How Can I Obtain My W2 From SSA or the IRS?

Fill out IRS form 4506 or 4506-T to obtain W-2 information from the IRS or SSA.

Both the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can provide you copies of previous years' W-2 forms. The SSA will send copies of W-2s at no cost if you need them for a Social Security-related reason, such as a question about earnings posted to your Social Security record, but will otherwise charge $30 for each year requested. The IRS will provide the information from the W-2s for the past ten years for free, but charges $57 per tax year for copies of the actual W-2 forms.

Things You'll Need

• IRS Form 4506 or IRS Form 4506-T
• Filing Fee, if needed

Instructions

1. Determine whether you need information from your previous W-2s or a copy of the W-2 itself. If you only need the information, use IRS form 4056-T. If you need a copy of the W-2, use form 4056.

2. Fill out the appropriate IRS form and include any necessary filing fee. There is no charge for a form 4056-T request to the IRS or a form 4056 request to the SSA for Social Security-related purposes.

3. Mail the form to the correct address. For either a form 4056 or 4056-T request to the IRS, check the form for the correct address for your state. For a form 4056 request to the SSA, mail the form, along with any required filing fee, to:

   Social Security Administration

   Office of Central Operations,

   Division of Earnings Records Operations

   P.O. Box 33003

   Baltimore, MD 21290-3003

Tips & Warnings

• While the SSA website indicates that the IRS will send copies of W-2s for free if the request is made for a tax related purpose, the IRS website states that a $57 filing fee is needed for any W-2 request as of 2011.

References

• Social Security Online: Requesting W-2's from prior years
• IRS: Topic 159 - Prior Year(s) Form W-2 (How to Get a Copy)

Resources

• IRS: Form 4506
• IRS: Form 4506-T