A form issued by employers that tallies earnings and amount withheld in taxes.

IRS form which reports income paid and taxes withheld by an employer for a particular employee during a calendar year

Internal Revenue Service form that identifies income paid and taxes withheld by an employer for an individual employee during a calendar year.

The W-2 is a form issued by your employer in January of each year. You use the information on this form to file your taxes, and you must attach this document to your completed tax form. Your W-2 will show how much you earned, how much federal and state tax was withheld for the prior year, and other details.

A summary of your earnings for the year, detailing the federal, state, Social Security, and Medicare taxes that have been withheld from your wages.

The official IRS-designated form that employers must use to report the employee's income for the year. Employers must provide the employee with a copy of the W-2 form submitted to the IRS. The employee can then use this W-2 to complete his or her tax returns, as well as maintain documentation of employment and income. For more information, see the "Analyzing Employment and Income" article in the "Loan Process" section.