Correct a W-2 in Gusto (for admins)

If you or an employee notices that their legal name or SSN is incorrect on their W-2, you need to update this information.

For name changes

Update the employee’s name — what happens next depends on when you make the change:

• If you update the name before we finalize W-2s (while they’re in draft mode):
  • We’ll automatically create the updated W-2s within two business days, and you can review them.
  • Employees can only see the final W-2s (not drafts). They’ll get an email when the final forms are ready in their Gusto account. This happens in mid-to-late January.
• If you update the name after we finalize W-2s:
  • We need to create a corrected W-2c. To contact us, sign in to your Gusto account and click the help icon in the top-right corner of the page.
  • Employees who need the corrected W-2c form should wait to file their taxes until they have both the original and corrected forms. If they already filed, they need to update their tax return with the corrected information.

For SSN changes

Update the employee’s SSN — what happens next depends on when you make the change:

• If you update the SSN before we finalize W-2s (while they’re in draft mode):
  • We’ll automatically create the updated W-2s within two business days, and you can review them.
  • Employees can only see the final W-2s (not drafts). They’ll get an email when the final forms are ready in their Gusto account. This happens in mid-to-late January.
• If you update the SSN after we finalize W-2s:
  • We’ll automatically create a federal W-2c (corrected W-2), and it will be available in the employee’s profile within the next week. We’ll email you and the employee when the W-2c is ready to view.
    Note: We create W-2c forms for the last two years if you paid the employee through Gusto during that time. If the SSN change is only for the previous year, we need to cancel the other W-2c forms.
  • Employees who need the corrected W-2c form should wait to file their taxes until they have both the original and corrected forms. If they already filed, they need to update their tax return with the corrected information.

We do not amend state unemployment filings or state W-2s for SSN changes. 

If an employee worked in a different state than the one listed as their work address in Gusto (for part or all of the year), we probably withheld the wrong state taxes from their wages.

You need to correct some information in Gusto before we can help with a corrected W-2c form.

To fix incorrect state tax withholding:

1. Follow the instructions in this article to add or correct the employee’s work address.
   • Reminder: Before adding a work address in a new state, add it as a company address first and register in the new state. 
2. Make sure the employee’s correct address and relocation dates are updated in their profile.
3. Contact us to tell us which employee you updated, and ask for a corrected W-2c. To contact us, sign in to your Gusto account and click the help icon in the top-right corner of the page.
   • If you had trouble adding an address or relocation date, tell us this information when you contact us.

Once our team makes the corrections, we’ll add a draft of the corrected W-2c to the employee’s profile. We’ll email you and the employee when the draft is ready to view.

Employees should wait to file their taxes until they have both the original and corrected W-2c forms. If they already filed, they need to update their tax return with the corrected information.

Admins can go to this article to learn how to update an employee’s home address. Employees can also update their own address.

We’ll update W-2 draft forms with the new address within two business days.

If an employee’s benefit deductions or employer contributions are incorrect on the W-2, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to Gusto.
2. Submit a benefit correction request.
3. We’ll automatically create a ticket for our team to review and process. 
4. We’ll generate a corrected Form W-2c if the changes impact year-end filings.
5. Tell your employees to wait to file their taxes until they have both the original and corrected forms.
   • If they already filed, they need to update their tax return with the corrected information.

Once our team makes the corrections, we’ll add a draft of the corrected W-2c to the employee’s profile. We’ll email you and the employee when the draft is ready to view.

Common reasons for incorrect wages or taxes on a W-2 include:

• Missing employee wages
• Incorrect tax exemptions 

If you or an employee thinks their W-2 is missing wages or has incorrect tax info, check the annual wage reports and the tax exemptions set up in employee profiles.

Missing employee wages — what to do next

1. Sign in to Gusto.
2. Find out what wages are missing and when they were missed by running a Payroll journal report in Gusto.
   • This report shows a summary of wages and can be filtered by year.
3. Once you know the date of the missing wages, report the missed payrolls in Gusto.
   • Check out our article for step-by-step instructions on how to enter a missed payroll.
4. We’ll automatically create a ticket for our team to review.
   • If the missed wages are from a year we already generated W-2s for, we’ll create a corrected W-2c form.

Fix tax exemptions

If you need to correct employee tax exemptions, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to Gusto.
2. Go to People.
3. Find the employee and click their name to view their profile.
4. From the Taxes tab, scroll to the bottom of the page to view the tax exemptions for the employee.
5. Contact us if something is incorrect. To contact us, sign in to your Gusto account and click the help icon in the top-right corner of the page. Include:
   • The employee’s name
   • What the employee is exempt from or not exempt from
   • The start and end dates of the exemptions (if applicable)
   • Any supporting documents the employee has (like exemption documents or emails from agencies)

Once our team makes the corrections, we’ll add a draft of the corrected W-2c to the employee’s profile. We’ll email you and the employee when the draft is ready to view.

Employees should wait to file their taxes until they have both the original and corrected W-2c forms. If they already filed, they need to update their tax return with the corrected information.

If something else is incorrect, we need to review the correction to check for tax implications. To contact us, sign in to your Gusto account and click the help icon in the top-right corner of the page.

You can correct the following special compensation on employee W-2s from the last calendar year:

• Allocated tips
• Child and dependent care
• Minister housing reimbursement
• Nontaxable moving expenses
• Exercised Non-Qualified Stock Options (NSOs)
• Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement (QSEHRA)
• Untracked health insurance
• Retirement plan
• Statutory employee
• Third-party sick pay

Update special compensation for the last calendar year

To update special compensation:

1. Sign in to Gusto. 
2. Go to Taxes & Compliance.
3. Under Quick links, select Update [202X] W-2 special compensation. You may need to click Overview first if you do not see Quick links on the main page. 
   • Note: Between December 10 and January 8, you can only update special compensation for the current year. If you need to make changes for last year during this time, contact us. To contact us, sign in to your Gusto account and click the help icon in the top-right corner of the page.
4. Enter the correct amounts for each employee.
   • Note: If you do not need to update a box, leave it blank.
5. Make sure all the amounts are correct, then click Submit.

Once you submit corrections, we’ll email you and the employee when a draft of the corrected W-2c is available in the employee’s profile.

Employees who need the corrected W-2c form should wait to file their taxes until they have both the original and corrected forms. If they already filed, they need to update their tax return with the corrected information.

Admins can read this article to learn how to update company details.

Important reminders

• If your company has a long name, it might get cut off on W-2 forms.
  • We cannot fix this, but as long as the Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) is correct, there should not be any tax problems.
• We do not create corrected W-2cs for missing state tax account numbers.
  • Example: A W-2 was filed with a missing California state tax account number, and you now have the correct one. We will not create a W-2c to add the state tax account number to the form.

We do not create a corrected W-2c if an employee changes their W-4 elections. The employee will reconcile prior-year taxes when they file their personal tax return.

We apply W-4 changes on the next payroll run, whether you or the employee makes the change.