Form W-2 Information and Instructions

Form W-2 tells the IRS, the Social Security Administration, and the employee the amount of wages and withholding for the year.

Form W-3 is the cover page for all the W-2s that will be submitted to the Social Security Administration. It summarizes the total wages and withholding included on all the W-2s.

If you have paid employees, you must prepare W-2 and W-3 forms each year.

The form W-2 has at least three copies. Copy A has preprinted red boxes and must be submitted to the Social Security Administration along with the W-3. Copies B and C have preprinted black boxes and are given to the employee.

Your organization should also keep a copy of each W-2s for its records.

When preparing the W-3, it is very important that the totals on the W-3 match the sums of totals on the four Quarterly 941 Forms.

Copy B and C of each employee's W-2 should be postmarked by the end of January.

Copy A of all the W-2s and Copy A of the W-3 must be postmarked to the Social Security Administration by the end of February.

Notice that your organization does not send a copy of the form W-2 and W-3 to the IRS. Instead, the Social Security Administration shares the W-2 and W-3 information with the IRS. So...the church or nonprofit does not have to send copies to both agencies.

See this page for step-by-step instructions on completing a W-3 form.

For additional information on preparing a W-2 for a minister, review this page: Clergy Tax.

*Notice: You cannot download a usable W-2 and W-3 from the web! The original that’s filed with the IRS is printed in red ink and is read by a scanner.

You can order forms from the IRS at no charge, or purchase them from an office supply store. You can reach IRS at 1-800-TAX-FORM to request the ones you need or you can order them online.

Additional Resources

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