Form W-3
In accounting, form W-3 means the transmittal that totals every Form W-2 an employer files with the SSA. Its totals should equal the year's four Forms 941.
Authority: General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2026) (opens in a new tab). Sources
The lesson that teaches this
From the free founder back-office course, taught on one company's books, with exercises to work it yourself.
For founders
The same idea written for a founder: what it costs a startup that ignores it, and what to do in a real month.
- W-2 year end for startups: boxes, deadlines, correctionsThe W-2 boxes founders get wrong (box 1 vs 3 vs 5, box 12 codes), the W-3, the SSA deadline, state copies, and how to fix a mistake with a W-2c.
- Startup tax deadlines by month for a C-corpFederal tax deadlines for a calendar-year C-corp, month by month: W-2s, 1099s, Form 941, Form 1120, estimated taxes and Delaware franchise tax.
What it is not called
Each of these means something else. Use one here and an accountant reading the product notices.
- W-2
Also in Payroll
Defined in Lexicon. This page is generated from that document, so the two can't disagree.