A W-2 form is an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax form used in the United States to report wages paid to employees and the taxes withheld from them. Employers must complete a Form W-2 for each employee to whom they pay a salary, wage, or other compensation. The form is also used to report FICA taxes to the Social Security Administration. The W-2 form includes wage and salary information as well as federal, state, and other taxes that were withheld. It is completed by an employer and contains important information that employees need to complete their tax return. The information on the W-2 determines whether an employee is getting a refund or writing a check at tax time. The form is filed by the employer with the Social Security Administration by the end of February following employment the previous year. The IRS uses W-2s to track employment income earned during the prior year. The W-2 form shows important information about the income an employee has earned from their employer, the amount of taxes withheld from their paycheck, benefits provided, and other information for the year. The form is used by the employee when they complete their individual tax return using Form 1040. The W-2 form is different from the W-4 form, which is used to tell an employer how much tax to withhold from an employees paycheck every pay period.