IRS Form W-3: Summarizing W-2 forms filed with the SSA
If you’re an employer, you must file a Form W-3 each year along with the copies of your employees’ W-2 forms that are sent to the Social Security Administration. The total dollar amounts reported on all the W-2 forms are combined and included on the W-3 form, along with other information about your business. If you issue 10 or more W-2 forms for the tax year, you have to file the W-3 form and the W-2 forms electronically.
Key Takeaways
- Employers must file a Form W-3 along with any copies of W-2 forms they’re filing with the Social Security Administration.
- Form W-3 is used to summarize and report the combined total of your employees' wages, tips, withholdings, and other information found on the W-2 forms included with the form.
- You can file Form W-3 and copies of your W-2 forms electronically or by mail. However, you must file electronically if you’re filing 10 or more W-2 forms.
- Form W-3 and copies of your W-2 forms must be filed with the Social Security Administration by January 31 each year. The due date is pushed to the next business day if it falls on a weekend or holiday.
What is Form W-3?
If you’re a business owner with employees, you have to send Copy A of the W-2 form you generate for each employee to the Social Security Administration (SSA) every year. Among other things, the SSA uses the information on the W-2 form to determine the employee's eligibility for Social Security benefits and the amount of benefits they’re entitled to receive.
However, you also have to send another form to the SSA along with the W-2 forms – IRS Form W-3, Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements. Form W-3 is used to summarize and report the combined total of all your employees' wages, tips, withholdings, and other information found on Form W-2 for the year. It's like a coversheet for all of the W-2 forms you're sending to the SSA.
Form W-3 also helps you reconcile certain information reported on your employees’ W-2 forms with amounts reported for the year on related employment tax forms, such as Form 941, Form 943, Form 944, or Schedule H (Form 1040). The figures reported in Boxes 2, 3, 5, and 7 of Form W-3 should match the combined total of wages, tips, and income tax withholding reported on the other forms. However, the Social Security and Medicare tax withholding shown in Boxes 4 and 6 of Form W-3 should be roughly half as much as the total of the taxes reported on the related forms.
Who has to file Form W-3?
Basically, if you're an employer and you complete W-2 forms for your employees, you also need to file a Form W-3 with the W-2 forms you’re sending to the SSA – even if you’re sending just one W-2 form. This is true regardless of the size of your business or how many employees you have.
You generally have to complete and file a W-2 form for each employee that you either:
- paid $600 or more in wages during the tax year
- withheld any income, Social Security, or Medicare taxes from their wages during the year
- would have had to withhold income taxes from their wages for the year if they (1) had not claimed an exemption from withholding on Form W-4, or (2) had claim no more than one withholding allowance on a pre-2020 W-4 form
Since most employers have to file at least one W-2 form per year under these rules, most employers also have to file Form W-3 each year, too.
How many W-3 forms do you have to file?
In some cases, you might have to file more than one W-3 form. For instance, if you own more than one business with separate employer identification numbers (EINs), you need to send separate batches of W-2 forms to the SSA for each business. And each batch will require its own W-3 form to go along with it.
Likewise, if you file more than one type of employment tax form – such as Schedule H for household employees and Form 941 for other employees – you need to separate the W-2 forms by employment form type and send each batch to the SSA with its own W-3 form.
What information is included on Form W-3?
Much of the information reported on Form W-3 comes straight from the W-2 forms completed for your employees. This generally includes the total amount of:
- taxable wages, tips, and other compensation paid to employees
- wages and tips subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes
- federal, state, and local income taxes withheld
- Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld
- dependent care benefits for your employees
You also have to report the total number of W-2s you’re sending to the SSA with the W-3 form. In addition, you can include your own “control number” to identify the transmission of W-2 forms to the SSA (this is optional).
Some basic information about your business must be included on Form W-3, too. For instance, you have to provide your business name, address, contact information, and employer identification number. If your business has multiple establishments, you can provide separate numbers for each one (you can even file a separate Form W-3, with Forms W-2, for each establishment if you want).
You’ll also have to pick a “kind of payer” and “kind of employer” from a list of options. The payer options include:
- 941 – Employers that file quarterly employment tax returns using Form 941 (most businesses will select this option)
- Military – Military employers sending W-2 forms for members of the uniformed services
- 943 – Agricultural employers that file Form 943 and are sending W-2 forms for agricultural employees (send W-2 forms for nonagricultural employees with a separate W-3 form, and select the appropriate kind of payer)
- 944 – Employers that file Form 944, and no other category applies
- CT-1 – Railroad employers sending W-2 forms for employees covered under the Railroad Retirement Tax Act (send W-2 forms for employees who are subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes with a separate W-3 form, and select the 941 option on that W-3 form)
- Household employer – Employers sending W-2 forms for household employees (such as nannies, maids, or gardeners), and you didn’t include their taxes on Forms 941, 943, or 944
- Medicare government employer – Federal, state, or local agencies filing W-2 forms for employees subject only to Medicare taxes
Most of the choices for “kind of employer” are for government entities, tax-exempt organizations, or third-parties that pay sick pay (such as an insurance company). However, most employers will select the “None apply” option.
How do you file Form W-3?
If you issue 10 or more W-2 forms, you generally have to file them with the SSA electronically through the agency’s Business Services Online (BSO) system. You can either use the SSA’s fill-in W-2 forms (up to 50 forms) or upload W-2 forms created using payroll or tax software. The good news is that your W-3 form will be automatically generated based on your W-2 forms.
If you have fewer than 10 W-2 forms to submit, you can file paper copies (Copy A) of the forms – and your W-3 form – by mail (although electronic filing is still recommended since it’s faster and more efficient). If you’re sending paper copies, don’t staple or tape your W-3 form to the W-2 forms (don’t staple or tape the W-2 forms to each other, either).
You must mail (or otherwise make available) Copies B, C, and 2 of Form W-2 to your employees. You may also have to send Copy 1 to your state, city, or local tax department. But Form W-3 only has to be sent to the SSA.
Also note that a payroll service provider can file your W-2 forms and Form W-3 on your behalf. However, you’re still the one responsible for making sure that the forms are properly and timely filed with the SSA and sent to your employees (for W-2 forms).
TurboTax Tip:
If you’re mailing paper copies of Form W-3 and Copy A of Form W-2 to the SSA, they must be official “red-ink” versions (or approved substitutes). You can order the official forms from the IRS on their website or by calling 800-829-3676.
When is Form W-3 due?
You don’t have a lot of time after the year ends to file Form W-3 and your W-2 forms with the SSA. The forms are due each year by January 31. So, for example, you have to file forms for the 2024 tax year by January 31, 2025. If the due date falls on a weekend or holiday, the due date is moved to the next business day.
You can request a one-time 30-day extension to file your W-2 forms (and Form W-3) by submitting Form 8809 before the January 31 deadline. However, an extension is not automatic. The IRS will only grant an extension if extraordinary circumstances exist, such as if there’s a natural disaster, death, or serious illness preventing you from filing the forms on time. Plus, if granted, the filing extension doesn’t relieve you of the responsibility to provide W-2 forms to your employees by the January 31 deadline (although an extension for that can also be requested).
What if you make a mistake on Form W-3?
If you discover an error on your W-3 form after you file it with the SSA, you can fix it by filing Form W-3c. This form is used to report corrected amounts reported on a previously filed W-3 form. You can e-file Form W-3c using the BSO system.
You will also have to file a Form W-3c if you need to file one or more W-2c forms, which are used to correct errors in previously filed W-2 forms. Your W-3c form will be automatically generated if you file the W-2c forms electronically through the BSO system.
How long should you keep Form W-3?
How long you should keep tax records typically depends on the type of document you’re dealing with. When it comes to Form W-3, the IRS recommends keeping the form for at least four years.
With TurboTax Live Full Service, a local expert matched to your unique situation will do your taxes for you start to finish. Or, get unlimited help and advice from tax experts while you do your taxes with TurboTax Live Assisted.
And if you want to file your own taxes, TurboTax will guide you step by step so you can feel confident they'll be done right. No matter which way you file, we guarantee 100% accuracy and your maximum refund.
