Hello, @Lisa1967.

I'm happy to hear that setting up Adobe as the default application when printing forms help you fix the alignment issue. This will surely help others who are having the same problem. 

Should you need anything else, please leave a reply below. I'm always here to help. Have a good one!

I had the same problem.  I discovered that I had to tell the printer not to scale.  It was automatically shrinking to fit page.  On my printer dialogue page I clicked the box that says "no scale".  I have an HP LaserJet 1018.

Hi there, @Leah-Broadview.

Thanks for sharing the steps you've taken that help resolve the alignment issue. Others who might have the same printer as yours will now be able to print the W-2 form without any problem.

If there's anything else you need, don't hesitate to leave a comment below. I'll be here to help. Have a good one!

This happened last year too. I had forgotten until I saw the comment in the January 2019 response. You need to use Adobe READER as your default .pdf viewer

@jackrussell53 

You can avoid alignment issues altogether by printing your W-2's on plain paper.  There is no need to buy or use use the standard red ink forms.

You do not need to use the red scan-able forms to submit paper W-2's to the SSA.

QuickBooks prints W-2 forms on plain paper that you can submit, which are also scan-able. It does this automatically wen you pick the plain paper - for the SSA - form option.

The SSA uses a different set of scanners for this standard, which Intuit and other payroll providers worked out with the SSA almost two decades ago.

The only reason Intuit still sells the red forms is... so they can sell the red forms.  No one needs them.

Well I learned something new !  I had no idea.  BTW I never purchase forms from QB - you can always find them cheaper elsewhere. 

Thanks !

I just spent two hours trying to resolve this issue.  I DID purchase from Quickbooks at a significantly higher rate to avoid this very issue.  They were unable to help.

"taxes" is not an option on the site

There id no "basic" on that site

Hi, curtis8.

You may want to set the Adobe Acrobat Reader as the default PDF when printing form W-2. You can go to your Control Panel and change it from there.

However, if you need to discuss sensitive information and want to get in touch with our QuickBooks Payroll Support, you can follow the steps below to contact them.

1. Click Help at the top menu bar and choose QuickBooks Desktop Help.
2. Enter a brief description of your concern then click Contact Us.
   
3. To route you to the correct support expert, we need to know what type of question you have. Give a brief description of your issue and click Continue.
4. We’ll provide you a few options. You choose which one is best for you.

To ensure we address your concern on time, check out our support hours. Additionally, you can check out these articles for further guidance and know more about printing the W-2 forms in QuickBooks:

• General Rules and Specifications for Substitute Forms W-2 and W-3.
• Types of paper available for printing W-2 forms.

That should get you pointed in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any follow-up concerns. I’ll be here to help. Take care and have a good one!

This has been a recurring problem with QuickBooks for at least the last decade that I remember and there is a fix that appears to work that is mentioned below using the Microsoft XPS Writer.  In any case, I'll go into a little detail as to how we resolved it as well.  First of all, it's highly recommended that you use blank perforated forms for W2 printing for Employees - it completely avoids having to deal with this issue, however, when you have to report your W2 Copy A to the SSA, you have to fix the alignment issue since it requires the use of the red ink official form.  Here goes:  First: Select the W2-Copy A 

Then use the Align button to generally align the top half of the form so that it prints correctly (the issue has always been the top half can be aligned but the bottom half fails to align properly)

Use the Print PDF to print the forms to any PDF writer (QuickBooks recommends Adobe, we use Nuance).  Once you have opened the PDF document then PRINT it again using the Microsoft XPS Writer using the .XPS format 

Then open the resulting .XPS document using your PDF writer

Before you print the resulting PDF document - set the ZOOM to NONE and UNCHECK the Auto-Rotate & Center boxes

Print your first page to test the alignment, both the TOP and BOTTOM should be aligned uniformly, if not, you can restart this process using the ALIGN as noted on Step 1, the difference now is that both the TOP and BOTTOM should be able to be aligned uniformly.

This has worked for us with virtually every release of QB and we are currently using QB Enterprise V 18

Happy Hunting

I have changed my default pdf to adobe and tried everything that I can find to fix this and it has not worked. I have spent hours on the phone with support who have no clue what they are doing and put me on hold for 90% of the call. I was told a supervisor would call me on 2 separate occasions and have yet to receive a call. I have updated my quickbooks, restarted everything, tried the alignment settings but nothing has worked. FIX THIS QUICKBOOKS!

I understand the impact of any alignment issues when printing your W2 forms, @Tysha8751.

When printing W2 forms on a pre-printed form, there are several other factors to consider. One of which is the specific printer you're using and its version of print drivers. Also, you'd want to make sure that both your QuickBooks software and payroll tax table is updated to the latest version.

Since you've already perform all the necessary troubleshooting steps, I'd recommend contacting our Technical Support team again. From here you can make a request to speak to a supervisor again. Also, they have the tools to conduct a secured screen sharing to further investigate the root cause as to why you're unable to accurately aligned your W2 forms.

Lastly, I've added these resources for additional reference: 

• Types Of Paper Available For Printing W-2 Forms

• How To Check W-2 Form Alignment When Printing.

• Tax Deadlines And Important Quarterly And Year-end Dates

The Community is always here if you need more help with QuickBooks. 

W2 forms will not line up. I have tried adjusting the printer but no luck. Same printer I’ve always used. Bought W2 from same place. Help?

Hi there, @robin629.

I want to make sure you can print W2 forms without alignment issues.

W-2 forms need to be compatible with QuickBooks to ensure the correct alignment. To clarify, did you buy your W-2 forms from Intuit? If so, look for the vendor code (0000/1030D) from your W-2 purchase. Once verified, follow the steps below to align your W-2 form:

1. Go to the Employees menu, then select Payroll Tax Forms and W-2s.
2. Choose Process Payroll Forms.
3. Select the W-2 Form from the list of forms.
4. In the Process W-2s for options, select All Employees or select Employee's Last Name (choose From and To) to file by batch.
5. In the Select Filling Period section, enter the year of the form you are printing and click OK.
6. In the Select Employees for Form W-2/W-3 window, select the employees you are printing for. 
7. Click Print/E-file. This will open the Print W-2 and W-3 Forms window

If you get the same result, I suggest updating your QuickBooks Desktop to the latest release and the payroll tax table. Then, perform these PDF troubleshooting steps to resolve your printing issue.

You might also want to use this year-end checklist to learn how to prepare your other tax forms and payments.

Keep in touch if you need more help printing W-2 forms. Of course, I am always here ready to help you whenever you reach out. Wishing you all the best, @robin629.

I know this is probably "old news", but I had exactly the same problem printing 2021 W2s as you are describing. I ordered the forms from Intuit, so I knew it wasn't a compatibility issue. I ended up following one of the recommendations I read here - download Adobe Reader and make it the default. That fixed it and the forms printed perfectly.  FYI - I had NO problem printing W-2s for the last 5 years - this was a new problem. Hope this helps.

I am having the same issue When printing the forms to send to IRS (red forms) the top portion of my @W2's is not aligning correctly, while the bottom portion is. I've tried calling tech support to to avail ( tried sending it to different printers and the same thing is happening.  Do I send them in like to to the IRS, will they be happy?

Hello there, hAZZLE5154.

When printing W2 forms on a pre-printed form, there are several other factors to consider. One of which is the specific printer you're using and its version of print drivers. Also, you'd want to make sure that both your QuickBooks software and payroll tax table is updated to the latest version. 

I know you have contacted us again, I still suggest reaching out to our Payroll Support Team so they can further check your printer setup and computer settings.

Keep me posted if you need further assistance in handling QuickBooks. I'll be there to further assist you. Have a good one.

I've been having the same problem since last year, using same forms, same printer, same software. 

Looks like I finally found a solution, hope this works for everyone. on the print screen, mine was automatically selecting "Shrink oversized pages", when I change it to "Actual size" it prints perfectly aligned, no need to adjust anything! 

I click on link and it says "link not found"

Thanks for sharing your observation, @Pcls93555. I've got you the link for setting up and adjusting fine-tune alignment. 

You can refer to the steps shared under Set-up Adobe Reader, and Fine-tune alignment outlined in this help article: Set up and print deposit slips.

For future reference, you can order checks, tax forms, and other supplies that are compatible and convenient to use with QuickBooks. 

Get back here if you have additional questions. We're always around to help in any way we can. 

You cannot align it in the W-2 program.  Nothing works this year for printing 2021 W-2s