Form W-2 is the year-end statement from your employer that your tax return is built on. It tells you your taxable wages, what was withheld and, in box 12, retirement contributions and other coded items.
This guide explains the main boxes, the box 12 codes, the 2026 deferral limits it quotes, what to do about errors and when you can claim a credit for excess Social Security tax, using the 2026 IRS Form W-2 and its instructions for employees.
| Box | What it shows | What to do with it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wages, tips, other compensation | Enter on the wages line of your tax return unless the instructions say otherwise |
| 2 | Federal income tax withheld | Enter on the federal income tax withheld line |
| 3 and 4 | Social Security wages and tax withheld | Box 3 is capped at the Social Security wage base; see the excess credit rule below |
| 5 and 6 | Medicare wages and tips and Medicare tax withheld | Box 6 includes 1.45% on all box 5 wages plus 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax above $200,000; box 5 may be needed for Form 8959 |
| 7 and 8 | Social Security tips and allocated tips | Allocated tips are not in boxes 1, 3, 5 or 7; report them with Form 4137 |
| 10 | Dependent care benefits | Includes cafeteria plan amounts; any amount over the plan limit is also in box 1; see Form 2441 |
| 11 | Nonqualified plans | Distributions from a nonqualified deferred compensation or nongovernmental section 457(b) plan (also in box 1), or a prior-year deferral that became taxable for Social Security and Medicare (also in box 3 and/or 5) |
| 12 | Coded items | See the codes below |
| 15 to 20 | State and local wages and tax | Used for state and local returns |
A worked example (our calculation from the IRS description): an employee with $250,000 of Medicare wages would have a box 6 amount of $3,625 (1.45%) plus $450 (0.9% of the $50,000 above $200,000), or $4,075.
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| A | Uncollected Social Security or RRTA tax on tips |
| C | Taxable cost of group-term life insurance over $50,000 |
| D | Elective deferrals to a section 401(k) plan |
| E | Elective deferrals under a section 403(b) salary reduction agreement |
| G | Elective deferrals and employer contributions to a section 457(b) plan |
| J | Nontaxable sick pay (information only) |
| DD | Cost of employer-sponsored health coverage (information only, not taxable) |
The IRS lists more codes, including AA and BB for designated Roth contributions, S for SIMPLE deferrals and EE for governmental 457(b) Roth contributions. Elective deferrals and designated Roth contributions under all plans are generally limited to a total of $24,500 in 2026 ($17,000 for SIMPLE plans; $27,500 for 403(b) plans if you qualify for the 15-year rule), and if you were at least age 50 in 2026 your employer may have allowed an additional catch-up contribution. See our 401(k) contribution limits guide.
If you had more than one employer in 2026 and more than $11,439.00 in Social Security (or Tier 1 railroad retirement) tax was withheld, you may be able to claim a credit for the excess against your federal income tax. That figure is 6.2% of the 2026 wage base of $184,500; see our Schedule SE guide for the wage base.
Next-year note: the Social Security Administration has announced a 2027 wage base of $192,300 (Federal Register, 26 October 2026), so 6.2% of it would be $11,922.60 (our calculation). That is not an IRS-published 2027 Form W-2 figure; the $11,439.00 above applies to 2026 wages. We did not find an IRS notice of 2027 401(k) deferral limits as of 26 October 2026.
The IRS says to see the Form 1040 instructions to decide whether you must file a return. Even if you do not have to file, you may be eligible for a refund if box 2 shows an amount or if you qualify for a credit. You may be able to take the earned income tax credit for 2026 if your AGI is below a certain amount; you and any qualifying children must have valid Social Security numbers.
If your name, Social Security number or address is wrong, correct Copies B, C and 2 and ask your employer to correct your employment record. Ask the employer to file Form W-2c, Corrected Wage and Tax Statement, with the Social Security Administration for any name, SSN or money amount error. If your name and Social Security number are correct but differ from your Social Security card, the IRS says to ask for a new card at any SSA office or at 800-772-1213. For W-2 versus contractor 1099 treatment see our 1099 vs W-2 guide.
IRS: Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement (2026), IRS: General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3.