Hey {{first name | there}},
A W-4 is the form you fill out when you start a job. It tells your employer how much federal tax to withhold from your paycheck.
A W-2 is the form your employer fills out. It arrives every January and reports what you actually earned and what was withheld for the year.
One sets up your withholding. The other reports what happened. People still mix them up, and if you are self-employed, neither form is yours to deal with. This week: what each one does, the 2026 numbers, and what to use instead if you get neither.
The quick version
• The difference is timing. The W-4 sets your withholding before you are paid. The W-2 reports what happened after the year ends.
• You fill out the W-4. Your employer prepares the W-2 and owes it to you by January 31, which for 2026 wages is February 1, 2027, because the 31st is a Sunday.
• Getting paid $2,000 or more in 2026 wages triggers a W-2 even if nothing was withheld.
• Self-employed workers get neither. You fill out a W-9 instead, and a 1099-NEC takes the place of the W-2.
Only two of the five steps are required
The current W-4 has five steps. Step 1 is your personal information and Step 5 is your signature. Those two are mandatory, and if nothing else applies to you, that is the whole form. Steps 2 through 4 cover a second job or a working spouse, dependents you are claiming, and any extra withholding you want taken out.
For 2026, the Child Tax Credit is $2,200 per qualifying child, unchanged from 2025. Once you hand in an updated W-4, your employer generally has to apply it by the start of the first payroll period ending on or after the 30th day after they receive it.
✅ Complete Steps 1 and 5. That is the minimum for a valid form.
✅ Add Step 2 if you hold more than one job or your spouse works. Skipping it usually means too little tax withheld.
✅ Update it after a life change. Marriage, divorce, a new child, a second job, a big change in pay, or an unexpected tax bill last April.
This year the deadline is not January 31
The W-2 reports your total wages, the federal income tax withheld, and your Social Security and Medicare wages and tax. Your employer sends you a copy and files Copy A with the Social Security Administration, which shares the data with the IRS.
The deadline is January 31, but it moves to the next business day when the 31st falls on a weekend or holiday. January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, so the deadline for 2026 wages is February 1, 2027.
Missing it costs the employer, not you. For 2026 W-2s that is $60 per form if corrected within 30 days, $130 per form up to August 1, and $340 per form after that or if it is never filed. Where the IRS finds intentional disregard, it is at least $690 per form with no maximum.
If the numbers on yours look wrong, ask your employer's payroll team for a corrected Form W-2c before you take it any further.
1. Started a job or had a life change this year? Pull up your W-4 and check it still matches your situation.
2. Put February 1, 2027 in your calendar for your 2026 W-2. If it has not arrived, call payroll before you call the IRS.
3. Self-employed? Read the full guide below for how the W-9, the 1099-NEC and quarterly estimated payments fit together.
See you next week,
The PayStubsNow Team