Preview W-2 Forms
Background
You can preview W-2 forms before you create and download the final version for your employees. This is a snapshot of the data at the time of generating the preview. It will be helpful at the end of the year to review all data to date and address any potential issues early before you finalize your employee W-2s. When previewing W-2 forms you’ll have one copy of each employee’s W-2 watermarked “Preview.”
How to Preview Your Employee W-2 Forms
- Go to Reports > Payroll Year-end Forms > Preview W-2s.
- Select the year from the dropdown.
- Click the Download Preview of W-2s button to download a preview of all employee W-2s.
- To preview only selected employees, click the Employees’ W-2 Status link, check the box by the employees you want in the report, and then click the “Download Preview of Selected W-2s” link.
- If you have under 50 employees, your preview report will download immediately. Companies with 50 or more employees will receive an email when your preview report is available for download.
- Download the preview as a PDF file. Your downloaded PDF will be accessible on your computer wherever your download default is set to (i.e. Downloads, or Documents).
- The W-2s will have the word PREVIEW stamped across it. This is not an official W-2 form.
- Review the preview carefully and identify any issues.
- Correct any issues and generate a new preview.
- Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you are satisfied with the preview.
- Once you are satisfied with the preview, you can finalize your employee W-2s. For your next steps, check out our help articles “How to Download and Print W-2 Forms,” and “W-2 Print Options in Patriot.”
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