IRS Deadline: February 1, 2027 Watch our video

IRS Form

W-2

Wage and Tax Statement

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Filing Deadline
February 01, 2027
Reporting Threshold
$2,000 or more (if no tax withheld)
Who Files
Employers for all employees

How to File Form W-2: Step by Step

File your W-2s with the Social Security Administration in about 10 minutes on Tax Form Hero. No software to install, no subscription — create an account and follow these six steps.

  • 1
    Create your free account

    Sign up at Tax Form Hero — there is no signup fee and no subscription. You only pay when you transmit a form. Existing users can log in and go straight to the dashboard.

  • 2
    Add your employer details

    Enter the employer's legal name, EIN, address, and the kind of payer and kind of employer codes. Your EIN and business name must match SSA records exactly, or the submission will reject.

  • 3
    Add your employees

    Add employees one at a time, or bulk import your whole payroll using our Excel/CSV template. Pull each employee's legal name, SSN, and address from their Form W-4 and your payroll records.

    Tip: a name/SSN mismatch is the number one cause of W-2 rejections. Verify names exactly as printed on the employee's Social Security card — no nicknames, no married-name changes that were never filed with SSA.
  • 4
    Enter wages and withholding

    Report Box 1 wages, tips and other compensation, Box 2 federal income tax withheld, Boxes 3–6 social security and Medicare wages and tax, Boxes 7–8 tips, Box 12 coded amounts, and Boxes 15–20 state and local information.

    For tax year 2026, Box 14 is split into Box 14a (Other) and Box 14b (Treasury tipped occupation code), and two new Box 12 codes apply: TP for total cash tips reported to the employer and TT for qualified overtime compensation.

  • 5
    Review, validate, and choose add-ons

    Built-in validation checks SSNs, box math, and social security wage-base limits before submission. Preview the employee copy, then add State Filing, Print & Mail, or E-Delivery if you want us to distribute copies.

  • 6
    Transmit to the SSA and track status

    We transmit W-2 data directly to the Social Security Administration and handle Form W-3 for you — there is no separate transmittal to prepare. Status updates in the dashboard within 24 hours, and filing data and PDF copies stay available for 4 years.

    Deadline: W-2s are due to both the SSA and your employees by February 1, 2027. There is no extended deadline for e-filers. Employers filing 10 or more information returns in aggregate must file electronically.
Start Filing W-2

What is Form W-2?

Form W-2, also known as the Wage and Tax Statement, is a document that employers send to each employee and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

  • It shows the income earned from an employer and the amount of taxes withheld from an employee's paycheck.
  • Taxpayers use Form W-2 to file federal and state taxes.

Who needs to file Form W-2?

  • Employers engaged in a trade or business who paid an employee $2,000 or more in wages for the year, even if no income, social security, or Medicare tax was withheld, must file a Form W-2.
  • Employers must also file a Form W-2 for any employee from whom they withheld income, social security, or Medicare tax, regardless of the wage amount.
  • It applies even if the employee is related to the employer.

What's New for Tax Year 2026

Wage reporting threshold increased: for wages paid after 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21) raised the threshold for reporting wages on Form W-2 when no federal income, social security, or Medicare tax was withheld from $600 to $2,000. The threshold will be adjusted for inflation starting in 2027.

New boxes for tips and overtime: Box 14 has been split into Box 14a (Other) and Box 14b (Treasury Tipped Occupation Code). New Box 12 codes TP (total cash tips reported to the employer) and TT (qualified overtime compensation) support the new deductions for qualified tips and qualified overtime pay.

W-2 Pricing

$2.99 per W-2 form No signup fee · No subscription · Volume pricing down to $0.60

Volume pricing per form

1 – 50
$2.99per form
51 – 150
$1.99per form
151 – 500
$0.99per form
500+
$0.60per form

Optional add-ons

State Filing $0.99 / form

Direct state filing for 35+ states, submitted with your federal return.

Print & Mail $1.69 / form

USPS first-class employee copies from a SOC 2 facility.

E-Delivery $0.19 / form

Encrypted PDF copies emailed to your employees.

TIN Matching $0.49 / check

Validate name/TIN pairs before filing to avoid penalties.

Included at no extra cost

  • SSA e-filing as an authorized transmitter, plus Form W-3 handling
  • Free employee PDF copies to download and share
  • Bulk Excel/CSV import and built-in error validation
  • Secure storage of your filing data for 4 years

W-2, 1095, 8809, and 94x forms share this tier table. Volume tiers are calculated across all forms you file in a tax year.

Estimate Your Filing Cost

Frequently Asked Questions: Filing W-2 Online

Common questions about e-filing Form W-2 with Tax Form Hero. Still stuck? Contact our support team or browse the full FAQ page.

Every employer engaged in a trade or business who paid an employee $2,000 or more in wages during 2026, even if no income, social security, or Medicare tax was withheld. You must also file a W-2 for any employee from whom you withheld income, social security, or Medicare tax, regardless of the wage amount — including employees who are related to you.

February 1, 2027 for both the Social Security Administration copy and the employee copy. Unlike most 1099 forms, the W-2 has no extended deadline for e-filers — the SSA and employee deadlines are the same day.

The SSA. Employers file Form W-2 with the Social Security Administration, which then shares the data with the IRS. Tax Form Hero transmits directly to the SSA on your behalf.

The reporting threshold for wages when no federal income, social security, or Medicare tax was withheld rose from $600 to $2,000 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21), indexed for inflation from 2027. Box 14 is now split into Box 14a (Other) and Box 14b (Treasury tipped occupation code), and new Box 12 codes TP (total cash tips reported to the employer) and TT (qualified overtime compensation) support the new deductions for qualified tips and overtime.

W-2 pricing starts at $2.99 per form for your first 50 forms, dropping to $1.99 (51–150), $0.99 (151–500), and $0.60 (500+). W-2, 1095, 8809, and 94x forms use this tier table; 1099 and 1098 forms are priced separately. No signup fee and no subscription.

No. Form W-3 is the paper transmittal summary and is not required when you e-file. Tax Form Hero generates and submits the transmittal data for you.

Most states with an income tax require an annual W-2 reconciliation. We support direct state filing for 35+ states at $0.99 per form. See our State Filing page to check your state.

Yes. Download our Excel/CSV template from the dashboard and import your entire employee roster in one upload. The template includes field-level notes for every box, and validation catches SSN, math, and wage-base errors before submission.

Download free employee PDF copies and distribute them yourself, or let us handle it. Print & Mail ($1.69/form) sends USPS first-class copies from our SOC 2 and HIPAA compliant facility. E-Delivery ($0.19/form) emails encrypted PDFs — employees must consent to electronic delivery first.

You file a Form W-2c. Once the SSA accepts your original submission you can prepare a correction from the dashboard. File it as soon as you identify the error, since penalties scale with how late the accurate form is filed.

$60 per form if filed within 30 days late, $130 per form if filed after that but by August 1, and $340 per form if filed after August 1 or not at all. Intentional disregard raises the penalty to at least $680 per form with no maximum, and a separate penalty applies for failing to furnish the employee copy.

Still have a question about your W-2?

Our support team files these every day and can walk you through it.

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Deadline for Filing Form W-2 (Tax Year 2026)

February 01, 2027

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W-2 Pricing

$2.99 per form

Volume pricing as low as $0.60 per form. No signup fee, no subscription.

  • 1 – 50 forms $2.99
  • 51 – 150 forms $1.99
  • 151 – 500 forms $0.99
  • 500+ forms $0.60
  • State filing $0.99
  • Print & mail $1.69
  • E-delivery $0.19
  • TIN matching $0.49
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Our support team can walk you through filing W-2.

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