A W-2 is the form your employer gives you showing your wages and taxes for the year, while a W-4 is the form you give your employer to set your tax withholding.
W-2
A form your employer sends by January 31. It shows wages and taxes withheld for the year. You use it to file your return.
W-4
A form you give your employer when hired. It tells them how much federal tax to withhold from your paychecks.
Key difference
W-4 sets withholding. W-2 reports the result.
Timing
W-4 at hire or when your situation changes. W-2 once a year.
Tip
Check your W-4 after marriage, a new child or a second job.
Purpose of Form W-2
The W-2 is the wage and tax statement your employer gives you, and sends to the IRS and Social Security Administration. It shows your total wages for the year and the taxes withheld. You need it to file your tax return.
Deadline
Employers must send W-2 forms to employees by January 31 each year.
What it shows
- Box 1: wages, tips and other compensation.
- Box 2: federal income tax withheld.
- Boxes 3 to 6: Social Security and Medicare wages and taxes.
- Box 12: items such as retirement plan contributions and health savings accounts.
- Box 13: statutory employee, retirement plan and third party sick pay checkboxes.
- Boxes 15 to 20: state and local information.
Purpose of Form W-4
The W-4 is the Employee’s Withholding Certificate that you give your employer when you start a job or when your situation changes. It tells the employer how much federal income tax to withhold from your paycheck.
Redesign
The W-4 was redesigned in 2020 and no longer uses withholding allowances. It has five steps: filing status, multiple jobs or spouse works, dependents, other adjustments, and signature.
Adjusting withholding
You can update your W-4 at any time. Use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator to choose the correct amount and avoid a large bill or an overpayment.
Missing W-2
If you don’t get it by mid-February, contact your employer and then call the IRS at 800-829-1040.
Difference at a glance
The W-4 sets withholding going forward. The W-2 reports what happened last year.
Contractors
Independent contractors receive Form 1099-NEC, not W-2.
How the forms are used
Form W-4 is completed by an employee at hire and whenever circumstances change, to tell the employer how much federal income tax to withhold. The redesigned form, in use since 2020, has five steps, covering personal information, multiple jobs, dependents, other adjustments and signature, and the IRS offers an online Tax Withholding Estimator. Form W-2 is the year end statement from the employer reporting wages and taxes withheld, which must be furnished by January 31. The employee uses it to file their return, and a copy goes to the Social Security Administration.
Problems and fixes
If you have a major life change like marriage, a new child or a second job, update your W-4 so withholding matches your tax. Check your W-2 for correct name, Social Security number and amounts. If it is missing by mid-February, ask your employer, and then contact the IRS at 800-829-1040. You can file using Form 4852, a substitute for W-2, with your best estimate of wages and withholding, based on your final pay stub. Corrections are made on Form W-2c by the employer.
Based on data from the IRS
