How to Read Your W-2 – Justworks Help Center

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What Is a W-2?

Form W-2 is an IRS tax form used to report wages, salary, and other compensation paid to employees, and the taxes withheld from them. A W-2 will be issued to any full or part-time employee that receives a payment through Justworks. It will state the total amount of income received as well as all federal, state, and local taxes withheld. Each box on your W-2 will contain information that can be identified in the below list. This is an example of what your Form W-2 will look like:

What Do You Have To Do With Your W-2?

You will receive your W-2 either by mail, directly in your Justworks account, or both, depending on whether you opted to only receive your W-2 electronically. The electronic and paper copies will be identical and either can be used to file your taxes.

What Does Each Box Mean?

Box a: Your Social Security Number

NOTE: If you have requested a mailed copy of your W-2, you will notice your SSN has been truncated for added security. Recent IRS guidance permits the masking of SSNs on certain documents to help decrease the risk of identity theft. If you prefer to receive a copy of your W-2 with your full SSN present, you may download a copy from your secure Justworks document center once W-2s have been finalized.

Box b: Employer’s EIN - since your employer is a Justworks PEO customer this will be Justworks’ EIN

Box c: Employer’s business address - This will also reflect Justworks' information

Box d: Control number (This is for internal purposes and you won't need to do anything with this number)

Box e and f: Your full name and address (This is pulled from your account settings)

Box 1: Total taxable wages, tips, prizes, and other compensation. This does not include elective deferrals to retirement plans, pre-tax benefits, or payroll deductions. Note: Boxes 3 and 5 may contain different numbers than Box 1. This is OK and not an error.

Box 2: Generally, the total amount of federal income taxes paid as determined by the allowances, exemptions, and additional withholdings as indicated under “Finances” in your Justworks profile. (This is the same info as a Form W-4)

Box 3: Total wages subject to Social Security tax

Box 4: Total amount of Social Security tax actually withheld

Box 5: Total wages and tips subject to Medicare taxes

Box 6: Total amount of Medicare taxes withheld

Box 7: Social security tips

Box 8: Allocated tips that your employer has distributed to you as income

Box 9: This is a verification code and one may or may not appear on your W-2.

Box 10: Total of any benefits paid on your behalf under a dependent care assistance program.

Box 11: Total amounts which have been distributed to you from your employer’s non-qualified deferred compensation plan.

Box 12: Various codes will populate this box such as payments related to employee 401(k) contributions, employee 501(c)(18)(D) tax exempt organization plan, non-taxable portion of sick pay, cost of employer-sponsored health coverage, employer contributions to an HSA, and more. You can find a table of common Box 12 codes below.

Box 13: This is three boxes in one and will indicate if you’re a statutory employee, if you participated in your employer’s retirement plan (i.e. 401(k)), or if you received sick pay under a third party insurance carrier

Box 14: Anything not included in another box

Box 15: Employer’s state and state tax ID number (This will reflect Justworks' information)

Box 16: Total amount of taxable wages for state taxes

NOTE: If you earned W-2 wages in New York State at any point during the reported year, the line item for New York State in Box 16 will match Box 1 on your W-2, in accordance with NYS guidance. This will not impact the amount of state taxes that were actually withheld during the year. The amount of state income tax that was withheld will be reflected in Box 17.

Box 17: Total amount of state income taxes withheld

Box 18: Wages subject to local, city, or state income taxes

Box 19: Total local, city, and state income taxes withheld

Box 20: Name of the local, city, or other state tax being reported in Box 19

Form W-2 Reference Guide for Box 12 Codes

A	Uncollected social security or RRTA tax on tips	L	Substantiated employee business expense reimbursements	Y	Deferrals under a section 409A nonqualified deferred compensation plan
B	Uncollected Medicare tax on tips (but not Additional Medicare Tax)	M	Uncollected social security or RRTA tax on taxable cost of group-term life insurance over $50,000 (former employees only)	Z	Income under a nonqualified deferred compensation plan that fails to satisfy section 409A
C	Taxable cost of group-term life insurance over $50,000	N	Uncollected Medicare tax on taxable cost of group-term life insurance over $50,000 (but not Additional Medicare Tax) (former employees only)	AA	Designated Roth contributions under a section 401(k) plan
D	Elective deferrals under a section 401(k) cash or deferred arrangement plan (including a SIMPLE 401(k) arrangement)	P	Excludable moving expenses reimbursements paid directly to members of the Armed Forces	BB	Designated Roth contributions under a section 403(b) plan
E	Elective deferrals under a section 403(b) salary reduction agreement	Q	Nontaxable combat pay	DD	Cost of employer-sponsored health coverage
F	Elective deferrals under a section 408(k)(6) salary reduction SEP	R	Employer contributions to an Archer MSA	EE	Designated Roth contributions under a governmental section 457(b) plan
G	Elective deferrals and employer contributions (including nonelective deferrals) to a section 457(b) deferred compensation plan	S	Employee salary reduction contributions under a section 408(p) SIMPLE plan	FF	Permitted benefits under a qualified small employer health reimbursement arrangement
H	Elective deferrals to a section 501(c)(18)(D) tax-exempt organization plan	T	Adoption benefits	GG	Income from qualified equity grants under section 83(i)
J	Nontaxable sick pay	V	Income from exercise of nonstatutory stock option(s)	HH	Aggregate deferrals under section 83(i) elections as of the close of the calendar year
K	20% excise tax on excess golden parachute payments	W	Employer contributions (including employee contributions through a cafeteria plan) to an employee's health savings account (HSA)

Why Does My W-2 List Justworks as My Employer?

Don’t panic—this is correct! As a Professional Employer Organization (PEO), Justworks reports taxes on behalf of your company and will therefore be listed as your employer on your W-2.

How Do I Find My W-2 In Justworks?

What If My Address On My W-2 Is Incorrect?

It's acceptable if the address on your W-2 does not match your current address. When you file your taxes, the different state and local amounts will be rectified. If you have permanently moved to another state, please reach out to your company admin to let them know and update your address in your profile to correct your taxes moving forward.

Do I Need to Receive a Physical W-2?

No! If you plan to e-file your taxes and won't require a physical copy of your W-2, you can opt into paperless delivery. Simply go to the Finance section of your Account Settings, and select 'Yes' next to 'Paperless W-2.' Once your W-2 is ready, you'll see it in your Documents section.

What Do I Do If I See An Error On My W-2?

If you notice any errors with your W-2 let us know and we will issue you a W-2C, which is a corrected version of your W-2. When you file your personal income tax return with the IRS, you will need to report the corrected box amounts from the W-2C along with the box amounts from the original W-2 that did not require corrections.

If you don’t let us know of any errors before March 31, we may not be able to get you a corrected copy before tax day. Also, it's possible for you to request an automatic extension of time (Form 4868) and you will be granted an additional six months to file your taxes.

If I worked for more than one Justworks customer in a single year, will I receive 2 W-2s?

As we’re a PEO, we’ll only issue one document for employees who worked for multiple Justworks customer. All of the relevant information will be on that form.

I’ve Lost My W-2. Can I Get Another One?

We’re only issuing new W-2s if there is a correction that needs to be made, but you can print out a PDF of your W-2 from your Justworks account.

Disclaimer

This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, legal or tax advice. If you have any legal or tax questions regarding this content or related issues, then you should consult with your professional legal or tax advisor.