W-2
forms are tax forms that are sent out each year to employees who are
paid traditional wages, bonuses and other forms of compensation by
employers. Employers are required to send these tax forms to any
employee who earns at least $1 during any calendar year before the last
day of January.
A
copy of a form W-2 must be sent to the Social Security Administration
in order to meet the Internal Revenue Service's tax form distribution
requirements. This form is called a form W-2 copy A. This tax form
summarizes an employee's total compensation that was earned during a
calendar year. It also lists how much tax that was withheld from an
employee's earnings to satisfy Federal Insurance and Compensation Act
requirements.