What your W-2 is telling you
Every box on the W-2 explained in plain language, which boxes change your refund, what to do if one looks wrong, and what to do if the form never arrives.
Quick answers
- Why is box 1 on my W-2 lower than my salary?
- Because box 1 is taxable wages after pre-tax deductions such as a 401(k) or health premiums. That is normal rather than an error, and box 1 is the figure that carries to your return.
- What do I do if my W-2 never arrives?
- Employers must furnish it by the January deadline. If you still have nothing by the end of February, call the employer first, then the IRS, who will contact them. You can still file on time using your last pay stub and Form 4852.
- Do I need every W-2 before I file?
- Yes. Each employer sends one and the IRS receives a copy, so a return filed without one usually draws a mismatch letter later. Bring every form if you changed jobs or held two at once.
A W-2 is your employer's account of what it paid you last year and what it withheld from that pay, and your return is built from it. Read it box by box rather than looking only at the total, because the box your refund turns on is rarely the one that matches your salary.
| Standard deduction, single | $15,750 | 2025 Instructions for Form 1040, Standard Deduction Chart |
|---|---|---|
| Standard deduction, married filing jointly | $31,500 | 2025 Instructions for Form 1040, Standard Deduction Chart |
| Social Security wage base | $176,100 | 2025 Schedule SE line 7 |
| Employers furnish W-2s by | February 2, 2026 | 2025 General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 |
What the form is
Your employer sends a W-2 to you and to the Social Security Administration after the year ends. It reports what you were paid and what was withheld. Employers must furnish it by February 2, 2026.
The boxes that matter most
- Box 1, wages. Taxable wages after pre-tax deductions such as a 401(k) or health premiums. This is the number that goes on your return.
- Box 2, federal income tax withheld. What was already paid in on your behalf. More here than you owe means a refund.
- Boxes 3–6. Social Security and Medicare wages and tax. Box 3 stops at the wage base of $176,100; box 5 does not.
- Box 12. Coded items: retirement contributions (D, E), employer health cost (DD), HSA contributions (W).
- Box 14. Anything the employer wants to tell you, often state disability or union dues.
Reading box 12 more closely
Box 12 is where the payroll system files anything that needs a label, and each entry is a code plus an amount. The ones that come up most often:
- D and E. Elective deferrals you made to a 401(k) or a 403(b). These are already excluded from box 1, so do not deduct them again.
- AA and BB. Designated Roth contributions to the same kinds of plan. These are not excluded from box 1, because Roth money is taxed going in.
- DD. The cost of employer-sponsored health coverage, both your share and the employer's. It is reported for information only and changes nothing on your return.
- W. Contributions to a health savings account through the employer, including the employer's own contribution. This is the figure that has to agree with Form 8889.
- C. The taxable cost of employer-provided group-term life insurance above the amount that is excluded. It is already inside box 1.
Codes matter more than amounts here. The same number under a different letter can change whether a contribution is deductible, already excluded, or taxable.
Boxes 15 through 20: state and local
Box 15 names the state and the employer's state ID number, box 16 is state wages and box 17 is state income tax withheld. Boxes 18 to 20 do the same job for a city or other local tax.
State wages in box 16 do not always equal box 1, because states do not always follow the federal treatment of every pre-tax benefit. If you moved during the year or worked across a state line, expect more than one state line here, and check that the totals across them look right.
In a state with no personal income tax, boxes 16 and 17 are often blank, and that is normal rather than an error. If you have wages from another state on the same form, that state may still expect a return.
Tips, boxes 7 and 8
Box 7 is tips you reported to your employer that were subject to Social Security tax, and they are already inside box 1. Box 8 is allocated tips, which are not in box 1: an employer in a large food or beverage establishment allocates them when reported tips fall below a share of sales. Allocated tips still have to be accounted for on the return, and your own daily tip record is what supports the figure you use.
More than one W-2
If you changed jobs or held two at once, bring every form. Each employer withholds as though its wages are your only wages, which is the usual reason a two-job household ends up short on federal withholding.
Social Security tax goes the other way. Each employer stops withholding it once the wages it paid you reach the wage base, but neither employer can see the other. If your combined Social Security wages from two or more employers passed $176,100, too much was withheld, and the excess is claimed as a credit on your return rather than chased from the employers. That only works across different employers. If a single employer over-withheld, the employer refunds it and issues a corrected form.
If a box looks wrong
Ask the employer for a corrected form, a W-2c. If they will not issue one by the filing deadline, the IRS process is Form 4852, a substitute W-2, filed with your return.
If it never arrives
Employers have until February 2, 2026. If you still have nothing by the end of February, call the employer first, then the IRS, who will contact them. You can still file on time using your last pay stub and Form 4852.
Standard deduction reminder
For tax year 2025 the standard deduction is $15,750 for a single filer and $31,500 for a married couple filing jointly, so most W-2 households do not itemize.