Form W-2 (2025), Wage and Tax Statement

Form W-2 for 2025 wages

This is the 2025 Form W-2, a prior-year form that reports wages paid in calendar year 2025. For wages paid in 2026, use the 2026 Form W-2.

The 2025 deadlines have passed. Copies B, C and 2 generally had to be furnished to employees by February 2, 2026, and Copy A with Form W-3 had to be filed with the SSA by February 2, 2026, on paper or electronically. A penalty may be owed for each Form W-2 filed late.

To correct a previously filed Form W-2, follow the IRS instructions for the specific error. Form W-2c is generally used, but address-only and state/local-only corrections are not sent to the SSA.

Wages and tips (boxes 1, 3, 5 and 7)

Box 1. Do not include pre-tax elective deferrals such as pre-tax employee contributions to a 401(k) or 403(b) plan. Follow the IRS Box 1 instructions for exceptions. Designated Roth contributions are different: they are reported in boxes 1, 3 and 5.

Box 3. Pre-tax elective deferrals shown in box 12 with codes D, E, F, G or S are reported in box 3 even though they are left out of box 1. For 2025 the total of boxes 3 and 7 cannot exceed $176,100, the 2025 social security wage base.

Box 5. Enter the employee's Medicare wages and tips. There is no wage base limit for Medicare tax.

Box 7. Tips the employee reported to you.

Taxes withheld (boxes 2, 4 and 6)

Box 2. The total federal income tax withheld from the employee's wages for the year.

Box 4. The employee's social security tax withheld, not your share. For 2025 it should not exceed $10,918.20 ($176,100 x 6.2%).

Box 6. The employee's Medicare tax withheld, including any Additional Medicare Tax, not your share. Medicare tax is withheld at 1.45%. An employer must also withhold a 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on wages paid to an employee in excess of $200,000 in a calendar year.

Box 14. The 2025 form has a single box 14, Other.

What you can print and what you cannot

Copy B and the other employee copies can be filled in, printed and given to employees. Copy A downloaded from IRS.gov is for information only. Do not print and file that copy with the SSA. Use e-filing, official red-ink forms or approved substitute versions. Generally, if you must file at least 10 information returns in the calendar year, counting Forms W-2 together with the other listed information returns, you must e-file them all.

Worked examples for 2025

These examples illustrate the listed boxes only. They are not complete sample returns and do not cover every reporting requirement.

Example 1: wages and tips. In 2025 Sarah was paid $170,000 in wages and reported $2,000 in tips. Federal income tax withheld was $35,000.

• Box 1: 172,000.00 (wages plus tips)
• Box 2: 35,000.00
• Box 3: 170,000.00
• Box 7: 2,000.00 (boxes 3 and 7 total 172,000.00, under the $176,100 wage base)
• Box 4: 10,664.00 (6.2% of 172,000.00)
• Box 5: 172,000.00
• Box 6: 2,494.00 (1.45% of 172,000.00)

Example 2: pre-tax 401(k) deferral and the wage base. In 2025 Jane was paid $180,000 and made a $5,000 pre-tax elective deferral to her employer's traditional 401(k) plan. Assume no other wage adjustments or tips.

• Box 1: 175,000.00 (the $5,000 deferral is left out)
• Box 3: 176,100.00 (the deferral counts here, and the 2025 wage base caps the box)
• Box 4: 10,918.20 (6.2% of 176,100.00)
• Box 5: 180,000.00 (no wage base limit)
• Box 6: 2,610.00 (1.45% of 180,000.00; no Additional Medicare Tax because wages did not exceed $200,000)
• Box 12: code D, 5,000.00
• Box 13: "Retirement plan" checked