Can You File 2 W-2 Forms Separately?

Individuals often receive multiple Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, at the end of a tax year, perhaps due to changing jobs or working multiple positions. Regardless of the number of W-2 forms, only one federal income tax return is filed per tax year. This article explains how to handle multiple W-2 forms when preparing your tax return.

Understanding Multiple W-2s

Receiving multiple W-2 forms is common for taxpayers who work two part-time jobs, change employers, or hold temporary positions during the year. Each employer issues a W-2 form, reporting an employee’s annual wages and withheld taxes. You do not file a separate tax return for each W-2. Instead, all W-2s must be included when preparing your single federal income tax return. This ensures your total income and all federal, state, and local taxes withheld for the year are accurately reported to the IRS.

Key Information from Each W-2

Gather all W-2 forms for the tax year. Each W-2 contains information for proper reporting. Box 1, “Wages, tips, other compensation,” reflects your total taxable earnings from that employer, including salary, wages, tips, and bonuses.

Box 2, “Federal income tax withheld,” shows the total federal income tax your employer paid on your behalf. For Social Security and Medicare taxes, Box 3 reports “Social security wages” and Box 5 reports “Medicare wages and tips.” Box 4 indicates “Social security tax withheld,” and Box 6 shows “Medicare tax withheld.”

Box 12 often contains codes and amounts for different types of compensation or benefits. For instance, code ‘D’ indicates elective deferrals to a 401(k) retirement plan, while ‘W’ signifies employer and employee contributions to a Health Savings Account (HSA). Boxes 15 through 20 provide state and local wage and tax withheld details, essential for filing state and local tax returns.

Reporting Multiple W-2s on Your Tax Return

Once you have gathered and understood the information from each W-2, the next step involves accurately reporting these details on your tax return. Tax preparation software is a common and efficient method for handling multiple W-2s. These programs are designed to guide users through the process, prompting them to enter information from each W-2 form individually.

The software automatically aggregates all the data from each W-2. For example, it will sum all amounts reported in Box 1 across all your forms to arrive at your total wages for the year. Similarly, all amounts from Box 2 will be added together to determine your total federal income tax withheld. This automated aggregation simplifies the calculation of your overall tax liability or refund.

For those who file manually using Form 1040, the process involves adding the figures from each W-2. All Box 1 amounts are totaled and reported as wages on the appropriate line of Form 1040. Likewise, all federal income tax withheld amounts from Box 2 on each W-2 are summed and entered on the designated line for federal income tax withheld on Form 1040, or its associated schedules. Other W-2 information, such as Box 12 codes, is also transferred to specific lines or schedules as instructed by the IRS. Accurately reporting all W-2s ensures the correct calculation of your total income, tax liability, and any resulting refund or amount due.