All your W forms, one place

This page links to every W form generator currently live on ePaystubs: W-2 for annual wages, W-3 to transmit W-2 totals, W-2c with W-3c to correct a prior W-2, W-4 to set employee withholding, W-4P for pension and annuity withholding, W-7 to apply for an ITIN, W-8BEN to certify foreign status, and W-9 to provide a taxpayer identification number. Each one opens its own dedicated generator.

A W-4 looks forward and a W-2 looks back. An employee fills out a W-4 to tell an employer how much federal income tax to withhold from future paychecks. The employer then issues a W-2 after the year ends, reporting the wages actually paid and the taxes actually withheld. You give a W-4 to your employer; you receive a W-2 from them at tax time.

A W-9. As an independent contractor you are not an employee, so you don't complete a W-4 and you don't receive a W-2. Instead, a client who pays you asks you to complete a W-9, giving them your name, taxpayer identification number, and tax classification so they can report what they paid you, usually on a 1099-NEC.

A W-7 is the application for an IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or ITIN. It is generally used by someone who needs a US taxpayer number for a return or an information document but is not eligible for a Social Security number, such as certain nonresident and resident aliens and their dependents. The completed W-7 goes to the IRS with the required identity documents.

A US person or business completes a W-9 when a requester needs their correct taxpayer identification number and federal tax classification, most often before being paid as a contractor, opening certain accounts, or receiving other reportable payments. You give the finished W-9 to the requester, not to the IRS, and they keep it on file to prepare information returns.

A W-8BEN lets a foreign individual certify that they are not a US person and, where a tax treaty applies, claim a reduced rate of US withholding on certain income. You give it to the withholding agent or payer that requested it, not to the IRS, and it generally stays valid through the end of the third calendar year after you sign it, unless your circumstances change. Entities use the W-8BEN-E instead.

A W-2c corrects a W-2 that was already filed, showing the previously reported figures alongside the corrected ones. A W-3c is the transmittal that summarizes those corrections when they go to the Social Security Administration. The ePaystubs generator prepares the W-2c and the related W-3c totals together, so a correction and its transmittal stay in sync.

A W-4P is the withholding certificate for periodic pension and annuity payments. A retiree gives it to the payer of a pension or annuity to set how much federal income tax is withheld from each payment, adjust for credits or other income, or elect no withholding where allowed. It plays the same role for retirement income that a W-4 plays for wages.

No. Each generator helps you fill out and produce a completed form that you can review, then file or hand to whoever requested it. It does not transmit anything to the IRS or the Social Security Administration, it is not a substitute for tax software or a preparer, and it is not tax advice. Where each form goes depends on the form, and you are responsible for the accuracy of your information.