How to Print a W-2 from QuickBooks

  • Quickbooks

QuickBooks provides a wide range of tax features, including easy access to W-2 and W-3 forms. How you access these forms will vary depending on your payroll service. QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Basic doesn’t provide any access to W-2 and W-3 forms.

QuickBooks Online Payroll

If you have QuickBooks handle your taxes and forms automatically, they mail out W-2s to your employees throughout January and provide the option to print them yourself by January 13th.

To access and print W-2s and W-3s, follow these steps:

  1. Go to Taxes, and then Payroll Tax.
  2. Go to Filings, and either select directly for the current year or select Annual Forms to access previous years.
  3. You can click on View beside the options listed for Employer W-2, Employee W-2, or W-3.
  4. This opens the forms as a PDF, which you can then print as needed.

If you don’t automate forms through QuickBooks, you’ll need to purchase proper W-2 paper to provide official copies for employees. Intuit, the company behind QuickBooks, sells W-2 kits for this purpose.

QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Assisted

Under this plan, QuickBooks files W-2s and W-3s with the IRS and SSA on your behalf. You can access W-2s to print manually with these steps:

  1. Go to Employees, and then Payroll Center.
  2. Click on the File Forms tab.
  3. Click on View/Print Forms & W-2s.
  4. Provide your payroll PIN for verification.
  5. Go to the W-2s tab and select the year.
  6. Select individual employees or all employees.
Thinking about taxes? Read our experts’ tips in our blog:Tax & IRS Audit HelpSave Money and the Planet with Solar Tax EquitySave Money Twice with the R&D Tax Credit and Payroll Tax Offset
  1. Click on Open/Save Selected.
  2. This opens the forms as PDFs for printing.

QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Enhanced and Standard

To create and print your W-2s and W-3s, follow these steps:

  1. Select Payroll Tax Forms from the Employees dropdown menu, then click Process Payroll Forms.
  2. Select Annual Form W-2/W-3 from the File Forms tab.
  3. Click on Create Form.
  4. Select the employees to file and enter the year.
  5. Select employees to print.
  6. Click on Review/Edit to review each W-2, and then Submit Form to print and file.