When Do W-2s Come Out in 2027? Deadline and Late Forms

Employers have until Monday, February 1, 2027 to send out W-2s for 2026. The usual January 31 deadline falls on a Sunday this time, so it moves to the next business day. Many employers post the form in their payroll portal weeks earlier; a mailed copy can take several more days to arrive. If yours has not shown up by mid-February, there is a set order of things to do — and your last pay stub of the year is the document that keeps you from being stuck.

Quick take: W-2s for 2026 are due to employees by February 1, 2027. Check your employer's payroll portal first, then ask payroll to resend it. If you still have nothing by the end of February, call the IRS at 800-829-1040; it will contact the employer and send you Form 4852, a substitute W-2 you fill in from your final pay stub. Do not file with guessed numbers before then.

1. The W-2 deadline for 2027

An employer must furnish Form W-2 to each employee, and file it with the Social Security Administration, by January 31 of the year after the wages were paid. When that date falls on a weekend or legal holiday, the deadline is the next business day. January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, so for 2026 wages the deadline is Monday, February 1, 2027. Not sure which form is which? W-2 vs W-4 explains the difference.

"Furnished" means sent, not received. A W-2 mailed on February 1 meets the deadline even if it reaches you a week later. An electronic W-2 counts only if you agreed to receive it that way.

2. Where to look before you assume it is late

1. Your payroll portal. Most large employers post W-2s online in January, often before the paper copies go out. Our portal guides for Amazon, Target and Walmart cover where the tax forms are.
2. Your email, including spam. If you consented to electronic delivery, the notice comes by email rather than post.
3. The address on file. A W-2 goes to the address payroll had at year-end. If you moved, it may have gone to the old one.
4. A former employer's process. If you left during the year, portal access may have ended, and the form is mailed or offered through a separate site for former employees.

3. If your W-2 has not arrived

When	What to do
Early February	Check the portal and your address on file.
Mid-February	Contact payroll or human resources and ask for a copy. Confirm the address it was sent to.
After the end of February	Call the IRS at 800-829-1040. The IRS contacts the employer and sends you Form 4852.
Before the filing deadline	File using Form 4852 if the W-2 still has not come, or request more time to file.

When you call the IRS, have ready your name, address, date of birth and Social Security number, your employer's name and address, and the employer's identification number if you know it. The EIN is printed on last year's W-2 and on many pay stubs.

4. Form 4852: the substitute W-2

Form 4852 lets you file when a W-2 never arrives or is wrong and the employer will not fix it. You estimate your wages and the taxes withheld, and explain how you arrived at the figures.

This is where your final pay stub of the year matters. Its year-to-date column holds almost everything Form 4852 asks for:

• Federal income tax withheld — the YTD federal income tax line.
• Social Security and Medicare tax withheld — the YTD lines for each.
• Wages — YTD gross pay, less pre-tax deductions. Taxable wages are usually lower than gross pay; W-2 versus your final pay stub shows how to work from one to the other, and W-2 Boxes 1, 3 and 5 explains why the three wage figures differ.
• State wages and tax — the YTD state income tax line.

If the real W-2 turns up after you have filed and the numbers differ from your estimate, you correct the return with Form 1040-X.

5. If the W-2 arrives but is wrong

Compare it with your last stub of the year as soon as you get it. A wrong name or Social Security number, wages that do not match, or missing withholding should go back to payroll, which issues a corrected form, a W-2c. Our guide to using pay stubs to request a W-2 correction covers what to send. If the employer will not correct it by the end of February, the same IRS call and Form 4852 route applies.

6. If you are the employer

The February 1, 2027 date applies to both copies: the ones you give employees and the ones you file with the Social Security Administration. Household employers follow the same deadline for a nanny or other household employee. If you need to prepare the forms, our W-2 form generator produces them, and the small business guide lists the other year-end filings. Our payroll records checklist covers the records a W-2 is built from.

7. What is new on the 2026 W-2

The W-2s due February 1, 2027 are the first that must report overtime and tips separately for the federal deductions that run from 2025 through 2028. Look in Box 12 for code TT, qualified overtime: only the premium half of time and a half. Code TP is cash tips you reported, with the occupation code in the new Box 14b. Code TA is an employer contribution to a Trump account. Check TT and TP against your final pay stub before you file, because a corrected W-2 is the only way to fix a wrong amount. Our guide to W-2 Box 12 codes explains each one.

The five-minute version

1. Download your last pay stub of 2026 now, before portal access changes.
2. Confirm your mailing address with payroll in December.
3. Look for the W-2 in the payroll portal in January.
4. Nothing by mid-February: ask payroll for a copy.
5. Nothing by the end of February: call the IRS at 800-829-1040.
6. File with Form 4852 if the W-2 never comes, and amend if it later differs.

Quick answers

When do W-2s come out in 2027?

Employers must send W-2s for 2026 by Monday, February 1, 2027. Many post them online earlier in January.

Why is the W-2 deadline February 1 instead of January 31?

January 31, 2027 is a Sunday. When the due date falls on a weekend or legal holiday, it moves to the next business day.

What should I do if I have not received my W-2?

Check your payroll portal and your address on file, then ask your employer for a copy. If it has not arrived by the end of February, call the IRS at 800-829-1040.

Can I file my taxes with my last pay stub instead of a W-2?

Not directly. You use the pay stub's year-to-date figures to complete Form 4852, the substitute for a W-2, after trying to get the form from your employer and the IRS. Filing early from a stub alone can cause errors, because taxable wages are often lower than gross pay.

Can I get my W-2 from a company I no longer work for?

Yes. A former employer has the same duty to send it. It goes to your last known address or is offered through the company's site for former employees, so confirm your address with their payroll department.

What if my W-2 is wrong?

Ask the employer for a corrected form, a W-2c. If you do not get one by the end of February, contact the IRS and, if needed, file with Form 4852.

Sources

• IRS — General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3: the January 31 furnishing and filing deadline and the next-business-day rule.
• IRS Publication 926 (2026): states the February 1, 2027 date for 2026 Forms W-2.
• IRS Topic No. 154, Form W-2 and Form 1099-R (what to do if incorrect or not received): contacting the employer, calling the IRS after the end of February, Form 4852 and Form 1040-X.
• IRS — About Form 4852: the substitute for Form W-2.

General U.S. information, current as of October 2026. It is not tax advice; for your own return, follow the IRS instructions or ask a tax professional.