How to Manage Employee W-2 Forms (And Go Paperless)

The New Year isn’t just about new beginnings. It’s also the time of year your employees anxiously await their W-2 forms—and for good reason. It’s their ticket to calculating and filing their annual tax returns.

But W-2s are a big deal for employers, too. After all, you’ll calculate employees’ Social Security and Medicare benefits based on this data.

Not to mention, your company could face hefty fines if this form isn’t completed on time. Filing and distributing W-2s late results in penalties per tax form, which can add up to thousands of dollars for your business. If you haven’t gone paperless like the IRS, now’s the time.

In this article, we’ll discuss what a W-2 form is, who’s responsible for filing, and how HR software can help make tax season less of a hassle.

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What Is a W-2 Form (Wage and Tax Statement)?

IRS Form W-2 is a tax document that shows the employee’s earnings information from the previous year. It reports federal, state, and local tax withholdings, as well as amounts for dependent care benefits and nonqualified plans. Other information you may add to a W-2 form includes:

Educational assistance payments
Health insurance deductions
Nontaxable income
State disability insurance taxes
Uniform payments
Union dues

Who Files W-2 Forms—and When?

As an employer, you’re required to complete a W-2 form and file it with the Social Security Administration (SSA) for each person on your payroll and provide your employees with their own copies. A W-2 contains several clearly labeled sections (all with the same information), and you’re responsible for sending the correct copies to the appropriate parties.

Filing W-2 Forms

Now, let's talk about the process of filing W-2s. You’ve got a couple of options here: good old-fashioned snail mail or the modern choice of e-filing. Whichever option you choose, just be consistent. If you’re still a fan of paper, you’ll be glad to know that W-2s (including W-2AS, W-2GU, and W-2VI) were redesigned in 2023 to reduce the number of pages that need to be printed.

You’ll need to file Copy A with the SSA for each of your employees. Form W-3 (Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements) is the form that you'll use to report the total of all your employees' wages and taxes.

For the big picture: If you’ve got 50 people on your payroll, that means sending 50 W-2s and one W-3.

You’ll also need to send W-2 Copy 1 to your state, city, or local tax department. Each of your team members will need W-2 Copies B, C, and 2. You can send them by mail, distribute them in person at your workplace, or get their consent to send them electronically (more on that later).

There are a lot of W-2 copies to keep track of, so we’ve broken it down for you in the table below:

Form Copy

W-2 Form Instructions

Copy A

For the SSA (file along with Form W-3)

Copy B

To be filed with the employee's federal tax return

Copy C

For the employee's records

Copy D

For the employer's records

Copy 1

For state, city, or local tax department

Copy 2

To be filed with the employee's state, city, or local income tax return

Source: IRS Form W-2 (v. 2024)

W-2 Form Due Date

W-2 tax forms are due by January 31. Employee copies may be addressed and mailed on or before the due date, so you don’t have to worry about whether your workers will have them in hand before the end of the month.

Got hit with an emergency and need a bit more time? You can ask for a 30-day extension with Form 8809—that's the Application for Extension of Time To File Information Returns.

W-2 Form Frequently Asked Questions from Employees

It’s HR’s responsibility to ensure W-2s are sent to employees who worked at your company in the previous year, but that doesn’t mean employees won’t be anxious about getting their documentation as soon as possible.

Here are a few of the top employee questions about accessing W-2s and your options for answering them:

How Do I Get My W-2 Online?

Answer: Many employees prefer to access their W-2 online. The IRS doesn’t require you to provide electronic access, but they do encourage it. If you want to enable a self-service option for your employees, here are a few considerations:

Employee Consent: You can only send an electronic copy of an employee’s W-2 with their explicit consent. The employee needs to know the scope of their consent for electronic delivery, whether requesting a paper copy of their W-2 is considered a withdrawal of their consent, and more. Be sure you’re up to date on the Employer’s Supplemental Tax Guide (IRS Publication 15-A).
Security: Because W-2 forms contain personally identifiable information (PII), it’s critical to ensure employees’ access is secure.

But remember, it’s your responsibility to make sure your employees get their copies. When in doubt, mail them!

How Do I Get My W-2s From Past Years?

Answer: If you have some long-serving staff who need to access their W-2s from previous tax years, keeping clear records is a must. Be sure to set up a system to store these in one secure, easy-to-reach location.

How Do I Get a W-2 From a Previous Employer?

Answer: Sometimes, you’ll hear from former employees hoping for a copy of their W-2 from several years ago. Efficient recordkeeping and the right HR software can help make this a breeze. We’ll tackle exactly what software you’ll need below.

What Software Can Help You Manage W-2 Form Requests?

One way to make managing W-2 form distribution and requests easier is to use payroll software. HR software with payroll ensures every pay period runs smoothly—even during tax season. It’s especially handy if you have a mix of W-2 and 1099 employees who receive different tax documents from your company in Q1.

For example, here are some of the benefits of having BambooHR ^® Payroll:

Tax Filing: We take care of the federal, state, and local taxes for US-based employees and generate W-2 forms for your company.
Approval: Admins receive initial proof copies of their tax documents for approval before final copies are sent.
Communication: We ping your employees when their tax documents are available.
W-2 Distribution: Paper W-2 forms automatically go out to your employees’ home addresses (unless they’ve opted to go paperless), and electronic copies appear under their profile.
Tax Form Access: Your employees can view, print, or download their W-2s all by themselves.
W-2 Requests: Any employees who’ve recently left your company will also receive their final W-2 forms by mail, but administrators can also access them in the system if requested.

To learn more about how BambooHR handles this process, check out our help center’s tax documents FAQ.

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How an HR Management System Makes Tax Time Easier

From employee self-service to automated payroll features, HR software puts more time into your day, allowing you to focus on higher priorities at tax time and beyond. However, it’s more than just a time-saver. Additional benefits of an HR management system include:

Employee Recordkeeping: HR software centralizes employee data, which streamlines employee records management for your entire company.
Risk Management: A Human Resources Information System (HRIS) reduces human error and associated compliance risks.
Less HR Administrative Work: From W-2 requests to reporting, everything is faster and simpler in a paperless HR system.
Better Employee Experiences: HR software gives employees greater autonomy by replacing common bottlenecks with self-service tools.

Plus, using an HRIS makes sense from a security standpoint. HR software with secure admin levels protects payroll, tax forms, and other sensitive information, ensuring appropriate accessibility.

How to Implement HR Software in Your Workplace

HRIS implementation is a service many providers offer to help customers get set up. It typically involves migrating employee and company data into the new system—like tax records—and training your employees on how to use it. Many initial steps can make this phase go smoothly, such as:

Communicating the Plan: Giving your employees plenty of notice lets them know what to expect and gives them time to prepare.
Sorting Documents: Review hardcopies for accuracy and eliminate duplicates. You may also have to reformat existing digital docs before importing them into the system.
Reviewing Your HR Tech Stack: Coordinating third-party HR tools is often part of the process, so make sure you know which app integrations you’re keeping and replacing.

If one of your goals is to create a fully paperless HR department, here are some factors to consider:

Use e-signatures. Asking for e-signatures is more convenient in a paperless workplace.
Design a data organization system. Everyone should know how to use your file organization system securely and effectively.
Download new digital forms. Figure out which essential forms your company uses and replace them with digital ones.
Prepare to scan. Scanning and filing hardcopies may take quite a bit of time, so be sure to account for this phase of the implementation process.

Ready to Go Paperless?

If going green makes tax time simpler for the IRS, it can do the same for your HR department, too. Paperless recordkeeping reduces clutter, improves data security, and saves time. It also makes it easier to fulfill W-2 form responsibilities and requests as quickly as possible, even as your year-end task list grows.

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