How to Download and Print W-2 Forms

In this article:

Steps for Creating Employee W-2 Forms
Does Patriot Mail Employee W-2s for me?
Does Patriot File Employee W-2s for me?
Employee W-2 Activity Report

Background

A W-2 Form is a report of all employee income and tax withheld for a calendar year. This is needed in order for the employee to file their income taxes. The IRS requires that employers distribute the W-2 to each employee by January 31st of the following year.

Steps for Creating Employee W-2 Forms

Before you download and print your W-2s, we recommend you preview them first. Check out our help article, “Preview W-2 Forms,” to view the amounts for each employee and confirm that everything is correct. This report will print a preview copy which will be watermarked “preview.

After you have previewed your W-2 forms to confirm everything looks good, you can create the W-2 forms by going to Reports > Payroll Year-End Forms > W-2 Forms.

Select the year.
Select W-2 PDF Layout options.
You’ll be able to choose how you want your W-2 to be printed the first time you come to this page. To change these settings at a later date go to Settings > Payroll Settings > W-2 Print Settings.
1. One copy per page for blank paper
2. Four copies per page for blank perforated forms

For details explaining the difference between these two print options, see “W-2 Print Options in Patriot Software.”
💡Basic Payroll Customers: Patriot does not supply paper Copy A forms for the SSA. Instead, we offer a convenient electronic wage file you can submit directly on the SSA website, or you can request Patriot file your SSA filing for a one-time nominal fee. See the help article, “Filing Your W-3,” for more information.
Check the “Post W-2s to Employee Portal” if you want to post to the employee portal for employees who have given consent at the same time you create the W-2 forms. You can also post the W-2s to the employee portal later after you review. All employees with an email address on file will receive an automatic notification that their W-2 is available in their employee portal.
Note: You must provide paper copies to employees who have not given consent to receive a digital copy of their W-2.
- For more details, see Employee Consent for Electronic W-2s.
Click the “Create W-2s” button.
If you have a large number of employees, the software will notify you that you may leave the page and will be notified when the W-2s are ready via email. This shouldn’t be more than a few minutes, and only if you have a large number of employee W-2s to create.
Once your W-2s are created, a PDF will download to your device. To print the W-2s, load either your blank printer paper or perforated blank forms in your printer, depending on your PDF layout selection.
If you have made changes after you have created the W-2s, you can click “Create New W-2s” to create a new set.
- This will replace your former version. If you have employees who use their portal to view their W-2, you will need to post the most recent version of the W-2s to your employee portal.

Does Patriot Mail Employee W-2s for me?

Patriot does not mail W-2s to employees. You will have to print and give employee W-2s if they haven’t consented to receive electronic copies of their W-2. For more information about electronic W-2s, see “Posting Electronic W-2s in Patriot’s Employee Portal.”

Does Patriot File Employee W-2s for me?

If you are a Full Service Payroll customer and you have completed your tax filing setup, Patriot will electronically file your W-2s to the SSA and any states requiring year-end W-2 reconciliation filings on your behalf.

You can find the filing confirmation number by going to Reports > Payroll Tax Reports > Tax Filings. If you are a Basic Payroll customer, you will need to file your W-2s yourself. See the help article Filing Your W-3 for more information.

Employee W-2 Activity Report

The Employee W-2 Activity report tracks the most recent posting date of the employee W-2 and displays which employees consented to receive a digital copy of their W-2. We’ll also highlight the employees needing a printed W-2 with an attention icon.

Click the “Download W-2s” link for all employees or select the employees you want to print paper W-2 forms for and click “Download Selected W-2s.”

Next, read, “Posting Electronic W-2s to the Employee Portal“