You’ve probably heard of the W-2 form, but if you’re a small business owner with even one employee, you’ll need to know how to file the W-3 tax form, too.
Form W-3, which is formally known as the “Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements,” is a form employers use as a summary or cover sheet when sending paper copies of their employees’ W-2 forms to the Social Security Administration (SSA).
Keep reading to learn how to fill out and when to submit this tax form.
What is the W-3 form?
Form W-3 is a summary form that employers submit to the SSA along with their employees’ W-2 forms. It consolidates the total wages paid to employees and the taxes withheld by the business during the tax year.
While an employee’s W-2 form shows wage and tax information for one employee, Form W-3 summarizes and transmits that same information collectively for all employees to the IRS.
Why is the W-3 form important?
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and SSA compare the total wages and taxes withheld on a business’s W-3 form with the numbers reported on employee W-2 forms to ensure that the figures are correct. This form also helps ensure that all of the organization’s payroll and tax withholdings have been properly reported for the tax year.
Who needs to fill out a W-3 form?
Form W-3 must be filled out and submitted by any business or organization that files more than one W-2 form in a given tax year. Employers that e-file over 249 W-2 forms for the tax year don’t need to fill out or submit a separate W-3 form because the information is automatically generated by the SSA.
Note that employees don’t fill out, file, or receive a W-3 form themselves.
How do I fill out the IRS W-3 form?
Form W-3 mostly asks for the same information as Form W-2, which makes filling out the W-3 relatively straightforward.
Note that the combined amounts reported on all related employment tax forms (for example, Forms W-2, 941, 941-SS, 943, or 944) should match the amounts reported on Form W-3. If there are inconsistencies, you could be contacted by the IRS and SSA.
Boxes a–h: Company info and number of W-2s the form aggregates
This section requires information about your company, plus how many W-2s the form aggregates.
Box a (Control number): This is an optional box that employers may use for numbering each W-3 form for internal record-keeping purposes.
Box b (Kind of Payer): Check the box that applies to you. Most private-sector employers check “941,” a reference to the Form 941 they need to file. Check with your accountant to be sure. If you have more than one type of Form W-2, send each type with a separate Form W-3. These are your options:
941: Check this box if you file Forms 941 or 941-SS and no other category applies.
Military: Check this box if you are a military employer sending Forms W-2 for members of the uniformed services.
943: Check this box if you are an agricultural employer, file Form 943, and you are sending Forms W-2 for agricultural employees. For nonagricultural employees, send their Forms W-2 with a separate Form W-3, checking the appropriate box.
944: Check this box if you file Form 944 (or the Spanish-language version), and no other category applies.
CT-1: Check this box if you are a railroad employer sending Forms W-2 for employees covered under the Railroad Retirement Tax Act (RRTA).
Household employer: Check this box if you are a household employer sending Forms W-2 for household employees, and you did not include the household employee’s taxes on Forms 941, 941-SS, 943, or 944.
Medicare government employer: Check this box if you are a US, state, or local agency filing Forms W-2 for employees subject only to Medicare tax.
Box b (Kind of Employer): Check the box that applies to you (the only exception to checking a second box is if you also need to check the box labeled “Third-party sick pay”). See Pub. 557, Tax-Exempt Status for Your Organization for information about 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations. These are your options:
None apply: Check this box if none of the checkboxes discussed next apply to you. Unless you are a government entity or nonprofit, you’ll select “None apply.”
501c non-govt: Check this box if you are a non-governmental tax-exempt section 501(c) organization. Types of 501(c) non-governmental organizations include private foundations, public charities, social and recreation clubs, and veterans organizations. For additional examples of 501(c) non-governmental organizations, see chapters 3 and 4 of Pub. 557.
State/local non-501c: Check this box if you are a state or local government or instrumentality. This includes cities, townships, counties, special-purpose districts, public school districts, or other publicly owned entities with governmental authority.
State/local 501c: Check this box if you are a state or local government or instrumentality, and you have received a determination letter from the IRS indicating that you are also a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3).
Federal govt: Check this box if you are a federal government entity or instrumentality.
Box b (Third-party sick pay): Check this box if you are a third-party sick pay payer (or are reporting sick pay payments made by a third party) filing Forms W-2 with the “Third-party sick pay” checkbox in box 13 checked. File a single Form W-3 for the regular and “Third-party sick pay” Forms W-2.
Box c: Provide the total number of W-2 forms that you are transmitting with this Form W-3. Do not count “VOID” Forms W-2.
Box d (Establishment number): You may use this box to identify separate establishments in your business. You may file a separate Form W-3 with Forms W-2 for each establishment, even if they all have the same EIN. You may also use a single Form W-3 for all Forms W-2 of the same type.
Box e: (Employer identification number): Enter the 9-digit Employer Identification Number (EIN) assigned to you by the IRS. If you do not have an EIN when filing your Form W-3, enter “Applied For” in the box instead. Do not enter your Social Security number (SSN). You can get an EIN by applying online at IRS.gov/EIN, or by filing Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number.
Box f: Enter the name of your business as shown on your Forms 941, 941-SS, 943, 944, CT-1, or Schedule H (Form 1040).
Box g: Enter the business’s address and ZIP code.
Box h: Enter any other EIN you used this year, if applicable.
Employer contact information: In the respective boxes, enter your business’s contact person, telephone number, fax number, and email address.
Lines 1–19: Combined income and tax information from all of the W-2s you’re including in this W-3 filing
Boxes 1–8: Enter the totals reported in boxes 1 through 8 on the Forms W-2. This includes the following: wages, tips, and other compensation; federal income tax withheld; Social Security wages and Social Security tax withheld; Medicare wages and tips and Medicare tax withheld; Social Security tips; and allocated tips.
Box 9: Do not enter an amount in box 9. Leave this blank.
Box 10 (Dependent care benefits): Enter the total reported in box 10 on Forms W-2. (This is not applicable to Forms W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, and W-2VI.)
Box 11 (Nonqualified plans): Enter the total reported in box 11 on Forms W-2.
Box 12a (Deferred compensation): Enter the total of all amounts reported with codes D through H, S, Y, AA, BB, and EE in box 12 on Forms W-2. Do not enter a code.
Box 13 (For third-party sick pay use only): Leave this box blank. See Form 8922.
Box 14 (Income tax withheld by payer of third-party sick pay): Complete this box only if you are the employer and have employees who had federal income tax withheld on third-party payments of sick pay. Show the total income tax withheld by third-party payers on payments to all of your employees. Although this tax is included in the box 2 total, it must be separately shown here.
Box 15 (State/Employer’s state ID number): Enter the two-letter abbreviation for the name of the state or territory being reported on Form(s) W-2. Also, enter your state- or territory-assigned ID number (territorial ID number for Forms W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, and W-2VI). If the Forms W-2 being submitted with this Form W-3 contain wage and income tax information from more than one state or territory, enter an “X” under “State” and do not enter any state or territory ID number.
Boxes 16–19: Enter the total of state and local wages and income tax shown in their corresponding boxes on the Forms W-2 included with this Form W-3. If the Forms W-2 show amounts from more than one state or locality, report them as one sum in the appropriate box on Form W-3. Verify that the amount reported in each box is an accurate total of the Forms W-2. (Note: These boxes are not applicable to Forms W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, and W-2VI.)
How do I file my W-3?
You or someone with an approved role needs to sign and date the form before you file it. Both W-2 and W-3 forms can be filed electronically or by mail, although the IRS encourages employers to file electronically. However, you’re required to e-file if you have 250 or more W-2 forms.
Filing electronically
To file W-2 and W-3 forms electronically, you’ll need to register for the Social Security Administration’s business services online (BSO) platform.
Once you’re in, you have two options:
Use fill-in forms to create W-2s for each of your employees
Upload wage files from your payroll or tax software (Note: If you go this route, they need to be formatted in a certain way)
BSO then makes your life easier by generating a W-3 for you once you’ve submitted all your W-2s (including the entire Copy A page from each).
Filing by mail
If you have fewer than 250 W-2s and would rather file paper copies, you’ll need to order them from the IRS or get them through your payroll processor.
Unfortunately, you can’t just print them out from the IRS website because those PDF forms include a special red color that isn’t scannable. If you try anyway, you could face a penalty.
Once you have the right forms, fill out a Form W-2 for each employee, then add up all the numbers from each W-2 to enter on the W-3. Then, send them to the address listed on the forms. Keep in mind that it must be the original, scannable form, not a photocopy.
What is the W-3 tax reporting deadline?
No matter your filing method, the submission deadline for the W-3 form (plus all associated Copy A W-2 forms) is January 31 each year for the previous year’s forms.
So, for example, a business owner must submit their 2025 W-3 form by January 11, 2026. However, if the filing deadline falls on a weekend, employers must submit their W-3 and W-2 forms by the following business day.
You’ll also need to send your employees a copy of their W-2 by that date. You’re not required, however, to share a copy of your W-3 with them.
If you make a mistake on your W-3 or you made an error on a W-2 that affects your W-3, you’ll need to file Form W-2c and Form W-3c to make corrections. Make sure they both show the correct tax year, too.
There’s no deadline for these correction forms, but the IRS requests corrections to be filed as soon as possible after you discover the error. Employers must also give the affected employees a copy of their Form W-2c if the error discovered was for the prior year and Form W-2 was filed with the SSA.
W-3 Form FAQs
Are there penalties for late W‑3 submission?
Yes, the IRS penalizes late submissions of W-3 forms and any associated W-2 forms. The penalty amount depends on how late the forms are filed. For filings due after December 31, 2025, the IRS will impose the following penalties:
$60 per Form W-2 correctly filed 30 days after the due date (maximum penalty is $683,000 per year, and $239,000 per year for small businesses)
$130 per Form W-2 correctly filed more than 30 days after the due date but before August 1 (maximum penalty is $2,049,000 per year, and $683,000 per year for small businesses)
$340 per Form W-2 if you file after August 1, do not file any corrections, or do not file the required W-2 forms with your W-3 form (maximum penalty is $4,098,500 per year, and $1,366,000 per year for small businesses)
Employers that don’t file W-2 forms on time due to intentional disregard of the filing deadline or other filing requirements will be subject to a fee of at least $680 per W-2 form. In these cases, there is no maximum penalty threshold.
Do I need to file Form W-3 if I have no employees?
No, business owners don’t need to file Form W-3 if they have no employees and paid no wages during the tax year.
Can I file Form W-3 without filing Form W-2?
No, you can’t file Form W-3 on its own. Because this form summarizes your employees’ W-2 information, you need to file all of the W-2 forms for the tax year with the W-3 form at the same time.
What should I do if I make a mistake on Form W-3?
To correct any mistakes made on a previously-submitted W-3 form, employers must file Form W-3c with the SSA as soon as possible. If mistakes or incorrect information are on any of the submitted W-2 forms, you must prepare and file Form W-2c for each affected W-2 form as well.
Is there a difference between Form W-3 and Form 941?
Yes, there is a difference between Form W-3 and Form 941, as each serves different purposes.
Form W-3 is a tax reporting form filed with the SSA each year that summarizes an employer’s W-2 information for the tax year. Form 941 is a tax return form that employers file each quarter with the IRS to report and deposit employee income tax withholdings and the employer’s share of FICA taxes.
