What is a W-2?

Part of the Video Series How to Complete a 1040EZ Tax Form

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Tax help! What is a W-2 and do you need one for your taxes? Find out in this free video covering how to use a W-2.

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Video Transcript

What is a W-2?
One thing you will need to prepare your taxes is your W2 wage and tax statement from your employer. You may have more than one statement depending on how many jobs you had during the year but you should have a W2 from each employer and it should be for the full year or all the time that you were employed. The forms will start with your social security number. You should check it and make sure that it is listed correctly and if it is not, you need to contact your employer and get that corrected. It should have your correct name and address and it will list your employer name and the first thing that we will be working with is box number 1 which is your total wages from your employer and box number 2, the federal income tax withheld by that employer. One thing when you are working with a W2, when you are doing your federal tax return, make sure that you get the correct copy of the W2. You will generally have more than one copy when your employer distributes that. You want to make sure that you pull the correct federal tax return copy.

About the Expert

Expert: Tom Noah has been a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) for over 27 years. Read More