A corrected W-2 is called a W-2c. You don't fill one in yourself. You fix the underlying detail or contact support, and Freedom prepares the W-2c and files it when a filing is required.
If you are not sure which case below applies, contact support in the app chat or at [email protected]. Tell us the tax year, which employee, and what is wrong. Don't put a full Social Security number in the message.
Wrong name or Social Security number
Go to People and open the employee.
Correct the name or Social Security number on the employee's profile and save.
What happens next:
Social Security number: a W-2c is created for the employee and filed with the Social Security Administration. You don't need to contact us.
First or last name: a W-2c is created for the employee. It is not filed, because the Social Security Administration does not require a correction for a name-only change.
Name and Social Security number corrections are not filed with state or local agencies.
The W-2c can take up to a week to appear.
Wrong wages, taxes, or benefits
These come from payroll, so the payroll has to be corrected first. Use Correct a Payroll, or contact support and tell us which payroll was wrong.
Federal amounts (boxes 1 to 13): after the correction, a federal W-2c is prepared and filed.
State and local amounts (boxes 15 to 20): after the correction, Freedom files the state and local W-2c.
An employee was left off
Contact support. We add the missing pay, and the employee gets a late W-2 instead of a W-2c. Your company also gets a second W-3 (the summary form that goes with W-2s) that covers the added employee.
Wrong company FEIN
Contact support. This needs two sets of W-2c forms, one to cancel the amounts under the old FEIN and one to report them under the correct FEIN, so it takes longer.
Changes that don't need a filing
Box 14: the employee gets an updated W-2c, but there is no filing. Box 14 is for information only.
Address: the employee gets an updated W-2c, but there is no filing unless the new address changes wage or tax amounts. Update the home address on the employee's profile.
Middle name: no W-2c is created. Edit it on the employee's profile.
Good to know
We can correct a W-2 only if Freedom filed the original.
W-2 corrections start in February, after the original forms are filed.
An employee can get a W-2c that is never filed with an agency. That is expected for Box 14 changes and most address changes.
Most boxes on a W-2c are blank. Only the corrected values are filled in.
Employees who chose paperless delivery find the W-2c with their tax documents. For other employees, a federal W-2c is printed and mailed. A W-2c that only goes to a state or local agency is not mailed.
If the correction means we have to amend a tax return that is already filed, the $150 "Amended tax return" fee can apply. See Fees Freedom charges and when they apply.