Updated October 19, 2026. Quick answer: Form W-2c repeats each wage and tax box twice, once under previously reported and once under correct information. The employer instructions say that for the items being changed, the original amount goes in the first column and the right amount in the second. Only the boxes being corrected are meant to be filled in, so compare the two columns for each box that has an entry.
What the paired boxes report
Every money box on Form W-2c appears as a pair. The form prints the heading “Previously reported” over one column and “Correct information” over the other, and the box number and name are the same in both. A reader who only wants to know what changed compares the two entries in the same box number.
The employer instructions describe how the pair is filled: “For the items you are changing, enter under” the first heading “the amount reported on the original Form W-2 or the amount reported on a previously filed Form W-2c.” “Enter the correct amount” in the second column. That means the first column can come from the original form or from an earlier correction, not always from the original.
Above the boxes the form prints a note: “Only complete money fields that are being corrected.” Copy A, the copy that goes to the Social Security Administration, gets extra attention in the instructions: “Do not make an entry in any of these boxes on Copy A unless you are making a change.” How the identification boxes above these are used is covered on Form W-2c boxes c to i.
Box by box: what the instructions add
The table below pairs the label the form prints with one sentence from the employer instructions for that box. Boxes 1, 3, 4 and 7 are corrected through the paired columns described above.
| Box | Label printed on the form | What the employer instructions say |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | “Federal income tax withheld” | “Use this box only to make corrections because of an administrative error.” |
| 5 and 6 | “Medicare wages and tips” and “Medicare tax withheld” | “Complete these boxes to correct Medicare wages and tips and Medicare tax withheld.” |
| 8, 10 and 11 | “Allocated tips”, “Dependent care benefits”, “Nonqualified plans” | “Use these boxes to correct allocated tips, dependent care benefits, or deferrals and distributions relating to nonqualified plans.” |
| 12a to 12d | “See instructions for box 12” | “Complete these boxes to correct any of the coded items shown on Forms W-2.” |
| 13 | “Retirement plan” | “Check the boxes in box 13, under” the previously reported heading “as they were checked on the original Form W-2.” |
| 14a | “Other (see instructions)” | “Use this box to correct items reported in box 14a of the original Form W-2 or on a prior Form W-2c.” |
| 14b | “Treasury Tipped Occupation Code(s)” | “Enter up to two code(s) based on the occupation(s) that the tips were received in.” |
| 15 to 20 | “State Correction Information” and “Locality Correction Information” | “Contact your state or locality for specific reporting information.” |
Box 2: federal income tax withheld
This box has a stated limit on when it is used. The instructions say “Use this box only to make corrections because of an administrative error.” They define the term this way: “An administrative error occurs only if the amount you entered in box 2 of the incorrect Form W-2 was not the amount you actually withheld.” If your corrected form shows a change in box 2, that definition is the reason the employer should be giving. A change here is worth comparing against your records; tax withheld is covered on Form 1040 line 25.
Boxes 3 to 7: Social Security and Medicare
The form prints box 3 as “Social security wages”, box 4 as “Social security tax withheld”, and box 7 as “Social security tips”. The Medicare boxes are 5 and 6. The instructions give the pair a single sentence: “Complete these boxes to correct Medicare wages and tips and Medicare tax withheld.” For the Additional Medicare Tax, the instructions limit corrections: “An administrative error occurs only if the amount you entered in box 6 of the incorrect Form W-2 is not the amount you actually withheld.”
The instructions also set a relationship between the boxes: “Box 5 must equal or exceed the sum of boxes 3 and 7.” For background on how these wage boxes differ from each other, see the difference between W-2 boxes 1, 3 and 5, and for the tax itself see Additional Medicare Tax.
Government employers and MQGE
The employer instructions give a special case for public employers. They say that “State, local, or federal government employers should also use these boxes to correct MQGE wages.” The abbreviation is explained in the same text as “Medicare Qualified Government Employment (MQGE)”. There is a caution that goes with it: “A state, local, or federal government employer correcting only social security wages and/or social security tips (boxes 3 and/or 7) for an MQGE employee must also complete Medicare wages and tips in box 5.”
That is why a W-2c from a public employer can show an entry in box 5 even when the correction looks like it concerns only Social Security. The form’s note points here too, saying “For corrections involving MQGE, see Boxes 5 and 6 under Specific Instructions”.
Boxes 8, 10, 11 and the box 12 codes
Three boxes are grouped in one sentence: “Use these boxes to correct allocated tips, dependent care benefits, or deferrals and distributions relating to nonqualified plans.” Two of them have their own explainers on this site: W-2 box 10 and W-2 box 11.
Box 12 works on codes. The instructions say “Complete these boxes to correct any of the coded items shown on Forms W-2.” and that “Employers should enter both the code and dollar amount for both fields on Form W-2c.” Because a form has room for only so many entries, the instructions add: “If a single Form W-2c does not provide enough blank spaces for corrections, use additional Forms W-2c.” One coded item has its own page here, W-2 box 12 code D.
Boxes 13, 14a and 14b
Box 13 holds three check boxes that the form prints as “Statutory employee” and “Retirement plan” and a third-party sick pay box. The instructions explain how both columns are completed: “Check the boxes in box 13, under” the first heading “as they were checked on the original Form W-2.” In the second column, “check them as they should have been checked.”
For box 14a: “Use this box to correct items reported in box 14a of the original Form W-2 or on a prior Form W-2c.” “If possible, complete box 14a on Copies B, C, 1, and 2 of Form W-2c only, not on Copy A.” Box 14b is labelled “Treasury Tipped Occupation Code(s)” and the instructions say “Enter up to two code(s) based on the occupation(s) that the tips were received in.”
Boxes 15 to 20: state and locality blocks
The lower part of the form is split into “State Correction Information” and “Locality Correction Information”, each with its own previously reported and correct information pair. The instructions treat a state-only change as separate from the federal filing: “If your only changes to the original Form W-2 are to state or local data, do not send Copy A of Form W-2c to the SSA.” “Instead, send Form W-2c to the appropriate state or local agency and furnish copies to your employees.” For the rules themselves: “Contact your state or locality for specific reporting information.”
Where the corrected amounts matter on your return
Wages from a Form W-2 are covered on Form 1040 line 1a, and if the corrected wages differ, the Notice to Employee on the form explains what to do about a return already filed. That is the subject of the Notice to Employee on Form W-2c. The return itself is amended on Form 1040-X, and the lines for payments and refundable credits are covered on Form 1040-X lines 12 to 17.
Edition and box numbers
The form read for this page is Form W-2c (Rev. 1-2026), the January 2026 edition, together with the 2026 General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3. Check the year and edition printed on the form you received, because box numbers can change between editions.
Common mistakes
- Reading every printed box as a change. The form’s note is “Only complete money fields that are being corrected.”
- Assuming a change in box 2 reflects a new withholding election. The instructions say “An administrative error occurs only if the amount you entered in box 2 of the incorrect Form W-2 was not the amount you actually withheld.”
- Overlooking box 5 on a public employer’s form. The instructions say “A state, local, or federal government employer correcting only social security wages and/or social security tips (boxes 3 and/or 7) for an MQGE employee must also complete Medicare wages and tips in box 5.”
Related: the difference between W-2 boxes 1, 3 and 5, W-2 box 10, W-2 box 11, W-2 box 12 code D, and Form 1040 line 25.
Sources
- Form W-2c, Corrected Wage and Tax Statement (Rev. January 2026), with Notice to Employee: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw2c.pdf
- General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (including Forms W-2c and W-3c): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iw2w3.pdf
- IRS: About Form W-2c: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-w-2-c
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 19, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.