What is this W-2 tax form, and what does it mean?
A W-2 is a wage and tax statement.  These are processed once each calendar year in January.  The W-2 is issued by any employer you have had in a calendar year.  A W-2 reports only your total wages paid in a year along with the amounts of taxes withheld from your pay.  It has nothing to do with how many hours you worked, or your job title.  Just how much you were paid.

The left side of the form is for taxpayer and company names and identification numbers.  The right side of the form is to report the wages and different taxes withheld.  The bottom of the form is for the taxpayer’s specific state and local tax information.

Box A is your social security number.  Always double check to make sure it is correct.  If it is not, notify your employer right away.  You will need an amended W-2 before filing your taxes.
Box B is your employer’s  identification number.  This is the number your employer uses when filing and submitting all of the company tax payments.
Box C is your employer’s legal address.  It may not match your worksite address.
Box D is the control number.  This is a number used by your employer’s payroll department.  If your employer doesn’t use control numbers, this box can be blank.
Box E and F are for your legal name and address.

Box 1 on the right side of the W-2 shows your total taxable wage.
Box 2 is the amount of Federal income taxes that were withheld from your pay during the year.
Box 3 is your total wages that were subject to Social Security Taxes.
Box 4 is the amount of Social Security tax that was withheld for the year.
Box 5 is your total wages that were subject to Medicare Taxes.
Box 6 is the amount of Medicare taxes that were withheld for the year.
Box 7 is the amount of tips that you reported to your employer.
Box 8 is the amount of tips your employer has figured for you.  These are considered income to you.
Box 9 will always be blank.  (it used to be used a few years ago, but no longer is used. )
Box 10 shows any benefits paid on your behalf under a dependent care assistance program.
Box 11 is the amount that was distributed to you from your employer’s non-qualified deferred compensation plan.
Box 12 can show several different codes. Some of the more common codes are for taxable group term life insurance over $50,000, the amounts you deferred into a retirement plan and the cost of the employer paid health coverage.
Box 13 consists of three different boxes.  Your employer will check the applicable box if you met any of the choices.
Box 14 is just another box.  Your employer will just report anything here if there was not another spot on the W-2 for it.
Box 15 is the state you had taxes withheld.  If you worked in a state that has no state taxes, then this will be blank.
Box 16 shows the total amount of taxable wages for your state.
Box 17 is the amount of state taxes you had withheld throughout the calendar year.
Box 18 will show the total taxable wages for your local or city taxes.  If you do not have such taxes, this will be blank.
Box 19 will show the amount of local or city taxes you had withheld for the year.
Box 20 is the name of your local or city tax that was reported in box 19.

All W-2s need to be postmarked and put in the mail no later than January 31^st each year.