W-2c: How to Correct a W-2 After It's Been Filed

You filed your employees' W-2s by the January 31 deadline, submitted them to the Social Security Administration, and sent copies to your employees. Then you discovered an error. Maybe the wages were overstated, a Social Security number was wrong, or a name didn't match SSA records.

The fix is Form W-2c — the "Corrected Wage and Tax Statement." Here's exactly when you need one, how to complete it, and how to handle the downstream effects.

When Is a W-2c Required?

File a W-2c whenever you need to correct information on a previously filed W-2, including:

Incorrect wages or tax amounts in any box
Wrong Social Security Number (SSN)
Wrong employee name (or name doesn't match SSA records)
Wrong Employer Identification Number (EIN)
Wrong tax year
Omitted information that should have been reported

You do NOT need a W-2c for minor address corrections — just send the employee a corrected Copy B with the updated address, no SSA filing required.

The W-2c Form Structure

Form W-2c has two main sections:

Top Section: Employer and Employee Identification

Box a: Tax year being corrected (e.g., 2025)
Box b: Corrected SSN (enter the correct SSN; leave blank if SSN was correct)
Box c: Employer's name, address, and ZIP
Box d: Employer's EIN
Box e: Employee's correct name
Box f: Employee's correct address

If you are correcting a Social Security number, enter the incorrect SSN from the original W-2 in the "Previously reported" entry for Box a, and the correct SSN in Box b. This is the only way the SSA can match the correction to the wrong record and fix it.

Correction Columns

For every box that needs correction, the W-2c has two columns:

"Previously reported" — The wrong amount from the original W-2
"Correct information" — What it should actually be

Only fill in boxes that are being corrected. Leave all other boxes blank. If Box 1 wages were wrong, fill in Boxes 1's previously reported and correct amounts. Don't re-enter wages in Box 3 if Box 3 was correct — leave it blank.

Step-by-Step: Completing a W-2c

Step 1: Get the form

Download the official W-2c from IRS.gov (search "W-2c"). Do not use a prior-year version — use the current year's form. Most payroll software (Gusto, QuickBooks Payroll, ADP) has W-2c generation built in.

Step 2: Identify every box that needs correction

Go through the original W-2 systematically. List every box with an error. Remember: if you correct Federal wages (Box 1), you may also need to correct Social Security wages (Box 3), Medicare wages (Box 5), and any state wage boxes (Box 16) — they're often different amounts but related errors affect multiple boxes.

Step 3: Fill in the correction columns

For each corrected box: enter the original (wrong) amount in "Previously reported" and the correct amount in "Correct information." Leave all non-corrected boxes blank.

Step 4: Check for downstream effects

A wage correction often cascades. If you correct Box 1 (Federal wages), verify:

Box 2 (Federal income tax withheld) — if withholding was calculated on wrong wages, it may also be wrong
Box 3 and 5 (SS and Medicare wages) — typically same as or close to Box 1
Box 4 and 6 (SS and Medicare taxes) — 6.2% of Box 3 and 1.45% of Box 5 respectively
State boxes 15–17 — state wages and withholding may need corresponding corrections

Step 5: Prepare Form W-3c

Form W-3c is the transmittal form that accompanies W-2c submissions to the SSA. It summarizes the corrections across all W-2c forms in your submission.

Like the W-2c, W-3c has "Previously reported" and "Correct information" columns. Enter the totals of all previously reported amounts across your W-2c batch in the first column, and the correct totals in the second.

Step 6: File with the SSA

Paper W-2c and W-3c submissions go to the Social Security Administration (not the IRS — the SSA shares the data). Mail to:

Social Security Administration
Direct Operations Center
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18769-0001

Electronic filers can submit W-2c corrections through the SSA's Business Services Online (BSO) system. If you originally filed electronically, you must correct electronically.

Step 7: Give corrected Copy B to the employee

Provide the employee with a corrected Copy B of the W-2c as soon as possible. Include a brief explanation — they may need to file an amended tax return (Form 1040-X) if they already filed using the incorrect original W-2.

Timing and Penalties

File the W-2c as soon as you discover the error. There's no separate deadline, but IRS penalty exposure increases over time:

Corrected within 30 days of the original due date: $60 per form
Corrected between 30 days and August 1: $120 per form
Corrected after August 1: $310 per form (up to $3.78M/year)
Intentional disregard: $630 per form, no maximum

The penalty is assessed per incorrectly filed W-2, not per error — so a W-2 with three wrong boxes still counts as one form for penalty purposes.

SSN Corrections: The Most Complicated Fix

Wrong Social Security numbers require special handling because the SSA needs to move earnings credits from the wrong record to the right one. Always:

Enter the previously used (wrong) SSN in "Previously reported" for Box a
Enter the correct SSN in Box b
Attach a copy of the employee's Social Security card if submitting on paper

Name/SSN mismatches are flagged by the SSA and can result in no-match letters. Verify employee names and SSNs against their Social Security card at hire — don't rely on self-reported numbers.

Automating W-2 Data Extraction to Prevent Errors

Most W-2c situations trace back to errors in the original W-2 — wrong numbers entered manually, SSNs transposed, incorrect year-end totals. Tools like w2extractor.com automate W-2 data extraction from source PDFs, reducing the manual entry that creates errors in the first place and making year-end W-2 reconciliation faster and more accurate.