form W-2 for each employee even if
the employee is related to the employer.
If you are required to file 250 or more Forms W-2, see Electronic
reporting on page 3.
Who must file Form W-3. Anyone required to file Form W-2 must
file Form W-3 to transmit Copy A of Forms W-2. Make a copy of
Form W-3; keep it and Copy D (For Employer) of Forms W-2 with
your records for 4 years. Be sure to use Form W-3 for the correct
year. If you are filing Forms W-2 electronically, see Electronic
reporting on page 3.
Household employers. Even employers with only one
household employee must file Form W-3 if filing a paper Form W-2.
On Form W-3 check the “Hshld. emp.” checkbox in box b. For more
information, see Schedule H (Form 1040), Household Employment
Taxes, and its separate instructions. You must have an EIN. See
Box b — Employer identification number (EIN) on page 8.
Who may sign Form W-3. A transmitter or sender (including a
service bureau, reporting agent, paying agent, or disbursing agent)
may sign Form W-3 (or use its PIN on electronic filings) for the
employer or payer only if the sender:
• Is authorized to sign by an agency agreement (either oral,
written, or implied) that is valid under state law and
• Writes “For (name of payer)” next to the signature (paper Form
W-3 only).
If an authorized sender signs for the payer, the payer is still
responsible for filing, when due, a correct and complete Form W-3
and related Forms W-2, and is subject to any penalties that result
from not complying with these requirements. Be sure that the
payer’s name and employer identification number (EIN) on Forms
W-2 and W-3 are the same as those used on the Form 941,
Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return; Form 943,
Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return for Agricultural Employees;
Form 944, Employer’s ANNUAL Federal Tax Return; Form CT-1,
Employer’s Annual Railroad Retirement Tax Return; or Schedule H
(Form 1040) filed by or for the payer.
When to file. File Copy A of Form W-2 with the entire page of
Form W-3 by February 28, 2011. However, if you file electronically,
the due date is March 31, 2011. You may owe a penalty for each
Form W-2 that you file late. See Penalties on page 7. If you
terminate your business, see Terminating a business on page 7.
Extension to file. You may request an automatic extension of
time to file Form W-2 with the SSA by sending Form 8809,
Application for Extension of Time To File Information Returns, to
the address shown on Form 8809. You must request the extension
before the due date of Forms W-2. You will have an additional 30
days to file. See Form 8809 for details.

How To Get Forms and Publications
Internet. You can access the IRS website 24 hours a day, 7 days
a week at IRS.gov to:
• Download forms, instructions, and publications.
• Order IRS products online.
• See answers to frequently asked tax questions.
• Search publications online by topic or keyword.
• Send us comments or request help by email.
• Sign up to receive local and national tax news by email.
Do not file Copy A of Forms W-2, W-3, W-2c, and W-3c
downloaded from the IRS website with the SSA. They are
CAUTION provided for informational purposes only. Instead, you may
use the SSA website at www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/
bsohbnew.htm to create and file electronic fill-in versions of Forms
W-2, W-3, W-2c, and W-3c. If you use the SSA’s online application
to create W-2 or W-2c, the W-3 or W-3c will be automatically
created.

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DVD of tax products. You can order Publication 1796, IRS
Tax Products DVD, and obtain:

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Current-year forms, instructions, and publications.
Prior-year forms, instructions, and publications.
Tax Map: an electronic research tool and finding aid.
Tax law frequently asked questions.
Tax Topics from the IRS telephone response system.
Internal Revenue Code — Title 26
Fill-in, print, and save features for most tax forms.
Internal Revenue Bulletins.
Toll-free and email technical support.
Purchase the DVD from National Technical Information Service
(NTIS) at www.irs.gov/cdorders for $30 (no handling fee) or call
1-877-233-6767 toll free to purchase the DVD for $30 (plus a $6
handling fee).
By phone and in person. You can order forms and publications
by calling 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676). You can also get
most forms and publications at your local IRS office.

Common Errors on Forms W-2

Even if you request an extension to file Form W-2, you must
still furnish Form W-2 to your employees by January 31,
CAUTION 2011. But see Extension to furnish Forms W-2 to employees
on page 3.
Where to file paper forms. File the entire Copy A page of Form
W-2 with the entire page of Form W-3 at the following address:

Forms W-2 provide information to your employees, the SSA, the
IRS, and state and local governments. Avoid making the following
errors, which cause processing delays.

!

Do not:
• Omit the decimal point and cents from entries.
• Use ink that is too light to make entries. Use only black ink.
• Make entries that are too small or too large. Use 12-point Courier
font, if possible.
• Add dollar signs to the money-amount boxes. They have been
removed from Copy A and are not required.
• Inappropriately check the “Retirement plan” checkbox in
box 13. See Retirement plan on page 12.
• Misformat the employee’s name in box e. Enter the employee’s
first name and middle initial in the first box, his or her surname in
the second box, and his or her suffix (optional) in the third box.

Social Security Administration
Data Operations Center
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18769-0001
If you use “Certified Mail” to file, change the ZIP code to

TIP “18769-0002.” If you use an IRS-approved private delivery
service, add “ATTN: W-2 Process, 1150 E. Mountain Dr.” to
the address and change the ZIP code to “18702-7997.” See Pub.
15 (Circular E) for a list of IRS-approved private delivery services.

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• Your employer identification number (EIN),
• A statement that you are requesting an extension to furnish

Do not send cash, checks, money orders, etc., with the
Forms W-2 and W-3 that you submit to the SSA.
CAUTION Employment tax forms (for example, Form 941 or Form
943), remittances, and Forms 1099 must be sent to the IRS.
Send Copy 1 of Form W-2, if required, to your state, city, or local
tax department. For more information concerning Copy 1 (including
how to complete boxes 15 through 20), contact your state, city, or
local tax department.
Shipping and mailing. If you file more than one type of
employment tax form, group Forms W-2 of the same type with a
separate Form W-3 for each type, and send them in separate
groups. See the specific instructions for box b of Form W-3 on page
12.
Prepare and file Forms W-2 either alphabetically by employees’
last names or numerically by employees’ social security numbers.
Do not staple or tape Form W-3 to the related forms W-2 or Forms
W-2 to each other. These forms are machine read. Staple holes or
tears interfere with machine reading. Also, do not fold Forms W-2
and W-3. Send the forms to the SSA in a flat mailing.
Electronic reporting. If you are required to file 250 or more
Forms W-2, you must file them electronically unless the IRS
granted you a waiver. You may be charged a penalty if you fail to
file electronically when required.

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“Forms W-2” to employees,

• The reason for delay, and
• Your signature or that of your authorized agent.
Undeliverable Forms W-2. Keep for 4 years any employee
copies of Forms W-2 that you tried to but could not deliver.
However, if the undelivered W-2 can be produced electronically
through April 15th of the fourth year after the year of issue, you do
not need to keep undeliverable employee copies. Do not send
undeliverable Forms W-2 to the SSA.
Taxpayer identification numbers (TINs). Employers use an
employer identification number (EIN) (00-0000000). Employees use
a social security number (SSN) (000-00-0000). When you list a
number, separate the nine digits properly to show the kind of
number. Do not accept an individual taxpayer identification number
(ITIN) for employment purposes. For more information, see section
4 of Pub. 15 (Circular E).
The IRS uses SSNs to check the payments that you report
against the amounts shown on the employees’ tax returns. The
SSA uses SSNs to record employees’ earnings for future social
security and Medicare benefits. When you prepare Form W-2, be
sure to show the correct SSN for each employee. For information
on verification of SSNs, see section 4 of Pub. 15 (Circular E) or go
to www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/ssnv.htm.

You are encouraged to file electronically even if you are

TIP filing fewer than 250 Forms W-2. Small submitters may be
able to file Forms W-2 online. For more information, visit the
SSA’s Business Services Online website at www.socialsecurity.
gov/bso/bsowelcome.htm and select “Tutorial.”
You may request a waiver on Form 8508, Request for Waiver
From Filing Information Returns Electronically. Submit Form 8508
to the IRS at least 45 days before the due date of Form W-2. See
Form 8508 for filing information.

!

Special Reporting Situations for Form
W-2
HIRE wages and tips paid to qualified employees. Employers
who hired a qualified employee under the HIRE Act must report the
amount of social security wages and tips paid after March 18, 2010,
for which the employer claimed the payroll tax exemption. A
qualified employee is one who:
• Was hired after February 3, 2010, and before January 1, 2011;
• Was not hired to replace another employee unless the other
employee separated from employment voluntarily or for cause
(including downsizing);
• Was not a family member or other related individual of the
employer; and
• Signed Form W-11, Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment
(HIRE) Act Employee Affidavit, or other similar statement under
penalties of perjury, certifying under penalties of perjury that he or
she had not worked more than 40 hours during the 60 days prior to
beginning employment.
Report the amount of wages and tips paid to the qualified
employee for which you claimed the payroll tax exemption in Box
12, using code CC. This will include wages and tips paid to the
qualified employee from April 1, 2010, through December 31, 2010,
for which you claimed the payroll tax exemption, plus wages and
tips paid to the qualified employee from March 19, 2010, through
March 31, 2010, for which you claimed a credit in the second
quarter of 2010. The amount may not exceed $106,800 (2010
maximum social security wage base). For more information, visit
IRS.gov and enter the keywords HIRE Act payroll tax exemption.
Military differential pay. Employers paying their employees while
they are on active duty in the United States uniformed services
should treat these payments as wages. Differential wage payments
made to an individual while on active duty for more than 30 days
are subject to income tax withholding, but are not subject to social
security, Medicare, and unemployment taxes. Report differential
wage payments in box 1, and any federal income tax withholding in
box 2. Differential wage payments made to an individual while on
active duty for 30 days or less are subject to income, social
security, Medicare, and unemployment taxes. Report any social
security and Medicare taxes in boxes 4 and 6. See Rev. Rul.
2009-11, 2009-18 I.R.B. 896, available at www.irs.gov/irb/
2009-18_IRB/ar07.html.
Adoption benefits. Amounts paid or expenses incurred by an
employer for qualified adoption expenses under an adoption
assistance program are not subject to federal income tax
withholding and are not reportable in box 1. However, these
amounts (including adoption benefits paid from a section 125
(cafeteria) plan, but not including adoption benefits forfeited from a
cafeteria plan) are subject to social security, Medicare, and railroad
retirement taxes and must be reported in boxes 3 and 5. Also, the
total amount must be reported in box 12 with code T.

If you file electronically, do not file the same returns on
paper.

CAUTION

Electronic reporting specifications for Form W-2 are in the SSA’s
EFW2, a publication that can be downloaded by accessing the
SSA’s Employer W-2 Filing Instructions and Information website at
www.socialsecurity.gov/employer and selecting “E-Filing Format”.
You can also get electronic specifications by calling the SSA’s
Employer Reporting Branch at 1-800-772-6270.
Reporting instructions for electronic filing differ in a few
situations from paper reporting instructions. For example, electronic
filers may enter more than four items in box 12 in one individual’s
wage report, but paper filers are limited to four entries in box 12 on
Copy A of each Form W-2. See TIP On Copy A (Form W-2), do
not enter more than four items in box 12 on page 10.
Furnishing Copies B, C, and 2 to employees. Furnish Copies
B, C, and 2 of Form W-2 to your employees, generally, by January
31, 2011. You will meet the “furnish” requirement if the form is
properly addressed and mailed on or before the due date.
If employment ends before December 31, 2010, you may furnish
copies to the employee at any time after employment ends, but no
later than January 31, 2011. If an employee asks for Form W-2,
give him or her the completed copies within 30 days of the request
or within 30 days of the final wage payment, whichever is later.
However, if you terminate your business, see Terminating a
business on page 7.
You may furnish Forms W-2 to employees on IRS official forms
or on acceptable substitute forms. See Substitute forms on page 1.
Be sure the Forms W-2 you provide to employees are clear and
legible and comply with the requirements in Pub. 1141.
Extension to furnish Forms W-2 to employees. You may
request an extension of time to furnish Forms W-2 to employees by
sending a letter to:
IRS – Enterprise Computing Center – Martinsburg
Information Reporting Program
Attn: Extension of Time Coordinator
240 Murall Drive
Kearneysville, WV 25430
Mail your letter on or before the due date for furnishing Forms
W-2 to employees. It must include:
• Your name and address,

Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2010)

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For more information on adoption benefits, see Notice 97-9,
1997-1 C.B. 365, which is on page 35 of Internal Revenue Bulletin
1997-2 at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb97-02.pdf. Advise your
employees to see the Instructions for Form 8839, Qualified
Adoption Expenses.
Agent reporting. Generally, an agent who has an approved Form
2678, Employer/Payer Appointment of Agent, should enter the
agent’s name as the employer in box c of Form W-2, and file only
one Form W-2 for each employee. However, if the agent (a) is
acting as an agent for two or more employers or is an employer and
is acting as an agent for another employer, and (b) pays social
security wages for more than one employer in excess of the wage
base to an individual, the agent must file separate Forms W-2 for
the affected employee reflecting the wages paid by each employer.
On each Form W-2, the agent should enter the following in box c of
Form W-2:
(Name of agent)
Agent for (name of employer)
Address of agent

name/SSN reported on the most recently filed Form W-2. It is not
necessary to correct the prior years if the previous name and
number were used for the years prior to the most recently filed
Form W-2.
File Form W-3c, Transmittal of Corrected Wage and Tax
Statements, whenever you file a Form W-2c with the SSA, even if
you are only filing a Form W-2c to correct an employee’s name or
SSN. However, see Incorrect address on employee’s Form W-2
below for information on correcting an employee’s address. See the
Instructions for Forms W-2c and W-3c if an error was made on a
previously filed Form W-3.
If you discover an error on Form W-2 after you issue it to your
employee but before you send it to the SSA, check the “Void” box
at the top of the incorrect Form W-2 on Copy A. Prepare a new
Form W-2 with the correct information, and send Copy A to the
SSA. Write “CORRECTED” on the employee’s new copies (B, C,
and 2), and furnish them to the employee. If the “Void” Form W-2 is
on a page with a correct Form W-2, send the entire page to the
SSA. The “Void” form will not be processed. Do not write
“CORRECTED” on Copy A of Form W-2.
If you are making a correction for a previously filed Form 941,
Form 943, or Form 944, use Form 941-X, Adjusted Employer’s
QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return or Claim for Refund, Form
943-X, Adjusted Employer’s ANNUAL Federal Tax Return for
Agricultural Employees or Claim for Refund, or Form 944-X,
Adjusted Employer’s ANNUAL Federal Tax Return or Claim for
Refund, for the return period in which you found the error. See the
Instructions for Form 941-X for more details. Issue the employee a
Form W-2c if the error discovered was for the prior year. If you are
correcting social security or Medicare wages or tips, also file the
entire Copy A page of Form W-2c and Form W-3c with the SSA to
correct the social security records and any other items on the
original Form W-2 (or previously filed Form W-2c) that were in
error.
Incorrect address on employee’s Form W-2. If you filed a
Form W-2 with the SSA showing an incorrect address for the
employee but all other information on the Form W-2 is correct, do
not file Form W-2c with the SSA merely to correct the address.
However, if the address was incorrect on the Form W-2 furnished to
the employee, you must do one of the following.
• Issue a new, corrected Form W-2 to the employee, including the
new address. Indicate “REISSUED STATEMENT” on the new
copies. Do not send copy A to the SSA.
• Issue a Form W-2c to the employee showing the correct address
in box i and all other correct information. Do not send copy A to the
SSA.
• Reissue a Form W-2 with the incorrect address to the employee
in an envelope showing the correct address or otherwise deliver it
to the employee.
Deceased employee’s wages. If an employee dies during the
year, you must report the accrued wages, vacation pay, and other
compensation paid after the date of death. Wages that were
constructively received by the employee while he or she was alive
are reported on Form W-2 as any other regular wage payment,
even if you may have to reissue the payment in the name of the
estate or beneficiary.
If you made the payment after the employee’s death but in the
same year the employee died, you must withhold social security
and Medicare taxes on the payment and report the payment on the
employee’s Form W-2 only as social security and Medicare wages
to ensure proper social security and Medicare credit is received.
On the employee’s Form W-2, show the payment as social
security wages (box 3) and Medicare wages and tips (box 5) and
the social security and Medicare taxes withheld in boxes 4 and 6.
Do not show the payment in box 1.
If you made the payment after the year of death, do not report it
on Form W-2, and do not withhold social security and Medicare
taxes.
Whether the payment is made in the year of death or after the
year of death, you also must report it in box 3 of Form 1099-MISC,
Miscellaneous Income, for the payment to the estate or beneficiary.
Use the name and taxpayer identification number (TIN) of the
payment recipient on Form 1099-MISC.
Example. Before Employee A’s death on June 15, 2010, A was
employed by Employer X and received $10,000 in wages on which
federal income tax of $1,500 was withheld. When A died, X owed A
$2,000 in wages and $1,000 in accrued vacation pay. The total of

Each Form W-2 should reflect the EIN of the agent in box b. An
agent files one Form W-3 for all of the Forms W-2 and enters its
own information in boxes e, f, and g of Form W-3 as it appears on
the agent’s related employment tax returns (for example, Form
941). Enter the client-employer’s EIN in box h of Form W-3 if the
Forms W-2 relate to only one employer (other than the agent); if
not, leave box h blank. See Rev. Proc. 70-6, 1970-1 C.B. 420, for
procedures to be followed in applying to be an agent.
Generally, an agent is not responsible for refunding excess

TIP social security or railroad retirement (RRTA) tax on
employees. If an employee worked for more than one
employer during 2010 and had more than $6,621.60 in social
security and Tier I RRTA tax withheld, he or she should claim the
excess on the appropriate line of Form 1040 or Form 1040A. If an
employee had more than $3,088.80 in Tier II RRTA tax withheld
from more than one employer, the employee should claim a refund
on Form 843, Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement.
Archer MSA. An employer’s contribution to an employee’s Archer
MSA is not subject to federal income tax withholding, or social
security, Medicare, or railroad retirement taxes if it is reasonable to
believe at the time of the payment that the contribution will be
excludable from the employee’s income. However, if it is not
reasonable to believe at the time of payment that the contribution
will be excludable from the employee’s income, employer
contributions are subject to income tax withholding and social
security and Medicare taxes (or railroad retirement taxes, if
applicable) and must be reported in boxes 1, 3, and 5.
You must report all employer contributions to an Archer MSA in
box 12 of Form W-2 with code R. Employer contributions to an
Archer MSA that are not excludable from the income of the
employee also must be reported in box 1.
An employee’s contributions to an Archer MSA are includible in
income as wages and are subject to federal income tax withholding
and social security and Medicare taxes (or railroad retirement
taxes, if applicable). Employee contributions are deductible, within
limits, on the employee’s Form 1040.
For more information, see Pub. 969, Health Savings Accounts
and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans, and Notice 96-53, which is
found on page 5 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 1996-51 at www.irs.
gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb96-51.pdf.
Clergy and religious workers. For certain members of the clergy
and religious workers who are not subject to social security and
Medicare taxes as employees, boxes 3 and 5 of Form W-2 should
be left blank. You may include a minister’s parsonage and/or
utilities allowance in box 14. For information on the rules that apply
to ministers and certain other religious workers, see Pub. 517,
Social Security and Other Information for Members of the Clergy
and Religious Workers, and Section 4 – Religious Exemptions in
Pub. 15-A.
Corrections. Use the current version of Form W-2c, Corrected
Wage and Tax Statement, to correct errors (such as incorrect
name, SSN, or amount) on a previously filed Form W-2. To file your
corrections electronically, see Online wage reporting on page 1.
If the SSA issues your employee a replacement card after a
name change, or a new card with a different social security number
after a change in alien work status, file a Form W-2c to correct the

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$3,000 (less the social security and Medicare taxes withheld) was
paid to A’s estate on July 20, 2010. Because X made the payment
during the year of death, X must withhold social security and
Medicare taxes on the $3,000 payment and must complete Form
W-2 as follows:
• Box a – Employee A’s SSN
• Box e – Employee A’s name
• Box f – Employee A’s address
• Box 1 – 10000.00 (does not include the $3,000 accrued wages
and vacation pay)
• Box 2 – 1500.00
• Box 3 – 13000.00 (includes the $3,000 accrued wages and
vacation pay)
• Box 4 – 806.00 (6.2% of the amount in box 3)
• Box 5 – 13000.00 (includes the $3,000 accrued wages and
vacation pay)
• Box 6 – 188.50 (1.45% of the amount in box 5)

!

For more information on accountable plans, nonaccountable
plans, amounts treated as substantiated under a per diem or
mileage allowance, the standard mileage rate, the per diem
substantiation method, and the high-low substantiation method, see
Pub. 463, Travel, Entertainment, Gift, and Car Expenses; Pub.
1542, Per Diem Rates; and section 5 of Pub. 15 (Circular E).
Employee’s social security and Medicare taxes paid by
employer. If you paid your employee’s share of social security
and Medicare taxes rather than deducting them from the
employee’s wages, you must include these payments as wages
subject to federal income tax withholding and social security,
Medicare, and federal unemployment (FUTA) taxes. The amount to
include as wages is determined by using the formula contained in
the discussion of Employee’s Portion of Taxes Paid by Employer in
section 7 of Pub. 15-A.
This does not apply to household and agricultural
employers. If you pay a household or agricultural
CAUTION employee’s social security and Medicare taxes, you must
include these payments in the employee’s wages for income tax
withholding purposes. However, the wage increase due to the tax
payments is not subject to social security, Medicare, or FUTA
taxes. For information on completing Forms W-2 and W-3 in this
situation, see the Instructions for Schedule H (Form 1040),
Household Employers, and section 3 of Pub. 51 (Circular A).
Fringe benefits. Include all taxable fringe benefits in box 1 of
Form W-2 as wages, tips, and other compensation and, if
applicable, in boxes 3 and 5 as social security and Medicare
wages. Although not required, you may include the total value of
fringe benefits in box 14 (or on a separate statement). However, if
you provided your employee a vehicle and included 100% of its
annual lease value in the employee’s income, you must separately
report this value to the employee in box 14 (or on a separate
statement). The employee can then figure the value of any
business use of the vehicle and report it on Form 2106, Employee
Business Expenses. Also see Pub. 15-B for more information.

!

Employer X also must complete Form 1099-MISC as
follows:

CAUTION

• Boxes for: Recipient’s name, address, and TIN — The estate’s
name, address, and TIN

• Box 3: 3000.00 (Even though amounts were withheld for social

security and Medicare taxes, the gross amount is reported here.)
If Employer X made the payment after the year of death, the
$3,000 would not be subject to social security and Medicare taxes
and would not be shown on Form W-2. However, the employer
would still file Form 1099-MISC.
Designated Roth contributions. Under section 402A, a
participant in a section 401(k) plan or under a 403(b) salary
reduction agreement that includes a qualified Roth contribution
program may elect to make designated Roth contributions to the
plan or program in lieu of elective deferrals. Designated Roth
contributions are subject to federal income tax withholding and
social security and Medicare taxes (and railroad retirement taxes, if
applicable) and must be reported in boxes 1, 3, and 5.
Section 402A requires separate reporting of the yearly
designated Roth contributions. Designated Roth contributions to
401(k) plans will be reported using code AA in box 12; designated
Roth contributions under 403(b) salary reduction agreements will
be reported using code BB in box 12. For reporting instructions, see
Code AA and Code BB on page 11.
Educational assistance programs. A $5,250 exclusion for
employer-provided educational assistance applies to benefits
provided to your employees under an educational assistance
program. However, educational assistance that exceeds $5,250
may be excludable from an employee’s wages if it qualifies as a
working condition benefit. See Pub. 970, Tax Benefits for
Education, and section 2 of Pub. 15-B for more information. Also
see Box 1 — Wages, tips, other compensation on page 8.
Election workers. Report on Form W-2 payments of $600 or
more to election workers for services performed in state, county,
and municipal elections. File Form W-2 for payments of less than
$600 paid to election workers if social security and Medicare taxes
were withheld under a section 218 (Social Security Act) agreement.
Do not report election worker payments on Form 1099-MISC.
If the election worker is employed in another capacity with the
same government entity, see Rev. Rul. 2000-06 on page 512 of
Internal Revenue Bulletin 2000-06 at
www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb00-06.pdf.
Employee business expense reimbursements.
Reimbursements to employees for business expenses must be
reported as follows:
• Generally, payments made under an accountable plan are
excluded from the employee’s gross income and are not reported
on Form W-2. However, if you pay a per diem or mileage allowance
and the amount paid for substantiated miles or days traveled
exceeds the amount treated as substantiated under IRS rules, you
must report as wages on Form W-2 the amount in excess of the
amount treated as substantiated. The excess amount is subject to
income tax withholding and social security and Medicare taxes.
Report the amount treated as substantiated (that is, the nontaxable
portion) in box 12 using code L. See Code L — Substantiated
employee business expense reimbursements on page 11.
• Payments made under a nonaccountable plan are reported as
wages on Form W-2 and are subject to federal income tax
withholding and social security and Medicare taxes.

Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2010)

If you used the commuting rule or the vehicle cents-per-mile
rule to value the personal use of the vehicle, you cannot
CAUTION include 100% of the value of the use of the vehicle in the
employee’s income. See Pub. 15-B.
Golden parachute payments. Include any golden parachute
payments in boxes 1, 3, and 5 of Form W-2. Withhold federal
income, social security, and Medicare taxes as usual and report
them in boxes 2, 4, and 6, respectively. Excess parachute
payments are also subject to a 20% excise tax. If the excess
payments are considered wages, withhold the 20% excise tax and
include it in box 2 as income tax withheld. Also report the excise tax
in box 12 with code K. For definitions and additional information,
see Regulations section 1.280G-1 and Rev. Proc. 2003-68, which
is on page 398 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 2003-34 at www.irs.
gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb03-34.pdf.
Government employers. Federal, state, and local agencies have
two options for reporting their employees’ wages that are subject
only to Medicare tax for part of the year and full social security and
Medicare taxes for part of the year.
Option one (which the SSA prefers) is to file a single Form W-2
reflecting the employees’ wages for the entire year, even if only part
of the year’s wages was subject to both social security and
Medicare taxes. The Form W-3 must have the “941” box checked in
box b. The wages in box 5 must be equal to or greater than the
wages in box 3 on Form W-2.
Option two is to file two Forms W-2 and two Forms W-3. File
one Form W-2 for wages subject to Medicare tax only. Be sure to
check the “Medicare govt. emp.” box in box b of Form W-3. File the
second Form W-2 for wages subject to both social security and
Medicare taxes with the “941” box checked in box b of Form W-3.
The wages in box 5 on each Form W-2 must be equal to or greater
than the wages in box 3 on that same Form W-2.
Group-term life insurance. If you paid for group-term life
insurance over $50,000 for an employee or a former employee, you
must report the taxable cost of excess coverage, determined by
using the table in section 2 of Pub. 15-B, in boxes 1, 3, and 5 of
Form W-2. Also, show the amount in box 12 with code C. For
employees, you must withhold social security and Medicare taxes,
but not federal income tax. Former employees must pay the
employee part of social security and Medicare taxes on the taxable
cost of group-term life insurance over $50,000 on Form 1040. You

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are not required to collect those taxes. However, you must report
the uncollected social security tax with code M and the uncollected
Medicare tax with code N in box 12 of Form W-2.
Health savings account (HSA). An employer’s contribution
(including an employee’s contributions through a cafeteria plan) to
an employee’s HSA is not subject to federal income tax
withholding, or social security, Medicare, or railroad retirement
taxes (or FUTA tax) if it is reasonable to believe at the time of the
payment that the contribution will be excludable from the
employee’s income. However, if it is not reasonable to believe at
the time of payment that the contribution will be excludable from the
employee’s income, employer contributions are subject to federal
income tax withholding and social security and Medicare taxes (or
railroad retirement taxes, if applicable) and FUTA tax and must be
reported in boxes 1, 3, and 5 (and on Form 940, Employer’s Annual
Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return).
You must report all employer contributions to an HSA in box 12
of Form W-2 with code W. Employer contributions to an HSA that
are not excludable from the income of the employee also must be
reported in boxes 1, 3, and 5.
An employee’s contributions to an HSA (unless made through a
cafeteria plan) are includible in income as wages and are subject to
federal income tax withholding and social security and Medicare
taxes (or railroad retirement taxes, if applicable). Employee
contributions are deductible, within limits, on the employee’s Form
1040. For more information about HSAs, see Notice 2004-2 and
Notice 2004-50. You can find Notice 2004-2 on page 269 of Internal
Revenue Bulletin 2004-2 at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb04-02.pdf.
You can find Notice 2004-50 on page 196 of Internal Revenue
Bulletin 2004-33 at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb04-33.pdf. Also see
Form 8889, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), and Pub. 969.
Lost Form W-2 — reissued statement. If an employee loses a
Form W-2, write “REISSUED STATEMENT” on the new copy and
furnish it to the employee. You do not have to add “REISSUED
STATEMENT” on Forms W-2 provided to employees electronically.
Do not send Copy A of the reissued Form W-2 to the SSA.
Employers are not prohibited (by the Internal Revenue Code) from
charging a fee for the issuance of a duplicate Form W-2.
Moving expenses. Report moving expenses as follows:
• Qualified moving expenses that an employer paid to a third party
on behalf of the employee (for example, to a moving company) and
services that an employer furnished in kind to an employee are not
reported on Form W-2.
• Qualified moving expense reimbursements paid directly to an
employee by an employer are reported only in box 12 of Form W-2
with code P.
• Nonqualified moving expense reimbursements are reported in
boxes 1, 3, and 5 of Form W-2. These amounts are subject to
federal income tax withholding and social security and Medicare
taxes (or railroad retirement taxes, if applicable).
Nonqualified deferred compensation plans. Section 409A
provides that all amounts deferred under a nonqualified deferred
compensation (NQDC) plan for all tax years are currently includible
in gross income unless certain requirements are met. If section
409A requires an amount to be included in gross income, the
section imposes a 20 percent additional tax. Section 409A,
generally, is effective with respect to amounts deferred in tax years
beginning after December 31, 2004, but deferrals made prior to that
year may be subject to section 409A under some circumstances.
It is not necessary to show amounts deferred during the year
under an NQDC plan subject to section 409A. For more
information, see Notice 2008-115, 2008-52 I.R.B. 1367, available at
www.irs.gov/irb/2008-52_IRB/ar10.html. If you report section 409A
deferrals, show the amount in Box 12 using code Y.
Income included under section 409A from an NQDC plan will be
reported in box 1, and in box 12 using code Z. This income is also
subject to an additional tax reported on Form 1040. For more
information on amounts includible in gross income, see Notice
2008-113, 2008-51 I.R.B. 1305, available at www.irs.gov/irb/
2008-51_IRB/ar12.html, and for more information on reporting and
wage withholding on amounts includible in gross income, see
Notice 2008-115.
Railroad employers. Railroad employers must file Form W-2 to
report their employees’ wages and income tax withholding in boxes
1 and 2. Electronic reporting may be required; see Electronic
reporting on page 3. If you have both FICA employees and RRTA

employees, you must file a separate Form W-3 to transmit the
Forms W-2 for each group of employees.
If an employee is covered by social security and Medicare, also
complete boxes 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of Form W-2 to show the social
security and Medicare wages and the amounts withheld for social
security and Medicare taxes. On the Form W-3 used to transmit
these Forms W-2, check the “941” box in box b.
For employees covered by RRTA tax, you also must report the
Tier I and Tier II taxes withheld in box 14 of Form W-2. Label them
“Tier I tax” and “Tier II tax.” Boxes 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 apply only to
covered social security and Medicare employees and are not to be
used to report railroad retirement wages and taxes. On the Form
W-3 used to transmit these Forms W-2, check the “CT-1” box in
box b.
Repayments. If an employee repays you for wages received in
error, do not offset the repayments against current year’s wages
unless the repayments are for amounts received in error in the
current year. Repayments made in the current year, but related to a
prior year or years, must be repaid in gross, not net, and require
special tax treatment by employees in some cases. You may
advise the employee of the total repayments made during the
current year and the amount (if any) related to prior years. This
information will help the employee account for such repayments on
his or her federal income tax return.
If the repayment was for a prior year, you must file Form W-2c
with the SSA to correct only social security and Medicare wages
and taxes. Do not correct “Wages” in box 1 on Form W-2c for the
amount paid in error. For information on reporting adjustments to
Form 941, Form 943, or Form 944, see section 13 of Pub. 15
(Circular E) or section 9 of Pub. 51 (Circular A).
Tell your employee that the wages paid in error in a prior

TIP year remain taxable to him or her for that year. This is
because the employee received and had use of those funds
during that year. The employee is not entitled to file an amended
return (Form 1040X) to recover the income tax on these wages.
Instead, the employee is entitled to a deduction (or a credit, in
some cases) for the repaid wages on his or her Form 1040 for the
year of repayment.
Scholarship and fellowship grants. Give a Form W-2 to each
recipient of a scholarship or fellowship grant only if you are
reporting amounts includible in income under section 117(c)
(relating to payments for teaching, research, or other services
required as a condition for receiving the qualified scholarship). Also
see Pub. 15-A and Pub. 970. These payments are subject to
federal income tax withholding. However, their taxability for social
security and Medicare taxes depends on the nature of the
employment and the status of the organization. See Students in
section 15 of Pub. 15 (Circular E).
Sick pay. If you had employees who received sick pay in 2010
from an insurance company or other third-party payer and the third
party notified you of the amount of sick pay involved, you may be
required to report the information on the employees’ Forms W-2. If
the insurance company or other third-party payer did not notify you
in a timely manner about the sick pay payments, it must prepare
Forms W-2 and W-3 for your employees showing the sick pay. For
specific reporting instructions, see Sick Pay Reporting in section 6
of Pub. 15-A.
SIMPLE retirement account. An employee’s salary reduction
contributions to a SIMPLE (savings incentive match plan for
employees) retirement account are not subject to federal income
tax withholding but are subject to social security, Medicare, and
railroad retirement taxes. Do not include an employee’s contribution
in box 1 but do include it in boxes 3 and 5. An employee’s total
contribution also must be included in box 12 with code D or S.
An employer’s matching or nonelective contribution to an
employee’s SIMPLE is not subject to federal income tax withholding
or social security, Medicare, or railroad retirement taxes and is not
to be shown on Form W-2.
For more information on SIMPLE retirement accounts, see
Notice 98-4, 1998-1 C.B. 269. You can find Notice 98-4 on page 25
of Internal Revenue Bulletin 1998-2 at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/
irb98-02.pdf.
Successor/predecessor employers. If you buy or sell a
business during the year, see Rev. Proc. 2004-53 for information
on who must file Forms W-2 and employment tax returns. You can

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find Rev. Proc. 2004-53 on page 320 of Internal Revenue Bulletin
2004-34 at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb04-34.pdf.
Terminating a business. If you terminate your business, you
must provide Forms W-2 to your employees for the calendar year of
termination by the due date of your final Form 941. You also must
file Forms W-2 with the SSA by the last day of the month that
follows the due date of your final Form 941. If filing on paper, make
sure you obtain Forms W-2 and W-3 preprinted with the correct
year. If filing electronically, make sure your software has been
updated for the current tax year.
However, if any of your employees are immediately employed
by a successor employer, see Successor/predecessor employers
on page 6. Also, see Rev. Proc. 96-57, 1996-2 C.B. 389, for
information on automatic extensions for furnishing Forms W-2 to
employees and filing Forms W-2. You can find Rev. Proc. 96-57 on
page 14 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 1996-53 at www.irs.gov/pub/
irs-irbs/irb96-53.pdf.

must also be able to show that you acted in a responsible manner
and took steps to avoid the failure.
2. An inconsequential error or omission is not considered a
failure to include correct information. An inconsequential error or
omission does not prevent or hinder the SSA/IRS from processing
the Form W-2, from correlating the information required to be
shown on the form with the information shown on the payee’s tax
return, or from otherwise putting the form to its intended use. Errors
and omissions that are never inconsequential are those relating to:
• A TIN,
• A payee’s surname, and
• Any money amounts.
3. De minimis rule for corrections. Even though you cannot
show reasonable cause, the penalty for failure to file correct Forms
W-2 will not apply to a certain number of returns if you:
• Filed those Forms W-2 on or before the required filing date,
• Either failed to include all of the information required on the
form or included incorrect information, and
• Filed corrections of these forms by August 2.

Get Schedule D (Form 941), Report of Discrepancies

TIP Caused by Acquisitions, Statutory Mergers, or

If you meet all of the conditions above, the penalty for filing
incorrect information returns (including Form W-2) will not apply to
the greater of 10 information returns (including Form W-2) or 1/2 of
1% of the total number of information returns (including Form W-2)
that you are required to file for the calendar year.
Small businesses. For purposes of the lower maximum
penalties shown in parentheses earlier, you are a small business if
your average annual gross receipts for the 3 most recent tax years
(or for the period that you were in existence, if shorter) ending
before the calendar year in which the Forms W-2 were due are $5
million or less.
Intentional disregard of filing requirements. If any failure to
file a correct Form W-2 is due to intentional disregard of the filing or
correct information requirements, the penalty is at least $100 per
Form W-2 with no maximum penalty.
Failure to furnish correct payee statements. If you fail to
provide correct payee statements (Forms W-2) to your employees
and you cannot show reasonable cause, you may be subject to a
penalty. The penalty applies if you fail to provide the statement by
January 31, 2011, if you fail to include all information required to be
shown on the statement, or if you include incorrect information on
the statement.
The penalty is $50 per statement, no matter when the correct
statement is furnished, with a maximum of $100,000 per year. The
penalty is not reduced for furnishing a correct statement by August
1, 2011.
Exception. An inconsequential error or omission is not
considered a failure to include correct information. An
inconsequential error or omission cannot reasonably be expected
to prevent or hinder the payee from timely receiving correct
information and reporting it on his or her income tax return or from
otherwise putting the statement to its intended use. Errors and
omissions that are never inconsequential are those relating to:
• A dollar amount,
• A significant item in a payee’s address, and
• The appropriate form for the information provided, such as
whether the form is an acceptable substitute for the official IRS
form.
Intentional disregard of payee statement requirements. If
any failure to provide a correct payee statement (Form W-2) to an
employee is due to intentional disregard of the requirements to
furnish a correct payee statement, the penalty is at least $100 per
Form W-2 with no maximum penalty.
Civil damages for fraudulent filing of Forms W-2. If you willfully
file a fraudulent Form W-2 for payments that you claim you made to
another person, that person may be able to sue you for damages.
You may have to pay $5,000 or more.

Consolidations, for information on reconciling wages and
taxes reported on Forms W-2 with amounts reported on Forms 941,
Form 943, or Form 944.
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights
Act of 1994 (USERRA) makeup amounts to a pension plan. If
an employee returned to your employment after military service and
certain makeup amounts were contributed to a pension plan for a
prior year(s) under the USERRA, report the prior year contributions
separately in box 12. See the TIP before Code D on page 10. You
also may report certain makeup amounts in box 14. See Box
14 — Other on page 12.
Instead of reporting in box 12 (or box 14), you may choose to
provide a separate statement to your employee showing USERRA
makeup contributions. The statement must identify the type of plan,
the year(s) to which the contributions relate, and the amount
contributed for each year.

Penalties
The following penalties generally apply to the person required to file
Form W-2. The penalties apply to paper filers as well as to
electronic filers.
Use of a reporting agent or other third-party payroll service
provider does not relieve an employer of the responsibility to
CAUTION ensure that Forms W-2 are furnished to employees and are
filed correctly and on time.
Failure to file correct information returns by the due date. If
you fail to file a correct Form W-2 by the due date and cannot show
reasonable cause, you may be subject to a penalty as provided
under section 6721. The penalty applies if you:
• Fail to file timely,
• Fail to include all information required to be shown on Form W-2,
• Include incorrect information on Form W-2,
• File on paper when you were required to file electronically,
• Report an incorrect TIN,
• Fail to report a TIN, or
• Fail to file paper Forms W-2 that are machine readable.
The amount of the penalty is based on when you file the correct
Form W-2. The penalty is:
• $15 per Form W-2 if you correctly file within 30 days (by March
30 if the due date is February 28); maximum penalty $75,000 per
year ($25,000 for small businesses, defined later).
• $30 per Form W-2 if you correctly file more than 30 days after the
due date but by August 1, 2011; maximum penalty $150,000 per
year ($50,000 for small businesses).
• $50 per Form W-2 if you file after August 1, 2011, or you do not
file required Forms W-2; maximum penalty $250,000 per year
($100,000 for small businesses).

!

!

CAUTION

If you do not file corrections and you do not meet any of the
exceptions to the penalty stated below, the penalty is $50
per information return.

Specific Instructions for Form W-2
How to complete Form W-2. Form W-2 is a six-part form. Ensure
all copies are legible. Send Copy A to the SSA; Copy 1, if required,
to your state, city, or local tax department; and Copies B, C, and 2
to your employee. Keep Copy D, and a copy of Form W-3, with
your records for 4 years.
Type the entries on Form W-2 using black ink in 12-point
Courier font. Copy A is read by machine and must be typed clearly

Exceptions to the penalty. The following are exceptions to
the failure to file correct information returns penalty:
1. The penalty will not apply to any failure that you can show
was due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect. In general,
you must be able to show that your failure was due to an event
beyond your control or due to significant mitigating factors. You

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with no corrections made to the entries or entries exceeding the
size of the boxes. Entries completed by hand, in script or italics
fonts, or in colors other than black cannot be read by the machines.
Make all dollar entries on Copy A without the dollar sign and
comma but with the decimal point (00000.00). Show the cents
portion of the money amounts. If a box does not apply, leave it
blank.
Send the whole Copy A page of Form W-2 with Form W-3 to
SSA even if one of the Forms W-2 on the page is blank or void. Do
not staple Forms W-2 together or to Form W-3. File Forms W-2
either alphabetically by employees’ last names or numerically by
employees’ SSNs.
Calendar year basis. The entries on Form W-2 must be based on
wages paid during the calendar year. Use Form W-2 for the correct
tax year. For example, if the employee worked from December 21,
2010, through January 4, 2011, and the wages for that period were
paid on January 5, 2011, include those wages on the 2011 Form
W-2.
Multiple forms. If necessary, you can issue more than one Form
W-2 to an employee. For example, you may need to report more
than four coded items in box 12 or you may want to report other
compensation on a second form. If you issue a second Form W-2,
complete boxes b, c, d, e, and f with the same information as on the
first Form W-2. Show any items that were not included on the first
Form W-2 in the appropriate boxes. Also, see the TIP for Copy A
(Form W-2) on page 10.
Do not report the same federal tax data to the SSA on more
than one Copy A.

Box d — Control number. You may use this box to identify
individual Forms W-2. You do not have to use this box.
Boxes e and f — Employee’s name and address. Enter the
name as shown on your employee’s social security card (first
name, middle initial, last name). If the name does not fit in the
space allowed on the form, you may show the first and middle
name initials and the full last name. It is especially important to
report the exact last name of the employee. If you are unable to
determine the correct last name, use of the SSA’s SSNVS may be
helpful. Connect parts of a compound name with either a hyphen or
a blank. Do not join them into a single word. Include all parts of a
compound name in the appropriate name field. For example, for the
name “John R Smith-Jones”, enter “Smith-Jones” or “Smith Jones”
in the last name field. If the name has changed, the employee must
get a corrected card from any SSA office. Use the name on the
original card until you see the corrected card. Do not show titles or
academic degrees, such as “Dr.,” “RN,” or “Esq.,” at the beginning
or end of the employee’s name. Generally, do not enter “Jr.,” “Sr.,”
etc. in the “Suff.” box on Copy A unless the suffix appears on the
card. However, the SSA still prefers that you do not enter the suffix
on Copy A.
Include in the address the number, street, and apartment or
suite number (or P.O. box number if mail is not delivered to a street
address). The U.S. Postal Service recommends that no commas or
periods be used in delivery addresses. For a foreign address, give
the information in the following order: city, province or state, and
country. Follow the country’s practice for entering the postal code.
Do not abbreviate the country name.
Third-party payers of sick pay filing third-party sick pay recap
Forms W-2 and W-3 must enter “Third-Party Sick Pay Recap” in
place of the employee’s name in box e. Also, do not enter the
employee’s SSN in box a. See Sick Pay Reporting in section 6 of
Pub. 15-A.

For each Form W-2 showing an amount in box 3 or box 7,

TIP make certain that box 5 equals or exceeds the sum of boxes
3 and 7.
Void. Check this box when an error is made on Form W-2 and
you are voiding it because you are going to complete a new Form
W-2. Do not include any amounts shown on “Void” forms in the
totals you enter on Form W-3. See Corrections on page 4.
Box a — Employee’s social security number. Enter the number
shown on the employee’s social security card.
If the employee does not have a card, he or she should apply for
one by completing Form SS-5, Application for a Social Security
Card. You can verify that employees’ names and SSNs match SSA
records by using the Social Security Number Verification Service
(SSNVS) at www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/ssnv.htm. This is a
free service from the SSA. If you have questions about the SSNVS,
contact the SSA at 1-800-772-6270.
If the employee has applied for a card but the number is not
received in time for filing, enter “Applied For” in box a on paper
Forms W-2 filed with the SSA. (Enter zeros (000-00-0000) if Form
W-2 is filed electronically with the SSA.)
Ask the employee to inform you of the number and name as
they are shown on the social security card when it is received. Then
correct your previous report by filing Form W-2c showing the
employee’s SSN. If the employee needs to change his or her name
from that shown on the card, the employee should call the SSA at
1-800-772-1213.
If you do not provide the correct employee name and SSN on
Form W-2, you may owe a penalty unless you have reasonable
cause. For more information, see Publication 1586, Reasonable
Cause Regulations and Requirements for Missing/Incorrect Name/
TINs.
Box b — Employer identification number (EIN). Show the
employer identification number (EIN) assigned to you by the IRS
(00-0000000). This should be the same number that you used on
your federal employment tax returns (Form 941, Form 943, Form
944, Form CT-1, or Schedule H (Form 1040)). Do not use a prior
owner’s EIN. If you do not have an EIN when filing Forms W-2,
enter “Applied For” in box b; do not use your SSN. You can get an
EIN by applying online at IRS.gov, by calling the toll-free number,
1-800-829-4933, or by filing Form SS-4, Application for Employer
Identification Number. Also see Agent reporting on page 4.
Box c — Employer’s name, address, and ZIP code. This entry
should be the same as shown on your Form 941, Form 943, Form
944, Form CT-1, or Schedule H (Form 1040). The U.S. Postal
Service recommends that no commas or periods be used in return
addresses. Also see Agent reporting on page 4.

Box 1 — Wages, tips, other compensation. Show the total
taxable wages, tips, and other compensation (before any payroll
deductions) that you paid to your employee during the year.
However, do not include elective deferrals (such as employee
contributions to a section 401(k) or 403(b) plan) except section
501(c)(18) contributions. Include the following:
1. Total wages, bonuses (including signing bonuses), prizes,
and awards paid to employees during the year. See Calendar year
basis, earlier.
2. Total noncash payments, including certain fringe benefits.
See Fringe benefits on page 5.
3. Total tips reported by the employee to the employer (not
allocated tips).
4. Certain employee business expense reimbursements (see
Employee business expense reimbursements on page 5).
5. The cost of accident and health insurance premiums for 2%
or more shareholder-employees paid by an S corporation.
6. Taxable benefits from a section 125 (cafeteria) plan if the
employee chooses cash.
7. Employee contributions to an Archer MSA.
8. Employer contributions to an Archer MSA if includible in the
income of the employee. See Archer MSA on page 4.
9. Employer contributions for qualified long-term care services
to the extent that such coverage is provided through a flexible
spending or similar arrangement.
10. Taxable cost of group-term life insurance in excess of
$50,000. See Group-term life insurance on page 5.
11. Unless excludable under Educational assistance programs
(see page 5), payments for non-job-related education expenses or
for payments under a nonaccountable plan. See Pub. 970.
12. The amount includible as wages because you paid your
employee’s share of social security and Medicare taxes. See
Employee’s social security and Medicare taxes paid by employer
on page 5. If you also paid your employee’s income tax withholding,
treat the grossed-up amount of that withholding as supplemental
wages and report those wages in boxes 1, 3, 5, and 7. No
exceptions to this treatment apply to household or agricultural
wages.
13. Designated Roth contributions made under a section 401(k)
plan or under a section 403(b) salary reduction agreement. See
Designated Roth contributions on page 5.
14. Distributions to an employee or former employee from an
NQDC plan (including a rabbi trust) or a nongovernmental section
457(b) plan.

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15. Amounts includible in income under section 457(f) because
the amounts are no longer subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture.
16. Payments to statutory employees who are subject to social
security and Medicare taxes but not subject to federal income tax
withholding must be shown in box 1 as other compensation. See
Statutory employee on page 11.
17. Cost of current insurance protection under a compensatory
split-dollar life insurance arrangement.
18. Employee contributions to a health savings account (HSA).
19. Employer contributions to an HSA if includible in the income
of the employee. See Health savings account (HSA) on page 6.
20. Amounts includible in income under an NQDC plan because
of section 409A. See Nonqualified deferred compensation plans on
page 6.
21. Payments made to former employees while they are on
active duty for more than 30 days in the Armed Forces or other
uniformed services.
22. All other compensation, including certain scholarship and
fellowship grants (see page 6). Other compensation includes
taxable amounts that you paid to your employee from which federal
income tax was not withheld. You may show other compensation
on a separate Form W-2. See Multiple forms on page 8.

paid your employee’s share, see Employee’s social security and
Medicare taxes paid by employer on page 5.
Box 5 — Medicare wages and tips. The wages and tips subject
to Medicare tax are the same as those subject to social security tax
(boxes 3 and 7) except that there is no wage base limit for
Medicare tax. Enter the total Medicare wages and tips in box 5. Be
sure to enter tips that the employee reported even if you did not
have enough employee funds to collect the Medicare tax for those
tips. See Box 3 — Social security wages, earlier, for payments to
report in this box. If you paid your employee’s share of taxes, see
Employee’s social security and Medicare taxes paid by employer
on page 5.
If you are a federal, state, or local agency with employees
paying only the 1.45% Medicare tax, enter the Medicare wages in
this box. See Government employers on page 5.
Example of how to report social security and Medicare
wages. You paid your employee $140,000 in wages. Enter in box
3 (social security wages) 106800.00 but enter in box 5 (Medicare
wages and tips) 140000.00. There is no limit on the amount
reported in box 5. If the amount of wages paid was $106,800 or
less, the amounts entered in boxes 3 and 5 would be the same.
Box 6 — Medicare tax withheld. Enter the total employee
Medicare tax (not your share) withheld. Include only tax withheld for
2010 wages and tips. Do not reduce this amount by any advance
EIC payments made to the employee. If you paid your employee’s
share of the taxes, see Employee’s social security and Medicare
taxes paid by employer on page 5.
Box 7 — Social security tips. Show the tips that the employee
reported to you even if you did not have enough employee funds to
collect the social security tax for the tips. The total of boxes 3 and 7
should not be more than $106,800 (the maximum social security
wage base for 2010). Report all tips in box 1 along with wages and
other compensation. Include any tips reported in box 7 in box 5
also.
Box 8 — Allocated tips. If you are a food or beverage
establishment, show the tips allocated to the employee. See the
Instructions for Form 8027, Employer’s Annual Information Return
of Tip Income and Allocated Tips. Do not include this amount in
boxes 1, 3, 5, or 7.
Box 9 — Advance EIC payment. Show the total paid to the
employee as advance earned income credit (EIC) payments.
Box 10 — Dependent care benefits. Show the total dependent
care benefits under a dependent care assistance program (section
129) paid or incurred by you for your employee. Include the fair
market value (FMV) of care in a daycare facility provided or
sponsored by you for your employee and amounts paid or incurred
for dependent care assistance in a section 125 (cafeteria) plan.
Report all amounts paid or incurred (regardless of any employee
forfeitures), including those in excess of the $5,000 exclusion. This
may include (a) the FMV of benefits provided in kind by the
employer, (b) an amount paid directly to a daycare facility by the
employer or reimbursed to the employee to subsidize the benefit, or
(c) benefits from the pre-tax contributions made by the employee
under a section 125 dependent care flexible spending account.
Include any amounts over $5,000 in boxes 1, 3, and 5. For more
information, see Pub. 15-B.

Box 2 — Federal income tax withheld. Show the total federal
income tax withheld from the employee’s wages for the year (do not
reduce the wages by any advance EIC payments made to the
employee). Include the 20% excise tax withheld on excess
parachute payments. See Golden parachute payments on page 5.
Box 3 — Social security wages. Show the total wages paid
(before payroll deductions) subject to employee social security tax
but not including social security tips and allocated tips. If reporting
these amounts in a subsequent year (due to lapse of risk of
forfeiture), the amount must be adjusted by any gain or loss. See
Box 7 — Social security tips and Box 8 — Allocated tips, later.
Generally, noncash payments are considered to be wages. Include
employee business expense reimbursements reported in box 1. If
you paid the employee’s share of social security and Medicare
taxes rather than deducting them from wages, see Employee’s
social security and Medicare taxes paid by employer, on page 5.
The total of boxes 3 and 7 cannot exceed $106,800 (2010
maximum social security wage base).
Report in box 3 elective deferrals to certain qualified cash or
deferred compensation arrangements and to retirement plans
described in box 12 (codes D, E, F, G, and S) even though the
deferrals are not includible in box 1. Also report in box 3 designated
Roth contributions made under a section 401(k) plan or under a
section 403(b) salary reduction agreement described in box 12
(codes AA and BB).
Amounts deferred (plus earnings or less losses) under a
nonqualified or section 457(b) plan must be included in boxes 3
and/or 5 as social security and/or Medicare wages as of the later of
when the services giving rise to the deferral are performed or when
there is no substantial forfeiture risk of the rights to the deferred
amount. Include both elective and nonelective deferrals for
purposes of section 457(b) plans.
Also include in box 3:
• Signing bonuses an employer pays for signing or ratifying an
employment contract. See Rev. Rul. 2004-109, which is on page
958 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 2004-50 at www.irs.gov/pub/
irs-irbs/irb04-50.pdf.
• Taxable cost of group-term life insurance over $50,000 included
in box 1. See Group-term life insurance on page 5.
• Cost of accident and health insurance premiums for 2% or more
shareholder-employees paid by an S corporation, but only if not
excludable under section 3121(a)(2)(B).
• Employee and nonexcludable employer contributions to an MSA
or HSA. However, do not include employee contributions to an HSA
that were made through a cafeteria plan. See Archer MSA on page
4 and Health savings account (HSA) on page 6.
• Employee contributions to a SIMPLE retirement account.
See SIMPLE retirement account on page 6.
• Adoption benefits. See Adoption benefits on page 3.
Box 4 — Social security tax withheld. Show the total employee
social security tax (not your share) withheld, including social
security tax on tips. Do not reduce this amount by any advance EIC
payments made to the employee. For 2010, the amount should not
exceed $6,621.60 ($106,800 × 6.2%). Include only taxes withheld
(or paid by you for the employee) for 2010 wages and tips. If you

Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2010)

An employer that amends its cafeteria plan to provide a

TIP grace period for dependent care assistance may continue to
rely on Notice 89-111, by reporting in Box 10 of Form W-2
the salary reduction amount elected by the employee for the year
for dependent care assistance (plus any employer matching
contributions attributable to dependent care).
Box 11 — Nonqualified plans. The purpose of box 11 is for the
SSA to determine if any part of the amount reported in box 1 or
boxes 3 and/or 5 was earned in a prior year. The SSA uses this
information to verify that they have properly applied the social
security earnings test and paid the correct amount of benefits.
Show distributions to an employee from a nonqualified plan or a
nongovernmental section 457(b) plan. Also report these
distributions in box 1. Make only one entry in this box. Distributions
from governmental section 457(b) plans must be reported on Form
1099-R, Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or
Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc., not in box 1
of Form W-2.
If you did not make distributions this year, show deferrals (plus
earnings or less losses) under a nonqualified or any section 457(b)

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plan that became taxable for social security and Medicare taxes
during the year (but were for prior year services) because the
deferred amounts were no longer subject to a substantial risk of
forfeiture. Also report these amounts in boxes 3 (up to the social
security wage base) and 5. Do not report in box 11 deferrals
included in boxes 3 and/or 5 and deferrals for current year services
(such as those with no risk of forfeiture).

include this amount in boxes 1, 3 (up to the social security wage
base), and 5.

If you made distributions and also are reporting any
deferrals in box(es) 3 and/or 5, do not complete box 11. See
CAUTION Pub. 957, Reporting Back Pay and Special Wage Payments
to the Social Security Administration, and Form SSA-131, Employer
Report of Special Wage Payments, for instructions on reporting
these and other kinds of compensation earned in prior years.
However, do not file Form SSA-131 if this situation applies but
the employee will not be age 62 or older by the end of that
year.

The amount reported as elective deferrals and designated Roth
contributions is only the part of the employee’s salary (or other
compensation) that he or she did not receive because of the
deferrals or designated Roth contributions. Only elective deferrals
and designated Roth contributions should be reported in box 12 for
all coded plans; except, when using code G for section 457(b)
plans, include both elective and nonelective deferrals.

Codes D through H, S, Y, AA, and BB. Use these codes to
show elective deferrals and designated Roth contributions made to
the plans listed. Do not report amounts for other types of plans. See
the example for reporting elective deferrals under a section 401(k)
plan, below.

!

For employees who were 50 years of age or older at any time
during the year and made elective deferral and/or designated Roth
“catch-up” contributions, report the elective deferrals and the
elective deferral “catch-up” contributions as a single sum in box 12
using the appropriate code, and the designated Roth contributions
and designated Roth “catch-up” contributions as a single sum in
box 12 using the appropriate code.

Unlike qualified plans, NQDC plans do not meet the qualification
requirements for tax-favored status for this purpose. NQDC plans
include those arrangements traditionally viewed as deferring the
receipt of current compensation. Accordingly, welfare benefit plans,
stock option plans, and plans providing dismissal pay, termination
pay, or early retirement pay are not NQDC plans.

If any elective deferrals, salary reduction amounts, or

Report distributions from NQDC or section 457 plans to
beneficiaries of deceased employees on Form 1099-MISC, not on
Form W-2.

TIP nonelective contributions under a section 457(b) plan during
the year are makeup amounts under the Uniformed
Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994
(USERRA) for a prior year, you must enter the prior year
contributions separately. Beginning with the earliest year, enter the
code, the year, and the amount. For example, elective deferrals of
$2,250 for 2008 and $1,250 for 2009 under USERRA under a
section 401(k) plan are reported in box 12 as follows:

Military employers must report military retirement payments on
Form 1099-R.
Do not report special wage payments, such as accumulated

TIP sick pay or vacation pay, in box 11. For more information on
reporting special wage payments, see Pub. 957.

D 08 2250.00, D 09 1250.00. A 2010 contribution of $7,000
does not require a year designation; enter it as D 7000.00. Report
the code (and year for prior year USERRA contributions) to the left
of the vertical line in boxes 12a through 12d.

Box 12 — Codes. Complete and code this box for all items
described below. Note that the codes do not relate to where they
should be entered in boxes 12a through 12d on Form W-2. For
example, if you are only required to report code D in box 12, you
can enter code D and the amount in box 12a of Form W-2. Do not
report in box 12 any items that are not listed as codes A through
CC. Also, do not report in box 12 section 414(h)(2) contributions
(relating to certain state or local government plans). Instead, use
box 14 for these items and any other information that you wish to
give to your employee. For example, union dues and uniform
payments may be reported in box 14.

The following are not elective deferrals and may be reported in
box 14, but not in box 12.
• Nonelective employer contributions made on behalf of an
employee.
• After-tax contributions that are not designated Roth contributions,
such as voluntary contributions to a pension plan that are deducted
from an employee’s pay. See the instructions in codes AA and BB
for reporting designated Roth contributions on page 11.
• Required employee contributions.
• Employer matching contributions.

On Copy A (Form W-2), do not enter more than four

TIP items in box 12. If more than four items need to be
reported in box 12, use a separate Form W-2 to report the
additional items (but enter no more than four items on each Copy A
(Form W-2)). On all other copies of Form W-2 (Copies B, C, etc.),
you may enter more than four items in box 12 when using an
approved substitute Form W-2. See Multiple forms on page 8.

Code D — Elective deferrals under section 401(k) cash or
deferred arrangement (plan). Also show deferrals under a
SIMPLE retirement account that is part of a section 401(k)
arrangement.

Use the IRS code designated below for the item you are
entering, followed by the dollar amount for that item. Even if only
one item is entered, you must use the IRS code designated for that
item. Enter the code using a capital letter. Use decimal points but
not dollar signs or commas. For example, if you are reporting
$5,300.00 in elective deferrals under a section 401(k) plan, the
entry would be D 5300.00 (not A 5300.00 even though it is the first
or only entry in this box). Report the IRS code to the left of the
vertical line in boxes 12a through 12d and the money amount to the
right of the vertical line.

Example of reporting excess elective deferrals and
designated Roth contributions under a section 401(k) plan.
For 2010, Employee A (age 45) elected to defer $18,300 under a
section 401(k) plan. The employee also made a designated Roth
contribution to the plan of $1,000, and made a voluntary (non-Roth)
after-tax contribution of $600. In addition, the employer, on A’s
behalf, made a qualified nonelective contribution of $2,000 to the
plan and a nonelective profit-sharing employer contribution of
$3,000.
Even though the 2010 limit for elective deferrals and designated
Roth contributions is $16,500, the employee’s total elective deferral
amount of $18,300 is reported in box 12 with code D (D 18300.00).
The designated Roth contribution is reported in box 12 with code
AA (AA 1000.00). The employer must separately report the actual
amounts of $18,300 and $1,000 in box 12 with the appropriate
codes. The amount deferred in excess of the limit is not reported in
box 1. The return of excess salary deferrals and excess designated
contributions, including earnings on both, is reported on Form
1099-R.

See the Form W-2 Reference Guide for Box 12 Codes on page
14. See also the detailed instructions below for each code.
Code A — Uncollected social security or RRTA tax on tips.
Show the employee social security or Railroad Retirement Tax Act
(RRTA) tax on all of the employee’s tips that you could not collect
because the employee did not have enough funds from which to
deduct it. Do not include this amount in box 4.
Code B — Uncollected Medicare tax on tips. Show the
employee Medicare tax or RRTA Medicare tax on tips that you
could not collect because the employee did not have enough funds
from which to deduct it. Do not include this amount in box 6.
Code C — Taxable cost of group-term life insurance over
$50,000. Show the taxable cost of group-term life insurance
coverage over $50,000 provided to your employee (including a
former employee). See Group-term life insurance on page 5. Also

The $600 voluntary after-tax contribution may be reported in box
14 (this is optional) but not in box 12. The $2,000 nonelective
contribution and the $3,000 nonelective profit-sharing employer
contribution are not required to be reported on Form W-2, but may
be reported in box 14.
Check the “Retirement plan” box in box 13.

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Code E — Elective deferrals under a section 403(b) salary
reduction agreement.
Code F — Elective deferrals under a section 408(k)(6) salary
reduction SEP.
Code G — Elective deferrals and employer contributions
(including nonelective deferrals) to any governmental or
nongovernmental section 457(b) deferred compensation plan.
Do not report either section 457(b) or section 457(f) amounts that
are subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture.
Code H — Elective deferrals under section 501(c)(18)(D)
tax-exempt organization plan. Be sure to include this amount in
box 1 as wages. The employee will deduct the amount on his or her
Form 1040.
Code J — Nontaxable sick pay. Show any sick pay that was
paid by a third-party and was not includible in income (and not
shown in boxes 1, 3, and 5) because the employee contributed to
the sick pay plan. Do not include nontaxable disability payments
made directly by a state.
Code K — 20% excise tax on excess golden parachute
payments. If you made excess “golden parachute” payments to
certain key corporate employees, report the 20% excise tax on
these payments. If the excess payments are considered to be
wages, report the 20% excise tax withheld as income tax withheld
in box 2.
Code L — Substantiated employee business expense
reimbursements. Use this code only if you reimbursed your
employee for employee business expenses using a per diem or
mileage allowance and the amount that you reimbursed exceeds
the amount treated as substantiated under IRS rules. See
Employee business expense reimbursements on page 5.

Code V — Income from the exercise of nonstatutory stock
option(s). Show the spread (that is, the fair market value of stock
over the exercise price of option(s) granted to your employee with
respect to that stock) from your employee’s (or former employee’s)
exercise of nonstatutory stock option(s). Include this amount in
boxes 1, 3 (up to the social security wage base), and 5.
This reporting requirement does not apply to the exercise of a
statutory stock option, or the sale or disposition of stock acquired
pursuant to the exercise of a statutory stock option. For more
information about the taxability of employee stock options, see Pub.
15-B.
Code W — Employer contributions to a health savings
account (HSA). Show any employer contributions (including
amounts the employee elected to contribute using a section 125
(cafeteria) plan) to an HSA. See Health savings account (HSA) on
page 6.
Code Y — Deferrals under a section 409A nonqualified
deferred compensation plan. It is not necessary to show
deferrals in box 12 with code Y. For more information, see Notice
2008-115. However, if you report these deferrals, show current year
deferrals, including earnings during the year on current year and
prior year deferrals. See Nonqualified deferred compensation plans
on page 6.
Code Z — Income under section 409A on a nonqualified
deferred compensation plan. Enter all amounts deferred
(including earnings on amounts deferred) that are includible in
income under section 409A because the NQDC plan fails to satisfy
the requirements of section 409A. Do not include amounts properly
reported on a Form 1099-MISC, corrected Form 1099-MISC, Form
W-2, or Form W-2c for a prior year. Also, do not include amounts
that are considered to be subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture
for purposes of section 409A. For more information, see
Regulations sections 1.409A-1 through 1.409A-6, Notice 2008-113,
and Notice 2008-115.
The amount reported in box 12 using code Z is also reported in
box 1, and is subject to an additional tax reported on the
employee’s Form 1040. See Nonqualified deferred compensation
plans on page 6.
Code AA — Designated Roth contributions under a section
401(k) plan. Use this code to report designated Roth contributions
under a section 401(k) plan. Do not use this code to report elective
deferrals under code D. See Designated Roth contributions on
page 5.
Code BB — Designated Roth contributions under a section
403(b) plan. Use this code to report designated Roth contributions
under a section 403(b) plan. Do not use this code to report elective
deferrals under code E. See Designated Roth contributions on
page 5.
Code CC — HIRE exempt wages and tips. See HIRE wages
and tips paid to qualified employees on page 3.
Box 13 — Checkboxes. Check all boxes that apply.
• Statutory employee. Check this box for statutory employees
whose earnings are subject to social security and Medicare taxes
but not subject to federal income tax withholding. Do not check this
box for common-law employees. There are workers who are
independent contractors under the common-law rules but are
treated by statute as employees. They are called statutory
employees.
1. A driver who distributes beverages (other than milk), or meat,
vegetable, fruit, or bakery products; or who picks up and delivers
laundry or dry cleaning if the driver is your agent or is paid on
commission.
2. A full-time life insurance sales agent whose principal
business activity is selling life insurance or annuity contracts, or
both, primarily for one life insurance company.
3. An individual who works at home on materials or goods that
you supply and that must be returned to you or to a person you
name if you also furnish specifications for the work to be done.
4. A full-time traveling or city salesperson who works on your
behalf and turns in orders to you from wholesalers, retailers,
contractors, or operators of hotels, restaurants, or other similar
establishments. The goods sold must be merchandise for resale or
supplies for use in the buyer’s business operation. The work
performed for you must be the salesperson’s principal business
activity.
For details on statutory employees and common-law employees,
see section 1 in Pub. 15-A.

Report in box 12 only the amount treated as substantiated (such
as the nontaxable part). In boxes 1, 3 (up to the social security
wage base), and 5, include the part of the reimbursement that is
more than the amount treated as substantiated.
Code M — Uncollected social security or RRTA tax on
taxable cost of group-term life insurance over $50,000 (for
former employees). If you provided your former employees
(including retirees) more than $50,000 of group-term life insurance
coverage for periods during which an employment relationship no
longer exists, enter the amount of uncollected social security or
RRTA tax on the coverage in box 12. Also see Group-term life
insurance on page 5.
Code N — Uncollected Medicare tax on taxable cost of
group-term life insurance over $50,000 (for former employees).
If you provided your former employees (including retirees) more
than $50,000 of group-term life insurance coverage for periods
during which an employment relationship no longer exists, enter the
amount of uncollected Medicare tax or RRTA Medicare tax on the
coverage in box 12. Also see Group-term life insurance on page 5.
Code P — Excludable moving expense reimbursements paid
directly to employee. Show the total moving expense
reimbursements that you paid directly to your employee for
qualified (deductible) moving expenses. See Moving expenses on
page 6.
Code Q — Nontaxable combat pay. If you are a military
employer, report any nontaxable combat pay in box 12.
Code R — Employer contributions to an Archer MSA. Show
any employer contributions to an Archer MSA. See Archer MSA on
page 4.
Code S — Employee salary reduction contributions under a
section 408(p) SIMPLE. Show deferrals under a section 408(p)
salary reduction SIMPLE retirement account. However, if the
SIMPLE is part of a section 401(k) arrangement, use code D. If you
are reporting prior year contributions under USERRA, see the TIP
before Code D on page 10.
Code T — Adoption benefits. Show the total that you paid or
reimbursed for qualified adoption expenses furnished to your
employee under an adoption assistance program. Also include
adoption benefits paid or reimbursed from the pre-tax contributions
made by the employee under a section 125 (cafeteria) plan.
However, do not include adoption benefits forfeited from a section
125 (cafeteria) plan. Report all amounts including those in excess
of the $12,170 exclusion. For more information, see Adoption
benefits on page 3.

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• Retirement plan. Check this box if the employee was an “active

You should retain a reconciliation for future reference. See
Reconciling Forms W-2, W-3, 941, 943, 944, CT-1, and Schedule H
(Form 1040) on page 13.
Box a — Control number. This is an optional box that you may
use for numbering the whole transmittal.
Box b — Kind of Payer. Check the box that applies to you. Check
only one box unless the second checked box is “Third-party sick
pay.” If you have more than one type of Form W-2, send each type
(except “Third-party sick pay”) with a separate Form W-3. (The
“Third-party sick pay” indicator box does not designate a separate
kind of payer.)
941. Check this box if you file Form 941, Employer’s
QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return, and no other category (except
“Third-party sick pay”) applies. A church or church organization
should check this box even if it is not required to file Form 941 or
Form 944.
Military. Check this box if you are a military employer sending
Forms W-2 for members of the uniformed services.
943. Check this box if you are an agricultural employer and file
Form 943, Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return for Agricultural
Employees, and you are sending Forms W-2 for agricultural
employees. For nonagricultural employees, send their Forms W-2
with a separate Form W-3, checking the appropriate box.
944. Check this box if you file Form 944, Employer’s ANNUAL
Federal Tax Return (or Formulario 944(SP), its Spanish version),
and no other category (except “Third-party sick pay”) applies.
CT-1. Check this box if you are a railroad employer sending
Forms W-2 for employees covered under the Railroad Retirement
Tax Act (RRTA). Do not show employee RRTA tax in boxes 3
through 7. These boxes are only for social security and Medicare
information. If you also have employees who are subject to social
security and Medicare taxes, send that group’s Forms W-2 with a
separate Form W-3 and check the “941” box on that Form W-3.
Hshld. emp. Check this box if you are a household employer
sending Forms W-2 for household employees and you did not
include the household employee’s taxes on Form 941, Form 943, or
Form 944.
Medicare govt. emp. Check this box if you are a U.S., state, or
local agency filing Forms W-2 for employees subject only to the
1.45% Medicare tax. See Government employers on page 5.
Third-party sick pay. Check this box and another box such as
the “941” box if you are a third-party sick pay payer (or are
reporting sick pay payments made by a third party) filing Forms
W-2 with the “Third-party sick pay” checkbox in box 13 checked.
File a single Form W-3 for the regular and “Third-party sick pay”
Forms W-2. See 941 above.
Box c — Total number of Forms W-2. Show the number of
completed individual Forms W-2 that you are transmitting with this
Form W-3. Do not count “Void” Forms W-2.
Box d — Establishment number. You may use this box to identify
separate establishments in your business. You may file a separate
Form W-3, with Forms W-2, for each establishment even if they all
have the same EIN; or you may use a single Form W-3 for all
Forms W-2 of the same type.
Box e — Employer identification number (EIN). If you received a
preprinted Form W-3 from the IRS with Pub. 393, Federal
Employment Tax Forms, or Pub. 2184, Form W-3 Package
(Including Alternative Ways To Get Employment Tax Forms and
Instructions), verify that your employer identification number (EIN)
is correct. Make any necessary corrections on the form.

participant” (for any part of the year) in any of the following:
1. A qualified pension, profit-sharing, or stock-bonus plan
described in section 401(a) (including a 401(k) plan).
2. An annuity plan described in section 403(a).
3. An annuity contract or custodial account described in section
403(b).
4. A simplified employee pension (SEP) plan described in
section 408(k).
5. A SIMPLE retirement account described in section 408(p).
6. A trust described in section 501(c)(18).
7. A plan for federal, state, or local government employees or
by an agency or instrumentality thereof (other than a section 457(b)
plan).
Generally, an employee is an active participant if covered by (a)
a defined benefit plan for any tax year that he or she is eligible to
participate in or (b) a defined contribution plan (for example, a
section 401(k) plan) for any tax year that employer or employee
contributions (or forfeitures) are added to his or her account. For
additional information on employees who are eligible to participate
in a plan, contact your plan administrator. For details on the active
participant rules, see Notice 87-16, 1987-1 C.B. 446, Notice 98-49,
1998-2 C.B. 365, section 219(g)(5), and Pub. 590, Individual
Retirement Arrangements (IRAs). You can find Notice 98-49 on
page 5 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 1998-38 at www.irs.gov/pub/
irs-irbs/irb98-38.pdf.
Do not check this box for contributions made to a

TIP nonqualified or section 457(b) plan.

• Third-party sick pay. Check this box only if you are a third-party

sick pay payer filing a Form W-2 for an insured’s employee or are
an employer reporting sick pay payments made by a third party.
See Sick Pay Reporting in section 6 of Pub. 15-A.
Box 14 — Other. If you included 100% of a vehicle’s annual lease
value in the employee’s income, it must also be reported here or on
a separate statement to your employee. You may also use this box
for any other information that you want to give to your employee.
Label each item. Examples include state disability insurance taxes
withheld, union dues, uniform payments, health insurance
premiums deducted, nontaxable income, educational assistance
payments, or a member of the clergy’s parsonage allowance and
utilities. In addition, you may enter the following contributions to a
pension plan: (a) nonelective employer contributions made on
behalf of an employee, (b) voluntary after-tax contributions (but not
designated Roth contributions) that are deducted from an
employee’s pay, (c) required employee contributions, and (d)
employer matching contributions.
If you are reporting prior year contributions under USERRA (see
the TIP before Code D on page 10 and Uniformed Services
Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA)
makeup amounts to a pension plan on page 7), you may report in
box 14 makeup amounts for nonelective employer contributions,
voluntary after-tax contributions, required employee contributions,
and employer matching contributions. Report such amounts
separately for each year. Railroad employers, see page 6.
Boxes 15 through 20 — State and local income tax information.
Use these boxes to report state and local income tax information.
Enter the two-letter abbreviation for the name of the state. The
employer’s state ID numbers are assigned by the individual states.
The state and local information boxes can be used to report wages
and taxes for two states and two localities. Keep each state’s and
locality’s information separated by the broken line. If you need to
report information for more than two states or localities, prepare a
second Form W-2. See Multiple forms on page 8. Contact your
state or locality for specific reporting information.

If you did not receive a form with a preprinted EIN, enter the
nine-digit EIN assigned to you by the IRS. The number should be
the same as shown on your Form 941, Form 943, Form 944, Form
CT-1, or Schedule H (Form 1040) and in the following format:
00-0000000. Do not use a prior owner’s EIN. See Box h — Other
EIN used this year on page 13.

Specific Instructions for Form W-3
How to complete Form W-3. The instructions under How to
complete Form W-2 on page 7 generally apply to Form W-3. Type
entries using black ink. Scanners cannot read entries if type is too
light.

If you do not have an EIN when filing your Form W-3, enter
“Applied For” in box e, not your social security number (SSN), and
see Box b — Employer identification number (EIN) on page 8.
Box f — Employer’s name. If you are not using a preprinted Form
W-3, enter the same name as shown on your Form 941, Form 943,
Form 944, or Form CT-1. Make any necessary corrections on your
preprinted Form W-3.

Amounts reported on related employment tax forms (for

TIP example, Form W-2, Form 941, Form 943, or Form 944)
should agree with the amounts reported on Form W-3. If
there are differences, you may be contacted by the IRS and SSA.

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Box g — Employer’s address and ZIP code. If you are not using
a preprinted Form W-3, enter your address. Make any necessary
corrections on your preprinted Form W-3.
Box h — Other EIN used this year. If you have used an EIN
(including a prior owner’s EIN) on Form 941, Form 943, Form 944,
or Form CT-1 submitted for 2010 that is different from the EIN
reported on Form W-3 in box e, enter the other EIN used. Agents
generally report the employer’s EIN in box h. See Agent reporting
on page 4.
Contact person, telephone number, fax number, and email
address. Include this information for use by the SSA if any
questions arise during processing.

Form 944, Form CT-1 (box 2 only), and Schedule H (Form 1040).
When there are discrepancies between amounts reported on Forms
W-2 and W-3 filed with the SSA and on Form 941, Form 943, Form
944, Form CT-1, or Schedule H (Form 1040) filed with the IRS, you
will be contacted to resolve the discrepancies.
To help reduce discrepancies on Forms W-2:

• Report bonuses as wages and as social security and Medicare

wages on Form W-2, and on Forms 941, 943, 944, and Schedule H
(Form 1040).
• Report both social security and Medicare wages and taxes
separately on Forms W-2 and W-3, and on Forms 941, 943, 944,
and Schedule H (Form 1040).
• Report social security taxes withheld on Form W-2 in box 4, not
in box 3.
• Report Medicare taxes withheld on Form W-2 in box 6, not in box
5.
• Do not report a nonzero amount in box 4 if boxes 3 and 7 are
both zero.
• Do not report a nonzero amount in box 6 if box 5 is zero.
• Do not report an amount in box 5 that is less than the sum of
boxes 3 and 7.
• Make sure that the social security wage amount for each
employee does not exceed the annual social security wage base
limit ($106,800 for 2010).
• Do not report noncash wages that are not subject to social
security or Medicare taxes as social security or Medicare wages.
• If you use an EIN on any quarterly Form 941 for the year (or
annual Forms 943, 944, CT-1, and Schedule H (Form 1040)) that is
different from the EIN reported in box e on Form W-3, enter the
other EIN in box h on Form W-3.

The amounts to enter in boxes 1 through 19, described

TIP below, are totals from only the Forms W-2 (excluding any
Forms W-2 marked “VOID”) that you are sending with this
Form W-3.
Boxes 1 through 10. Enter the totals reported in boxes 1 through
10 on the Forms W-2.
Box 11 — Nonqualified plans. Enter the total reported in box 11
on Forms W-2.
Box 12a — Deferred compensation. Enter the total of all
amounts reported with codes D through H, S, Y, AA, and BB in box
12 on Forms W-2. Do not enter a code.
Box 12b — HIRE exempt wages and tips. Enter the total of all
amounts reported with code CC in box 12 on Forms W-2. See
HIRE wages and tips paid to qualified employees on page 3.
Box 13 — For third-party sick pay use only. Third-party payers
of sick pay (or employers using the optional rule for Form W-2
described in section 6 of Pub. 15-A) filing third-party sick pay recap
Forms W-2 and W-3 must enter “Third-Party Sick Pay Recap” in
this box.
Box 14 — Income tax withheld by payer of third-party sick pay.
Complete this box only if you are the employer and have
employees who had federal income tax withheld on third-party
payments of sick pay. Show the total income tax withheld by
third-party payers on payments to all of your employees. Although
this tax is included in the box 2 total, it must be separately shown
here.
Box 15 — State/Employer’s state ID number. Enter the two-letter
abbreviation for the name of the state being reported on Form(s)
W-2. Also enter your state-assigned ID number. If the Forms W-2
being submitted with this Form W-3 contain wage and income tax
information from more than one state, enter an “X” under “State”
and do not enter any state ID number.
Boxes 16 through 19. Enter the total of state/local wages and
income tax shown in their corresponding boxes on the Forms W-2
included with this Form W-3. If the Forms W-2 show amounts from
more than one state or locality, report them as one sum in the
appropriate box on Form W-3. Verify the amount reported in each
box is an accurate total of the Forms W-2.

To reduce the discrepancies between amounts reported on
Forms W-2 and W-3, and Forms 941, 943, 944, CT-1, and
Schedule H (Form 1040):
• Be sure that the amounts on Form W-3 are the total amounts
from Forms W-2.
• Reconcile Form W-3 with your four quarterly Forms 941 (or
annual Forms 943, 944, CT-1, and Schedule H (Form 1040)) by
comparing amounts reported for:
1. Income tax withholding (box 2).
2. Social security wages, Medicare wages and tips, and social
security tips (boxes 3, 5, and 7). Form W-3 should include Form
941 or Forms 943, 944, and Schedule H (Form 1040) adjustments
only for the current year. If the Form 941, Form 943, or Form 944
adjustments include amounts for a prior year, do not report those
prior year adjustments on the current year Forms W-2 and W-3.
3. Social security and Medicare taxes (boxes 4 and 6). The
amounts shown on the four quarterly Forms 941 (or annual Form
943, Form 944, and Schedule H (Form 1040)), including current
year adjustments, should be approximately twice the amounts
shown on Form W-3.
4. Advance EIC payment (box 9).

Reconciling Forms W-2, W-3, 941, 943, 944,
CT-1, and Schedule H (Form 1040)

Amounts reported on Forms W-2 and W-3, and Forms 941, 943,
944, CT-1, and Schedule H (Form 1040) may not match for valid
reasons. If they do not match, you should determine that the
reasons are valid. Keep your reconciliation in case of inquiries from
the IRS or the SSA.

Reconcile the amounts shown in boxes 2, 3, 5, 7, and 9 from all
2010 Forms W-3 with their respective amounts from the 2010
yearly totals from the quarterly Forms 941, or annual Form 943,

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Form W-2 Reference Guide for Box 12 Codes (See the box 12 instructions.)
A

Uncollected social security or RRTA tax
on tips
Uncollected Medicare tax on tips

K

C

Taxable cost of group-term life insurance
over $50,000

M

D

Elective deferrals under a section 401(k)
cash or deferred arrangement plan
(including a SIMPLE 401(k)
arrangement)
Elective deferrals under a section 403(b)
salary reduction agreement
Elective deferrals under a section
408(k)(6) salary reduction SEP
Elective deferrals and employer
contributions (including nonelective
deferrals) to a section 457(b) deferred
compensation plan
Elective deferrals under a section
501(c)(18)(D) tax-exempt organization
plan
Nontaxable sick pay

N

B

E
F
G

H

J

L

P

20% excise tax on excess golden
parachute payments
Substantiated employee business
expense reimbursements

V

Uncollected social security or RRTA tax
on taxable cost of group-term life
insurance over $50,000 (for former
employees)
Uncollected Medicare tax on taxable cost
of group-term life insurance over $50,000
(for former employees)

Y

W

Z

Q

Excludable moving expense
AA
reimbursements paid directly to employee
Nontaxable combat pay
BB

R

Employer contributions to an Archer MSA CC

S

Employee salary reduction contributions
under a section 408(p) SIMPLE

T

Adoption benefits

Income from exercise of nonstatutory
stock option(s)
Employer contributions (including
employee contributions through a
cafeteria plan) to an employee’s health
savings account (HSA)
Deferrals under a section 409A
nonqualified deferred compensation
plan
Income under section 409A on a
nonqualified deferred compensation
plan
Designated Roth contributions under a
section 401(k) plan
Designated Roth contributions under a
section 403(b) plan
HIRE exempt wages and tips

Index

A
Adoption benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3, 9, 11
Advance EIC payment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Agent reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Agricultural employers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 12
Allocated tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Archer MSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 8, 9, 11
C
Calendar year basis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Clergy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Codes for box 12, Form W-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Corrections and void Forms W-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 8
D
Deceased employee’s wages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Deferred compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Dependent care benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Designated Roth contributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 8
Due date(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 2
E
Earned income credit notification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Educational assistance programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 8
Election workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Elective deferrals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Electronic reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 3
Employee business expense reimbursements . . . . 5,
8, 11
Employee’s taxes paid by employer . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 8
Employer identification number (EIN) . . . . . . . 3, 8, 12
Errors, common . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Extension to file/furnish Form(s) W-2 . . . . . . . . . . . 2, 3
F
Fellowship grants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Fringe benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 8
Furnishing Forms W-2 to employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

G
Getting forms, publications, and help . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 2
Golden parachute payments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 11
Government employers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 12
Group-term life insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 9, 10
H
Health savings account (HSA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 11
Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
HIRE wages and tips to qualified employees . . . . . 1, 3
Household employers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 12
How to complete Form W-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
How to complete Form W-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
How to get forms and publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
I
Income tax withheld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 13
M
Medicare tax withheld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Medicare wages and tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Military differential pay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Military employers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 12
Moving expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 11
Multiple Forms W-2 issued to employee . . . . . . . . . . . 8
N
Nonqualified deferred compensation plans . . . . . . 1, 6
Nonqualified plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 13
Nonstatutory stock option(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
P
Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
R
Railroad employers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 12
Reconciling Forms W-2, W-3, 941, 943, 944, CT-1,
and Schedule H (Form 1040) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Religious workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Repayments, wages received in error . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

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S
Scholarships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Shipping and mailing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Sick pay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 11, 13
Signing bonuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
SIMPLE retirement account . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 9, 10, 11
Social security number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Social security number (SSN) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Social security tax withheld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Social security wages/tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
State and local tax information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Statutory employee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 11
Substitute forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Successor/predecessor employers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
T
Taxpayer identification numbers (TINs) . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Terminating a business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 9, 10
U
Uncollected taxes on group-term life
insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Uncollected taxes on tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Undeliverable Forms W-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
USERRA contributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 10, 12
V
Void Forms W-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 8
W
Wages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
When and where to file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
When to furnish Forms W-2 to employees . . . . . . . . .
Who must file Forms W-2 and W-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

8
2
3
2

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Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2010)