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What Is Tax Form W-3?

IRS Tax Form W-3 (Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements)

Tax Form W-3 is a transmittal which is forwarded to the Social Security Administration, showing total earnings, Medicare wages, Social Security wages, and withholding for all employees encompassing the entire year.

The Social Security Administration requires that Tax Form W-3 is sent to them no later than the end of February. Along with this, they also require copies of W-2 tax forms for all employees. To ensure accuracy, the totals from Tax Form W-3 should equal the total on all submitted W-2 forms.

The W-3 form can be submitted electronically or by paper mail.

Do I have to attach W-2s to Tax Form W-3 or do I send them separately?

You are required to submit both tax forms at the same time. For this reason, you will need to do all of the prep work accordingly. In other words, you cannot send tax form W-3 in January and your W-2s the next month. The Social Security Administration wants all this information at the same time.

Before you send off these tax forms, make sure your numbers and information are accurate. The totals on Tax Form W-3 should equal the amounts on your W-2s. And of course, double-check to ensure the accuracy of your name, address, and employer ID number.

All-in-all, Tax Form W-3 is a summary return which shows the totals from all employee W-2s.


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