Fill Out IRS Form W-3 Online
Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements
Internal Revenue Service
Summarizes and transmits paper Forms W-2 to the Social Security Administration; the downloadable PDF is informational and the filed copy must be an official scannable version.
Reviewed July 2026
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IRS Form W-3, Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements, is the cover sheet employers send to the Social Security Administration along with paper Copy A Forms W-2. It summarizes the totals across all the W-2s in the batch: total wages, federal income tax withheld, Social Security and Medicare wages and taxes, and more.
You can prepare Form W-3 in the Universal PDF editor and download the completed PDF for your records. As with the W-2, the copy actually filed with the SSA must be an official scannable red-ink version; the downloadable PDF version is informational and must not be filed on paper. Employers that e-file W-2s do not submit a separate W-3 at all, because the electronic filing process generates the equivalent record automatically.
What is Form W-3 used for
The Social Security Administration uses the W-3 to reconcile a batch of paper W-2s: the totals on the transmittal must equal the sums of the corresponding boxes across every W-2 Copy A it accompanies. It is never sent by itself and never given to employees.
The form also identifies the employer, including EIN, name, address, kind of payer, and kind of employer checkboxes, plus contact details the SSA can use if something does not reconcile.
Who needs to file Form W-3
Any employer filing one or more paper Copy A Forms W-2 with the Social Security Administration must include a Form W-3, even for a single W-2.
Most employers no longer file it on paper. Regulations that took effect for returns filed since 2024 require employers filing ten or more information returns in aggregate to file electronically, and the SSA's Business Services Online creates the W-3 equivalent automatically when W-2s are filed online. Paper W-3 filing is now mostly limited to the smallest employers.
How to fill out Form W-3
The transmittal mirrors the W-2 box layout:
- Boxes a to h: control number if used, kind of payer (for example 941 or household employer), kind of employer, EIN, employer name and address, and other EIN used this year if any.
- Box c: the total number of W-2 forms being transmitted.
- Boxes 1 to 14: the summed totals of the matching boxes from every attached W-2, including wages, federal income tax withheld, Social Security wages and tax, and Medicare wages and tax.
- Boxes 15 to 19: state and local totals, with the state ID information.
- Contact section: a person, phone number, and email the SSA can reach with questions.
- Signature: an authorized person signs and dates the transmittal with their title.
Where to send it and deadlines
Paper W-3s with Copy A W-2s are mailed to the Social Security Administration at the address in the General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3, generally by January 31 following the tax year. Confirm the current address and date in the official instructions before mailing. Nothing goes to the IRS, and no copy is given to employees.
Frequently asked questions
No. Electronic filing through the SSA's Business Services Online generates the transmittal totals automatically, so no separate W-3 is filed.
Yes. Any paper Copy A filing must include a W-3 transmittal, even if only a single W-2 is attached.
No. Like W-2 Copy A, the filed W-3 must be the official scannable version ordered from the IRS or produced by approved software, or the filing must be done electronically.
No. It goes to the Social Security Administration together with the W-2 Copy A forms. The SSA shares the data with the IRS.
The SSA reconciles them, and mismatches generate correction notices. Recheck your sums before filing, and use Forms W-2c and W-3c to fix errors discovered later.
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