Following are the guidelines and options for ordering and printing your W-2’s.
Be aware that office supply stores carry multiple three and four per page formats. Compatible forms will have the form number from this article printed on the W-2. If you cannot determine whether a format is compatible, do not order it. We recommend ordering your forms from The Advance Group as they are familiar with compatible Datatech formats. Call them at (559) 227-1192 or (800) 522-5758. Datatech does not supply W-2 forms or keep any extra forms on hand if you run out.
Order enough W-2’s! To help in deciding how many W-2’s to order, you can use an option on the Year End Tax Reporting menu for counting employees with year to date wages. This will tell you the current number of employees you will need W-2’s for. Be sure to add in additional W-2’s for new hires, paper jams and reprinting individual W-2’s.
Many customers have asked about printing W-2’s on blank paper directly from the software. There are two reasons that we have decided not pursue printing blank paper W-2’s for the employee:
1) The IRS requires that the employee copies have the printed filing instructions on the back of the W-2. This means that you would still have to purchase forms with the back side pre-printed. The cost of these forms are the same as having both sides pre-printed.
2) Even if you wanted to print one or both sides on blank paper, you will spend more money in toner that you would buying the pre-printed forms.
There is an option to print the Employer’s W-2 (Copy D) on blank paper. This will print the entire W-2 Copy D form on blank paper, but will not print any instructions on the reverse side. This form prints two employees per page. This form is not approved for Copy A (for SSA) or for any of the Employee Copies. It can only be used to print the Employer’s Copy.
Note: We no longer support printing W-2’s on dot-matrix printers. The option to print W-2’s on dot matrix printers will remain in the program, but no changes will be made to the format. Dot-Matrix W-2’s will not print employer paid health insurance premiums, as required by law.
Compatible Forms
| Form #/Set # | Description |
| L3UP | Three W-2 copies per page (one employee per page) |
| L4UP | Four W-2 copies per page (one employee per page) |
| LW2A | Single Set for printing Copy A only (2 employees per page) |
| LW2DI | Single Set for printing Employer Copy D only (2 employees per page) |
| 95211* | Four part set, 50 employees (2 employees per page) |
| 95212* | Six part set, 50 employees (2 employees per page) |
| 95214* | Four part set, 100 Employees (2 employees per page) |
| 95216* | Six part set, 100 Employees (2 employees per page) |
*These Set #’s are for The Advance Group. Other form suppliers may have different numbers. These sets also available with envelopes.
Printing Options for Electronic Filers
1) L4UP (Recommended). Select the 4 per Page format when printing and give the entire page to the employee. Then select the Employer Copy option and print the employer copy on blank paper. You may also save the Employer Copy to a PDF file for archival purposes.
2) L4UP. Select the 4 per Page format when printing. Remove one copy for your Employer copy.
3) L3UP. Select the 3 per Page format when printing. Select the Employer Copy option and print the employer copy on blank paper.
Optional for methods 1 & 3: If you would prefer to have the Employer Copy on pre-printed paper, you may order the LW2DI form. Select the 2 per Page format when printing.
Printing Options for Paper Filers
1) L4UP & LW2A (Recommended). This option allows you to obtain all the needed copies without sorting employee sets. Print the L4UP using the 4 per Page setting. Give all 4 copies to the employee. Print the W-2 Copy A form using the 2 per Page setting. Print the employer copy on blank paper using the Employer Copy setting. You may also save the Employer Copy to a PDF file for archival purposes.
2) L3UP & LW2A. Print the L3UP using the 3 per Page setting for the employee. Print the W-2 Copy A with the 2 per Page format. Print the employer copy on blank paper using the Employer Copy setting.
Optional for methods 1 & 2: If you would prefer to have the Employer Copy on pre-printed paper, you may order the LW2DI form. Select the 2 per Page format when printing.
3) Two employees per page. Order the four or six part sets based on the number of copies/employees needed. Print W-2’s using the 2 per Page option once for each copy. Then you will need to tear off and collate the copies for each employee.