Form W-2 · employee copies
W-2 Generator
Produces Copies B, C and 2 for one employee, with the Notice to Employee and box instructions the IRS requires alongside substitute copies. Social Security and Medicare tax (boxes 4 and 6) are calculated from the wage boxes; box 12 includes the 2026 codes TP, TT and TA. Copy A is filed with the SSA through Business Services Online and is not part of this PDF. The preview is free and watermarked; the clean PDF is $4.99, or included with a subscription.
Social Security wage base: $184,500.00
Employer (boxes b, c)
Employee (boxes a, e, f)
Printed as XXX-XX-1234. Employee copies may carry a truncated SSN; the full number is never collected.
Wages and withholding (boxes 1–11)
6.2% of boxes 3 + 7, less box 12 A and M
1.45% of box 5, plus 0.9% above $200,000, less box 12 B and N
Box 12
Box 13 and 14a
State and local (boxes 15–20)
Enter the figures from your payroll records. A W-2 that misstates wages or withholding is a false information return; the employer, not this tool, is responsible for its accuracy and for filing Copy A with the SSA by January 31.
What the PDF contains
- Copies B, C and 2 for one employee, on plain paper in the substitute format Publication 1141 allows
- The Notice to Employee and box instructions the IRS requires alongside substitute copies
- Boxes 4 and 6 calculated from the wage boxes, with the year's Social Security wage base applied
- Box 12 codes for 2025 or 2026, including TP, TT and TA and the box 14b occupation code the 2026 form added
- Up to two states and localities in boxes 15 through 20
What you still file
Copy A and Form W-3 are not part of the PDF. They go to the Social Security Administration through Business Services Online, which is free and is required once you file 10 or more information returns in a year. Copy 1 goes to any state that wants one.
Who it is for
A small employer closing out the year without a payroll platform, an accountant issuing a handful of W-2s for clients, or a household employer with one nanny or caregiver. Enter the figures from your payroll records or your December pay stubs; the tool formats them, it does not decide them.
Form W-2 questions
- Is this an official Form W-2?
- The employee copies are substitute forms under IRS Publication 1141, which permits Copies B, C and 2 on plain paper in black ink as long as they carry the same boxes and the same instructions as the official form. They do. Copy A, the scanned red-ink copy filed with the SSA, is not included; file it electronically through Business Services Online.
- Which boxes does the generator calculate?
- Boxes 4 and 6. Social Security tax is 6.2% of boxes 3 and 7 combined, capped at the year's wage base ($176,100 for 2025, $184,500 for 2026); Medicare tax is 1.45% of box 5 plus 0.9% on box 5 wages above $200,000. Tax the employer could not collect, entered in box 12 under codes A and M (Social Security) or B and N (Medicare), is subtracted from box 4 or box 6. Every other box is typed from your payroll records.
- Can I produce a 2025 W-2 as well as a 2026 one?
- Yes. Pick the tax year first. The 2026 form adds box 12 codes TP (cash tips), TT (qualified overtime) and TA (Trump account contributions) and splits box 14 into 14a and 14b; those do not exist on a 2025 form and the generator will not let you use them there.
- What does a W-2 cost?
- One employee's W-2 is $4.99 per form, or included with a monthly or annual subscription; the watermarked preview is free.