So this was resolved by switching the default back to Adobe from Microsoft Edge.  When some PC's update, Microsoft Edge is pushed to be the default and it's my understanding that you need Adobe to print pre-printed forms.  Once I switched it, it was all good!

Thank you for this detailed reply.  For better or worse, something finally "clicked" as I continued to experiment and the alignment finally came out into the PDFs correctly.  We are all set but I hope the response will be helpful for anyone else struggling since it has so much useful info!

I spent two hours on the phone with payroll support today.  I have the same problem, top w-2 is correctly aligned but the bottom w-2 is not aligned.  I couldn't get the payroll help person to even understand the problem.  I explained the problem to him several different ways.  it was like talking to a brick wall.  After i spent the better part of my afternoon on the phone i finally gave up.  I thanked the payroll tax forms expert and hung up.  I am exactly where i was at noon today, bottom w-2 is not in alignment and fixing the bottom w-2 makes top w-2 out of alignment.  Has anyone gotten this issue resolved?

Welcome to this thread, Caphne.
 

If you haven't tried to utilize the QuickBooks Desktop Tool Hub and run the QuickBooks PDF & Print Repair Tool, I suggest trying it out. This tool can identify and resolve program-related issues in the system like the alignment issue on 1099's

For complete details on how to perform this process together with some visual reference, please see the link attached: Fix common problems and errors with the QuickBooks Desktop Tool Hub.

If the issue persists despite trying them all out, I recommend contacting our QuickBooks Care Team. I understand that you've already reached out to us with the same issue. However, they have the special tools to further investigate this so you're able to 1099 NEC correctly.

Please take note that our support hours for QuickBooks Desktop Pro, Premier, and Plus start from M-F 6 AM to 6 PM. For QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise, we're available any time, any day.

1. In your QuickBooks Desktop program, go to Help > QuickBooks Desktop Help.
2. In the Have a Question window, click the Contact Us link at the bottom.
3. From the Contact Us page, select any topics.
4. Under Here's how to connect with a QuickBooks expert section, click the Start a Message or Get Phone Number button.

You can also get our direct phone number on this link: Contact QuickBooks Desktop support.

For more info about the process of printing 1099's, please see this article: Print 1099 in QuickBooks Desktop. 

You might also want to visit our help page to browse articles that can guide you with your QuickBooks tasks. To get started head to our QBDT help articles at this link.

I'm looking forward to hearing this 1099 issue is resolved. Let me know if there's anything else I can help you with. Have a great day!

All I had to do was reset the program for printing to Adobe! Try the less painful option FIRST! 🤣🤣🤣

I still can’t get mine to work. Do you mean that you saved them to your desktop and then opened them in adobe DC?

Hello there, Annoyed4.

Thank you for posting here in the Community. 

I'd be happy to walk you through the steps on how to print W-2 preprinted forms in QuickBooks Desktop. Before you print your W-2s preprinted forms, make sure to perform a print test in blank paper to check if the alignment is correct with the boxes in a preprinted form and the Adobe DC was installed in your computer.

Here's how:

1. Choose Employees, then hit Payroll Tax Forms and W-2s and Process Payroll Forms.
2. Tap File Forms, then pick the Annual Form W-2/W-3 - Wage and Tax Statement/Transmittal and tick the Create Form button.
3. Click either All Employees or Employee's Last Name.
4. Enter a filing period in the Year field, then click OK.
5. Hit Print/E-file.
6. In the Print W-2 and W-3 Forms window, then choose Print Test.
   
   

If the alignments are correct, you can now print using the preprinted forms. However, if it does not align, you can follow the steps below to correct the alignment:

1. Choose Align in the W-2 and W-3 forms window, then in the Preprinted forms alignment page, then adjust the alignment. 
2. Tap Print Test to check the result of your alignment.
3. If the alignment is already correct and accurate, tick OK.

For future reference on how to fix problems in printing W-2 Forms and to export the form in PDF file, you may check these articles:

• Resolve printing issues
• Print W-2 and W-3 forms 
  
  

I'll be around the community if you have other questions about printing W-2 in QuickBooks.  Have a great day ahead!

Hello there, Annoyed4.

Thank you for posting here in the Community. 

I'd be happy to walk you through the steps on how to print W-2 preprinted forms in QuickBooks Desktop. Before doing so, make sure you have the latest Adobe DC installed. Then perform a print test on blank paper to check if the alignment for the boxes is correct.

Here's how:

1. Choose Employees, then hit Payroll Tax Forms and W-2s and Process Payroll Forms.
2. Tap File Forms, then pick the Annual Form W-2/W-3 - Wage and Tax Statement/Transmittal and tick the Create Form button.
3. Click either All Employees or Employee's Last Name.
4. Enter a filing period in the Year field, then click OK.
5. Hit Print/E-file.
6. In the Print W-2 and W-3 Forms window, then choose Print Test.
   
   

If the alignments are correct, you can now print using the preprinted forms. However, if it does not align, you can follow the steps below to correct the alignment:

1. Choose Align in the W-2 and W-3 forms window, then in the Preprinted forms alignment page, then adjust the alignment. 
2. Tap Print Test to check the result of your alignment.
3. If the alignment is already correct and accurate, tick OK.

For future reference on how to fix problems in printing W-2 Forms and to export the form in PDF file, you may check these articles:

• Resolve printing issues
• Print W-2 and W-3 forms
  
  

I'll be around the community if you have other questions about printing W-2 in QuickBooks.  Have a great day ahead!

I was having the same trouble.  What worked for me was first playing around with changing the custom scale in the print dialog box.  After I had the top and bottom employees spaced apart correctly, then I played around with the QB alignment tool.  

In the end, these are the setting I used:

QB Alignment changes:

Right - 6 points

Down - 6 points

Print dialog changes:

Custom Scale:  105%

So it wasn’t the printing, it was the alignment but it wasn’t that I didn’t know how as I’ve been doing it for years. What I did discover is when my PC updated it replaced Adobe with a a Microsoft app and that is not compatible with Quick Books. Once a changed the default back to Adobe it was all aligned.

So it wasn’t the printing, it was the alignment but it wasn’t that I didn’t know how as I’ve been doing it for years. What I did discover is when my PC updated it replaced Adobe with a a Microsoft app and that is not compatible with Quick Books. Once a changed the default back to Adobe it was all aligned.

I am having the same issue. The top is too far up and bottom is too far down. Alignment options are not available for this issue... I'm using 2021. WE NEED A REAL SOLUTION!

Thank you, thank you that worked!

SET UP YOUR COMPUTER WITH ADOBE DC AS DEFAULT.  LOOKS LIKE IF THE W2 IS OPEN WITH ANOTHER PDF THE ALIGN DOES NOT WORK.

IT WORKED FOR ME.  

Is this only for desktop versioni?  I contacted quickbooks payroll yesteday and they said that I can't print w-2 part a and d  and w3 from the online version for because they don't archive it.  As a result she told me to contact the IRS.  Was this information wrong and is there a way to get the info to print on the red IRS forms in quickbooks onlline payroll?  I tried to go to my quickbooks desktop to commandeer old forms to change and print but because i don't have the payroll service i can't do that either so I am paying a lot for nothing.

Hi there, @rhored. 

I'm here to help you print your W2's and W3 forms. This way, you'll be able to manage your annual forms and keep them for future use.

In QuickBooks Online (QBO), you can archive the copies of your part A and D W2's if you turned on your E-file feature. Here's how:

1. Go to the Payroll menu and select Overview.
2. From Tasks, select the Show more dropdown.
3. Find the W-2 Copies A & D, then select File now.
4. Select Annual Forms, then W-2 Copies A & D.
5. Click Continue. Review the form, then tap Submit to authorize us if you wish to electronically file it.

For more insights into the process, go to the QuickBooks Online Payroll section in this article: File your W-2 forms.

If you need help printing the forms in QBDT, you can check out this article: Print your W-2 and W-3 forms

Please check these links for more details. These will answer most of the frequently asked questions about W-2.

• File your W-2 forms
• Get answers to your W-2 questions

If you have further questions about your W2 forms, please post a reply below. I'm always around to help. Keep safe.

• In QB online payroll, when I go to payroll and then overview, there is nothing listed as "Tasks" or "Show more.".    It would seem to me that if there are W2s that a W2 and a W3 would be prepared automatically in the format required by the SS admin. which are printable, on the forms.  But alas, they are not.   I do have an archived copy of a W3 that I can print out and manually enter the information on the form,   Whatevver is necessary for me to print out the information is not there.  I have to enter the information all by hand.   Thank you for your help.  I think that QB, should have the forms available in the format required, to print.  
•  
• Go to the Payroll menu and select Overview.
• From Tasks, select the Show more dropdown.
• Find the W-2 Copies A & D, then select File now.
• Select Annual Forms, then W-2 Copies A & D.
• Click Continue. Review the form, then tap Submit to authorize us if you wish to

Thanks for bringing this up in the QuickBooks Community page, @rhored. 

Our QuickBooks team strives to provide excellent customer service and deliver customer satisfaction at all times. I want you to know that we value your feedback, and it would be a big help to improve the service and your QuickBooks experience.

Added features are based on the number of requests sent from our customers. If you haven't sent anything yet, I'd recommend doing so. This way, our developers could check it and most likely include it in our future updates. Here's how:

1. Select the Gear icon at the top and click Feedback.
2. Enter your comments or product suggestions. Then, select Next to submit feedback.

It's important that we always meet our customer's needs. While we continue to make improvements, I want you to be updated with the latest QuickBooks news and product release through our Firm of the Future site. This is where we share recent happenings and future developments, such as updates to newly added features.

Please don't hesitate to keep me posted if you have other concerns about printing forms in QuickBooks Online. You can drop a comment below, and I'll gladly help. Take care, and I wish you continued success. 

I am having the same problem.  This CONTINUES TO BE A MAJOR PROBLEM WITH QUICKBOOKS.  This is my second year with this problem.  Last year after many hours on the phone with Quickbooks I ended up having to use a service to print my W-2's.  They kept telling me I needed to upgrade my Quickbooks, which I've done and HELLO  the same problem this year!  I've worked on aligning, but as you stated the upper one prints fine, but the bottom does not.  This is causing me such a problem with my clients that I am looking for a new payroll service to use for 2023 instead of Quickbooks for everyone.  I just can't do this every year!!!!!! I would love for someone in Intuit to reach out to me and everyone else to tell us why this is a continuing problem. 

What do you do if this does not fix the problem?  It does not matter how much I align adjust and print test, the top comes out okay and the bottom does not. 

I appreciate you for coming back to the QuickBooks Community, simplebook. I can see how important to print out W2 in QuickBooks Online to help run your business. I'll ensure to provide troubleshooting steps so you can print the said form smoothly.

Please know the instructions to print your W-2s depend on if you chose to have us pay and file your federal and state payroll taxes for you or if you opted to pay and file them yourself. If you are not sure, please check your automatic tax payments and form filing status first.

Also, before printing any tax form in QBST, you'll need to make sure you get the newest tax table in QuickBooks Payroll to stay compliant with tax calculations.

Then, once you encounter some unusual behavior when printing W2, I suggest making sure that you download and install the QuickBooks Tool Hub. This helps fix common errors and we recommend to you use Tool Hub on Windows 10, 64-bit for the best experience.

Here's how:

1. Close QuickBooks. Then, download the most recent version (1.5.0.0) of the QuickBooks Tool Hub. Save the file somewhere you can easily find it (like your Downloads folder or your Windows desktop).
2. Open the file you downloaded (QuickBooksToolHub.exe).
3. Follow the on-screen steps to install and agree to the terms and conditions.
4. When the installation is done, double-click the icon on your Windows desktop to open the tool hub.
5. From the Tool Hub, run the QuickBooks PDF & Print Repair Tool.
6. In the QuickBooks Tool Hub, select Program Problems.
7. Choose QuickBooks PDF & Print Repair Tool. It will take about a minute to run.
8. Attempt to print, email, or save as a PDF from QuickBooks Desktop again.

If the issue persists, you have to reset your temp folder permissions. You can open this article to see the steps on how to perform the process: Troubleshoot PDF and Print problems with QuickBooks Desktop.

On the other hand, if the problem doesn't fix after performing the details shared above and on the thread, I usually suggest contacting our QuickBooks Desktop Support Team. Then, you also have the option to enter your phone number to request a callback so an expert can call you back.

Lastly, you may refer to this article to view info on how you can run a specific report that gives you the total payroll wages, taxes, deductions, and contributions: Create a payroll summary report in QuickBooks.

Let me know in the comment section if you have other questions about printing W2 or any QuickBooks concerns. I’ll get back to answer them for you, simplebook. Have a good one.

Yes, spent 4 hours with Quickbooks they haven't got a clue.  I had to now order plain paper to get the job  done.  Hope they get here in time.   Im furious Ive been a customer for 15 years as I am sure  most have, IRS isnt going to like late W2.

Hey I'm in the same boat as you.  After beating my head against the wall for hours and being on chat with Tech Support for an hour and nothing they suggested would work, I resorted the community for help and found what I needed to get this fixed by reading some posts in January 2021 that resolved my issue and it was all because of the pdf program you are using to print the preprinted forms on.  My Bluebeam & Microsoft Edge pdf programs are compatible, I had to make sure my Adobe Reader was up to date and voila, it worked and everything printed just fine.  Here is the January 2021 post that helped me:

After days of frustration trying to get my w2's to align I found this forum. The adobe trick that others had commented on didn't work for me. However, I followed another commenter's advice to update my printer driver and they are now printing perfectly aligned! Hope this helps someone out there.