How do I find prior year W-2s?

Hey there, Standen.

I can help with finding your previous W-2's. The previous years W-2s) are saved under the Filing History in the Payroll Center. To access and print them:

1. Click on the Employees menu.
2. Select Payroll Tax Forms & W-2s, then click Process Payroll Forms.
3. Under Filing History, find the prior year's W-2. 
4. To access and print your W-2 information, click on the link under the Saved PDF column. 

This will show your prior W-2's. Your more then welcome to print or view them at your leisure. I'm here to assist or guide if needed. Just comment below.

For some reason the 2018 W2 for a particular client employee can't be located on my system.  I've opened and restored several backups to no avail.  I've had several computers since and moved files around so no telling where in the mass amount of electronic files I have the forms are.  I have the data so all I need to do is print a 2018 form.  Of course QB won't print the form year as anything other than 2019.  Any ideas?

I'm here to ensure you're able to locate and reprint your 2018 W2's forms, @dso0216.

This way, you'll be able to manage your annual forms and keep it for future use. 

Generally, if you mark the Automatically create an archive when I e-file or print a checkbox when creating your payroll tax form, an archive is saved in PDF format on your computer. Also, the location of these forms is the same as your company file.

To check the saved forms and their location, kindly refer to the steps below:

1. Go to the Employees menu, then choose the Payroll Center.
2. Click the File Forms tab.
3. Under Filing History, choose the Saved Filings tab.
4. A table of all your saved tax forms in PDF format is displayed. Select the link in the SAVED PDF column to open the file and see where the Saved Filings are kept.

Once you locate these forms, you can print them already in a PDF form.

I've attached this article about processing and locating saved forms in QuickBooks: Create, print, and save QuickBooks Desktop Payroll tax forms.

Please let me know if you have any clarifications. I'm more than happy to help. Have a great day.

Hello,

I have read several comments on how to find prior year W-2s, but when I go to "Employees" or "payroll" the next thing to do / tab  is not there. I fear our account is not set up properly, but we do process our taxes in QB, and generate W-2s from there. We have QB online. 

Any guidance would be appreciated.

Thanks!

I appreciate the steps you've performed to find the prior year W-2s, @nearinc. 

Let me route you to the right support group that can assist you further.

All the W-2 forms sent through QuickBooks Online will show under Filing History. You can access and print the forms that show through this section, since you're unable to see the W-2s form after going to the Employees menu, I recommend contacting our Phone Support Team. They have tools that can help you find your payroll form in a secure environment.

Here's how to reach them:

1. Click the Help icon located in the upper right-hand corner.
2. In the Help window, click the Contact Us button located at the bottom.
3. Enter your question and click Let's talk.
4. Select Start messaging or Get a callback.

To ensure that we address your concerns on time, please check out our support hours.

Also, you can easily print a copy of your employee’s W-2s from the Payroll Tax page. Let me show you how:

1. Go to the Taxes menu at the left panel and select the Payroll Tax.
2. Click the Annual Forms link on the Forms section.
3. On the Annual Tax Forms window, select either All employees or a specific employee from the drop-down menu.
4. Choose W-2, Copies B, C & 2, and it’ll route you to the Printable Employee Copies: Form W-2 page.
5. Select the appropriate period from the drop-down, then View to launch the Adobe Reader.
6. Hit the Print icon on the Reader toolbar. Then Print again.

Here’s an article that tackles more about this: View and print W-2 forms in QuickBooks Online Payroll.

Also, I'm adding our Tax forms page for more insights about and managing your tax forms in QuickBooks.

You can stay connected with me by adding a comment below if you have additional questions about finding your payroll forms or any QuickBooks related. I'm always willing to help.