Toast Payroll: Manage the Form W-2 Experience

Verify or Update SSN

Accurate Social Security numbers (SSNs) are crucial to tax filing. Inaccurate or missing SSNs may result in inaccurate tax filings, tax filings not being accepted by state tax agencies, and/or financial penalties for employers. See Toast Payroll: Social Security Number (SSN) Information Policy for more details.

Employees:

• Log in to Toast Payroll. Verify your SSN on-file by navigating to My Profile > Profile and selecting Retrieve SSN. Select Yes for business reasons and then select the eyeball icon.
  • If the SSN is correct, no further action is necessary.
  • If the SSN is not correct, select Close and choose the Edit button from the top-right side of the screen. Then scroll to the Social security number field and enter an accurate SSN. Select Save changes.

HR+ Users:

• View which employees are missing their SSN by navigating to Taxes. Locate any tasks with the format [Employee name] has not provided their Social Security Number in this Tax Center and use the Provide link to enter an SSN into an employee's profile.
• Encourage your employees to verify their SSN on-file to reduce the risk of inaccurate Form W-2s.

Update Form W-4

At any point throughout the year, an employee can make changes to the settings of their federal Form W-4 or other applicable state tax forms. Updates to the forms will adjust the taxes withheld from wages according to the new settings. The updated settings will impact the withholdings on any future payroll, but does not change any past withholdings. Tax amounts withheld throughout the year appear on a Form W-2.

Employees:

• Log in and navigate to My Profile > Taxes & Documents > Tax Forms tab.
• Use the hyperlinked Form W-4s to make your edits. Form W-4 edits are not retroactive, so any edits you make will only apply to future payrolls.

Managers and HR+ Users:

• For security reasons, only the individual themselves is allowed to update their own Form W-4.

Update Form W-2 Delivery Method for Individuals

Employees:

• To check or change your selection of a paper or electronic Form W-2, log in to Toast Payroll and select View taxes & documents. Select Edit, make your selection, and e-sign within the box. This must be done prior to the last payroll of the tax year or it will not take effect for that year.

Managers and HR+ Users:

• Managers can edit an active employee’s election on behalf of the employee by navigating to Reports > Tax Filing > Year End Documents. Select the checkbox for the employee(s) you wish to edit and select the yellow Edit button at the bottom of the page. 
• Companies are responsible for providing a paper Form W-2 to employees who did not consent to an electronic Form W-2. Read more about the IRS regulations on Furnishing Form W-2 to Employees Electronically.

Set Form W-2 Printing Method for the Company

HR+ Users:

In addition to employee delivery selections noted just above, HR+ users can toggle how they receive Form W-2s for employees who elected for a paper copy. Employers can choose to print the forms themselves or have Toast print them for a fee plus standard shipping costs. Your company will be responsible for distributing them individually either way. Toast cannot email or mail Form W-2s to employees since the form contains the employee's entire SSN.

• To make a selection, navigate to Taxes and locate the toggle in the Tax Center. You can change this setting beginning in April of each year and it will lock after submitting your last payroll of each year.
  • When this toggle is set to Print yourself, Toast will create PDF files containing the Form W-2s for employees who elected to receive a paper copy. On January 19th, 2025, navigate back to Taxes and select the 2024 Paper W-2s button. This will download a PDF file of all paper-opted Form W-2s that you can print yourself.
  • When set to Mail to business, Toast Payroll will print the forms for $5 per form plus standard shipping fees and send them to the address listed on this page. A single package of printed Form W-2s will be delivered for each FEIN. Toast cannot ship Form W-2s directly to your employees.
  • This toggle will not be available if all staff members of your company have opted into electronic Form W-2s.

When Form W-2s are Available

Form W-2s will be uploaded to the Toast Payroll system on Monday, January 19, 2026. You can post a notice in a high-traffic area of your restaurant regarding when and where employees may access their Form W-2. If you opted for Toast to print your paper Form W-2s, you can expect them to arrive at one central location for your business on or around January 19, 2026.

Locate and Download Form W-2s

Employees and Former Employees:

• If you opted into a paper Form W-2, you will receive this from your employer.
• There are two ways to find your electronic Form W-2 on or after January 19, 2026:
  • Download the MyToast app. Log in using your Toast email and password and navigate to Pay > Access tax forms (W2s) to select a form.
  • Log into Toast Payroll and select the Download link in the blue banner at the top of the page.
• This electronic version can be used to file your annual taxes. Electronic Form W-2s are available to all employees, whether or not you opted into an electronic or paper Form W-2.
• To keep your information secure, Toast cannot send Form W-2s to an employee's email or home address.

HR+ Users:

• Navigate to the Tax Center by selecting Taxes.
• If any of your staff opted into a paper Form W-2, you'll see a 2025 Paper W-2s button in the banner at the top of the page. It's your responsibility to deliver a paper copy to each employee in this file. The SSA deadline for delivering or postmarking these forms to employees is Saturday, January 31, 2026.
• If you'd also like the Form W-2s for employees who opted into an electronic copy, select the download icon (downward arrow) in the Employees opting for electronic W-2s tile. However, you are not responsible for distributing Form W-2s to employees who opted for an electronic copy.

Print Form W-2s

Form W-2s may be printed on standard paper with standard printer settings. You can select to print directly from the PDF and it should print correctly.

• If the Form W-2 is cut off, being printed on two pages, or printing on the back of the same page, visit Toast Payroll: Download and Print Form W-2s (for Employers) for more details.

Distribute Form W-2s

Employers:

• As a reminder, you only need to distribute Form W-2s to employees who opted into a paper copy. Employees who opted into an electronic copy can retrieve their Form W-2s themselves by following the instructions in Toast Payroll: Find Your Form W-2 (For Employees).
• The format of Toast Payroll Form W-2's left-aligns both the company and employee addresses. If you have any current or former employees who opted into a paper Form W-2, you can use a common style of envelopes to mail them their form, if necessary.

Read Your Form W-2

• If you want to better understand the information on your Form W-2, a short resource for reading and interpreting it can be found by visiting Toast Payroll: Understand Your Form W-2. Toast Payroll cannot advise on an individual's specific tax or filing situation. Contact an accountant or tax professional for more assistance.
• NEW! The One Big Beautiful Bill allows for individual tax deductions on tip and overtime premium amounts for eligible employees when filing their personal income taxes. Learn more by reading Toast Payroll: No Taxes on Tips and/or Overtime.
• NEW! Be aware of the possible federal tax benefits. See Notice 797.

Errors on the Form W-2

Employees:

• If you find an error on a Form W-2, contact your manager or HR team. Toast Payroll cannot directly assist employees with these issues. 

HR+ Users:

• If the employee's name or address is in error, this can typically be corrected without an amendment or fee.
• If the error lies with the employee's social security number or a wage/deduction/tax amount, an amendment and fee may be required.

Other Questions

If questions about filing taxes arise, Toast Payroll cannot offer advice about how to file or why numbers calculate the way they do. It may be helpful to contact an accountant/tax professional or review these publications:

• IRS Tax Tables
• IRS Employer Guide
• IRS Tax Withholding Estimator
• Your Form W-4 in Toast Payroll