If an employee’s W-2 looks incorrect, you can sometimes take early action in Gusto to help speed up the time to getting a corrected Form W-2c. At this time, there is no additional fee for Gusto to correct a W-2.
Important reminders
Select the W-2 issue from the dropdowns below to get instructions for what to do next.
If your issue is not listed below, Gusto needs to review the correction needed to determine what tax implications there may be—contact us from the Help section of your account to detail what needs correcting (or Priority support section for customers with Priority support).
If you or an employee notice their legal name or SSN is incorrect on their W-2, an admin needs to make the update to this information on the employee’s behalf and then contact Gusto.
Here’s how:
Corrected forms are usually available within a few weeks—employees needing the corrected Form W-2c should hold off on filing their personal returns until they have all forms (original and corrected).
We’ll let you know when the W-2c is ready so you can share it with your employee. The corrected form will also be available in the employee’s Gusto account once it’s been corrected, though we do not default to notifying them directly.
If an employee worked in a different state than what was listed as their work address in Gusto–for part of all of the year–their wages were likely taxed incorrectly.
Admins need to make the initial corrections in Gusto before we can help with a corrected Form W-2c. Here’s how:
Corrected forms are usually available within a few weeks—this may increase if we’re waiting on tax account information for a new state. Employees needing the corrected Form W-2c should hold off on filing their personal returns until they have all forms (original and corrected).
We’ll let you know when the W-2c is ready so you can share it with your employee. The corrected form will also be available in the employee’s Gusto account once it’s been corrected, though we do not default to notifying them directly.
If an employee’s benefit deductions or employer contributions are incorrect on the W-2 here’s what to do:
Corrected forms are usually available within a few weeks. We’ll let you know when the W-2c is ready so you can share it with your employee.
The corrected form will also be available in the employee’s Gusto account once it’s been corrected, though we do not default to notifying them directly when it becomes available.
Two of the most common reasons for incorrect wage or tax information are:
If you or an employee believes there are missing wages or incorrect taxes on their W-2, admins should review annual wage reports and/or the tax exemptions set up in employee profiles.
If you believe a correction is needed because employee tax exemptions may not have been set up correctly, here’s what to do:
Corrected forms are usually available within a few weeks—employees needing the corrected Form W-2c should hold off on filing their personal returns until they have all forms (original and corrected).
We’ll let you know when the W-2c is ready so you can share it with your employee. The corrected form will also be available in the employee’s Gusto account once it’s been corrected, though we do not default to notifying them directly.
Admins can update a company's details by following the instructions in this article.
Heads up: Companies with long names may have their name "cut off" on W-2 forms—there is no way for us to update this, but as long as the Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) on the form is correct, there won't be any tax filing issues.
If you're looking for help with a 1099-NEC correction instead, check out this article.