W-2 correction guidance

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:

1. Head to this article and follow the instructions to update the employee’s name or SSN.
   • If you edit the information before W-2s are finalized (while in draft mode):
     • Corrected original W-2s are automatically generated and are available for employers to review the next business day—you won’t need to contact us to help with the correction (skip the next step).
     • Your employees will only see “final” W-2s (not drafts) and will be notified by email when final forms are available in their Gusto account—this happens mid-to-late January.
   • If you edit the information after the W-2 has been finalized: proceed to step 2 and contact Gusto. 
2. Contact Gusto from the Help or Priority support section of your account—let us know which employee you made the update for and request a corrected Form W-2c. 
   
   • You can also let us know whether or not you’d like us to notify the employee when the corrected form is available. We won’t notify the employee directly unless an admin makes the request first.

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: 

1. Head to this article and follow the instructions to add and/or correct the work address on the employee’s behalf. 
   • Reminder: Before you can add a work address in a new state, you’ll need to add the address as a company address first and register in the new state. Additional details and resources can be found in the article above.
2. Make sure the employee’s correct address and relocation date(s) are accurate in their employee profile.
3. Contact Gusto from the Help section of your account (or Priority support for customers with Priority support)—let us know which employee you made the update for and request a corrected Form W-2c.  
   
   • If you had any issues adding an address or relocation date, please confirm both pieces of information when emailing or speaking with our team.
   • You can also let us know whether or not you’d like us to notify the employee when the corrected form is available. We won’t notify the employee directly unless an admin makes the request first.

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.

Admins can head to this article to learn how to update an employee's home address. Employee's can update their own address following the instructions in this article. W-2 draft forms will update with the new current address within 2 business days.

If an employee’s benefit deductions or employer contributions are incorrect on the W-2 here’s what to do:

1. Submit a benefit correction request in your Gusto account.
2. A ticket will automatically be created for our team to review and process. 
3. A corrected Form W-2c will be generated if the change(s) impact year-end filings.
4. Let your employee(s) know they should hold off on filing their personal tax returns until they have all forms, original and corrected.

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:

• Missing employee wages
• Tax exemption issues

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.

Missing employee wages—next steps

1. Determine what wages are missing and when they were missed by running a Payroll Journal report in Gusto—this is one of our summary reports that can be customized and filtered by year.
2. Once you’ve determined the check date of the missing wages, report the missed payroll(s) in Gusto. 
   • Check out our article with step-by-step instructions for entering a missed payroll.
3. A ticket will automatically be created for our team to review and process—a corrected Form W-2c will be generated if the change(s) had a check date in a year we’ve already generated forms for.

Fixing tax exemptions

If you believe a correction is needed because employee tax exemptions may not have been set up correctly, here’s what to do:

1. Head to an employee’s profile by searching their name or by clicking People and then Team members. 
2. Scroll to the bottom of the Job & pay tab and review any active employee exemptions that are set up for the employee.
3. If you notice something is incorrect, contact Gusto from the Help section (or Priority support section for customers with Priority support) of your account—let us know which employee has the exemption issue and provide any relevant details, which should include:
   • The employee’s name
   • What the employee is or is not exempt from
   • The date the exemptions began, and when the ended (if applicable)
   • Any supporting documentation the employee may have (employee exemption documents, emails from agencies, etc).
   • Let us know whether or not you’d like us to notify the employee when the corrected form is available. We won’t notify the employee directly unless an admin makes the request first.

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.