Form W-2 Information and Instructions

What are forms W-2 and W-3?

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.

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

Additional Resources

Return to Home page from Form W-2