Employer Guide: Download Employee W-2s in 7shifts

Updated February 25, 2025 20:24

A W-2 form summarizes an employee's total earnings, taxes withheld, and other financial details necessary for filing income tax returns. If you're an employer using 7shifts Payroll, you can view and download employee W-2s directly within the platform once they are issued. This guide explains how to access and download W-2s in 7shifts.

⚠️ Important:

7shifts Payroll Only: W-2 access is available exclusively for accounts using 7shifts Payroll. If you're using a different payroll provider, please contact them for instructions on accessing W-2s.
Canceled 7shifts Payroll Accounts: Employers who canceled 7shifts Payroll and transitioned to a new provider before the end of 2024 should contact their new provider for W-2 access.
2024 W-2 Availability: Employee W-2s for 2024 will be available in 7shifts starting January 20, 2025.

Mailed W-2s:

Mailing Fees: Mailing fees are $3 per document sent and will be charged by 7shifts in February, 2025.
Employees without Paperless Consent: Employees who opt for paperless W-2s will receive a physical copy mailed to the address in their 7shifts profile, sent by our payroll partner, Check.
Terminated Employees/Contractors: Former employees and contractors may experience difficulties accessing 7shifts. To ensure compliance, tax docs will be printed and mailed to all terminated employees.
Mailing Timeline: Mailed W-2s are sent out by our payroll partner, Check, and will arrive by the end of February.
Download & Print: For faster access, you can download and print W-2s by following the steps in this article.
Digital Access: All employees can access their W-2 digitally through their 7shifts account, regardless of paperless consent.

Employer Steps to Download W-2s in 7shifts

Once W-2s are issued for the previous calendar year, Admins can follow these steps to download them:

Log in to the 7shifts web app as an Admin.
Navigate to Payroll > Tax.
Select Employees (W-2).
Ensure you have the right Tax Year selected.
Find the employee W-2 you wish to download and click to download the PDF.
Print and distribute the W-2 as needed.

Troubleshooting W-2 Availability

If an employee's W-2 shows 'Draft' and you can't download it, here's what it likely means:

Incorrect Employee Information
- The W-2 may be held up due to errors in employee details, most commonly an invalid Social Security number (SSN).
- Action: To update/correct an employee's SSN, follow the instructions in this article.
No Payroll in the Tax Year
- The employee might have been added to 7shifts Payroll but wasn't actually paid during the tax year (e.g., 2024).
- If there were no payments, a W-2 is not generated.
- Error Message: If you receive an error message when trying to download the "Draft" W-2, it almost always means that there is no pay information for that employee for that calendar year.

If an employee's W-2 is unavailable for download after January 20, 2025, and you believe all employee information is correct, contact 7shifts support.

Employee Access to W-2s

Employees can download their own digital W-2s through their 7shifts account. For detailed instructions, refer to this article: Employee Guide to W-2s.