W-2 previews show what each employee's W-2 will look like based on the payroll data in Arcoro Payroll today. Reviewing them before W-2s publish is the best way to catch errors early. Anything you fix before publishing is a simple correction. Anything found after becomes a corrected W-2 (W-2C).
Table of Contents
- When to Review
- Step 1: Open Your W-2 Previews
- Step 2: Pull Your Payroll Summary for the Same Date
- Step 3: Reconcile the Totals
- Step 4: Spot-Check Employees Most Likely to Have Errors
- Step 5: Share Drafts with Employees
- Step 6: Fix What You Find
- Why W-2 Amounts May Differ From What You Expect
When to Review
- Start in November. Previews refresh every Monday with data through the prior Sunday.
- Review again after recording special items, such as fringe benefits or group term life, so the previews include them.
Step 1: Open Your W-2 Previews
Go to the Reports section in Arcoro Payroll and select W-2 Preview report. Enter the applicable year and select Download. The download is a ZIP file containing a PDF preview for each employee, along with a CSV file that lists every W-2 box for every employee.
Step 2: Pull Your Payroll Summary for the Same Date
Run your payroll summary report through the same Sunday as the preview refresh. Comparing a fresh preview to a report pulled on a different day can show differences that aren't real. See Reporting for Payroll.
Step 3: Reconcile the Totals
The total of all employees' W-2s should match your payroll summary.
| W-2 Box | What it Shows | Compare To |
|---|---|---|
| Box 1 | Federal taxable wages | Federal taxable wages |
| Box 2 | Federal income tax withheld | Federal withholding |
| Box 3 and 4 | Social Security wages and tax | Social Security taxable wages and tax (capped at $184,500 per employee for 2026) |
| Box 5 and 6 | Medicare wages and tax | Medicare taxable wages and tax |
| Box 12 | Coded amounts, such as D (401(k)), W (HSA), DD (employer health coverage), C (group term life over $50,000) and TT (qualified overtime) | Matching deduction, benefit and earning totals |
| Boxes 15 to 20 | State and local wages and taxes | Each state and local line |
Step 4: Spot-Check Employees Most Likely to Have Errors
- Terminated employees
- Employees who worked in more than one state or locality
- Employees hired mid-year or added through historical pay
- High earners who reached the Social Security wage base
- Employees with pre-tax benefits or retirement deductions
- Employees with overtime (see [Qualified Overtime on 2026 W-2s])
Step 5: Share Drafts with Employees
Employees can spot errors you can't, like an outdated address or a misspelled name.
Step 6: Fix What You Find
Submit corrections to Arcoro Support by December 7, 2026. Updates to SSNs, names, and addresses can be made directly on the employee's profile.
Why W-2 Amounts May Differ From What You Expect
- W-2s show taxable wages, not gross pay. Pre-tax deductions reduce Box 1. 401(k) deferrals reduce Box 1 but not Boxes 3 and 5; Section 125 deductions, such as pre-tax health premiums, reduce all three.
- Social Security wages stop at the wage base, so Box 3 can be lower than Box 5 for high earners.
- Payments made outside Arcoro Payroll, such as manual checks, aren't included until they're recorded.
- Historical pay imports may be missing or entered with the wrong amounts.
- Wages taxed in the wrong state usually trace back to an outdated resident or workplace address.